Die kerk bespreek die evangelie.

Because Afrikaans uses die as the definite article for the.

In this sentence:

• Die kerk = the church
• die evangelie = the gospel

So the first die belongs to kerk, and the second die belongs to evangelie.

A useful thing to remember is that Afrikaans does not have different forms like English the vs something gender-based. Die is used very broadly.

No, modern Afrikaans does not use grammatical gender the way Dutch does.

That means nouns do not change article based on being masculine, feminine, or neuter. In Afrikaans, you generally just use:

• die for the
• ’n for a/an

So:

• die kerk = the church
• ’n kerk = a church

This is one reason Afrikaans is often simpler than Dutch for English speakers.

In Afrikaans, verbs usually do not change form for person or number in the present tense.

So you get:

• Ek bespreek = I discuss
• Jy bespreek = you discuss
• Hy bespreek = he discusses
• Ons bespreek = we discuss
• Hulle bespreek = they discuss

Unlike English, Afrikaans does not add an -s for he/she/it in the present tense. So Die kerk bespreek is completely normal.

Yes. This sentence uses normal main-clause word order:

• Die kerk = subject
• bespreek = verb
• die evangelie = object

So it follows the pattern:

Subject + Verb + Object

That is very similar to English:

The church discusses the gospel

Afrikaans word order becomes more different from English in some other structures, especially subordinate clauses, questions, and sentences with auxiliaries.

Kerk is a noun, and here it is singular.

• die kerk = the church

The plural is usually:

• kerke = churches

So:

• Die kerk bespreek die evangelie = The church discusses the gospel
• Die kerke bespreek die evangelie = The churches discuss the gospel

Notice that the article can still be die.

In Afrikaans, common nouns are not capitalized unless they begin the sentence.

So evangelie is lowercase because it is being used as a common noun, not as part of a title.

That is similar to English when you write the gospel in a general sense. If it were part of a specific title, capitalization rules could be different.

A rough English-friendly guide:

• kerk ≈ kerrk
  The e is short, and the r is pronounced. The word is close to Dutch/German-style kerk/kirche roots, but in Afrikaans it is just one syllable.

• bespreek ≈ buh-SPRAYK
  The stress is usually on the second part: -spreek.

• evangelie ≈ ee-vahn-guh-LEE or eh-vahn-guh-LEE
  The last syllable is prominent.

These are only rough guides. Actual Afrikaans pronunciation depends on accent, but they are good starting points.

Often yes, but not always in exactly the same way.

Bespreek can mean things like:

• discuss
• talk over
• review
• in some contexts, even book/reserve something

For example:

• Ons bespreek die probleem. = We discuss the problem.
• Ek bespreek ’n kamer. = I book a room.

So the meaning depends on context. In Die kerk bespreek die evangelie, discusses is the natural meaning.

Because bespreek is already the main verb: discusses.

English also does not use is in a sentence like:

• The church discusses the gospel

You only need is when the sentence structure requires a form of to be, such as:

• Die kerk is groot. = The church is big.
• Die kerk is oop. = The church is open.

But in your sentence, the action verb is bespreek, so no extra is is needed.

Usually, no. In normal Afrikaans spelling, only the first word of the sentence is capitalized unless a later word is a proper noun.

So the normal form is:

• Die kerk bespreek die evangelie.

You would capitalize Kerk only if it were part of an official name or title, such as the name of a specific organization or denomination.

Afrikaans normally uses double negation.

So Die kerk bespreek die evangelie becomes:

• Die kerk bespreek nie die evangelie nie.

The pattern is usually:

subject + verb + nie + rest + nie

This is one of the most important grammar patterns in Afrikaans.

In a simple yes/no question, Afrikaans usually puts the verb first:

• Bespreek die kerk die evangelie? = Does the church discuss the gospel?

This is similar to English question formation, where the verb area moves to the front, although English often needs does while Afrikaans does not.

So:

• Statement: Die kerk bespreek die evangelie.
• Question: Bespreek die kerk die evangelie?