Die kursusmateriaal is op die tafel.

Because die is the definite article in Afrikaans, meaning the.

So:

• die kursusmateriaal = the course material
• die tafel = the table

Afrikaans uses die for the in both singular and plural nouns, so it appears very often.

No. Afrikaans does not have grammatical gender in its articles the way some other European languages do.

That means:

• die tafel = the table
• die boek = the book
• die kinders = the children

It is always just die for the.

It is a compound noun, which is very common in Afrikaans.

It combines:

• kursus = course
• materiaal = material

So kursusmateriaal literally means course material.

English often writes this as two words, but Afrikaans commonly joins such nouns into one word.

Because is is the present-tense form of to be in Afrikaans, and it does not change depending on the subject.

Compare:

• Ek is = I am
• Jy is = you are
• Hy is = he is
• Die kursusmateriaal is = the course material is

So unlike English, Afrikaans does not use different present forms such as am / is / are. It just uses is.

This is the normal word order for a simple statement in Afrikaans:

Subject + verb + rest

So:

• Die kursusmateriaal = subject
• is = verb
• op die tafel = prepositional phrase showing location

That makes the sentence structure very similar to English:

• The course material is on the table.

Op usually means on.

Here it shows location:

• op die tafel = on the table

Use op when something is physically on top of a surface.

Examples:

• Die boek is op die tafel. = The book is on the table.
• Die sleutel is op die vloer. = The key is on the floor.

Not if you mean on the table.

• op die tafel = on the table
• in die tafel would mean in the table, which usually does not make sense unless you mean something inside a drawer or compartment

So for a surface, op is the correct choice.

Grammatically, it is usually treated as a singular mass noun or collective noun here.

That is why the sentence uses is, not a plural verb form. In fact, Afrikaans would still use is anyway in the present tense, but the noun itself is being understood as material in a general sense, not as separate individual items.

It works a lot like English course material or equipment.

Because the sentence is talking about specific course material and a specific table, so Afrikaans uses die = the.

If you wanted an indefinite meaning, you could say something like:

• Kursusmateriaal is op 'n tafel. = Course material is on a table.

But that sounds less natural unless the context really calls for a table, not the table.

Neither, in practical Afrikaans grammar.

Afrikaans nouns do not normally require you to learn grammatical gender for article use. So you simply say:

• die tafel

without worrying about whether it is masculine, feminine, or neuter.

That is one reason Afrikaans grammar is often easier for English speakers than languages with gender systems.

A rough English-friendly guide would be something like:

KUR-sus-ma-ta-ree-AHL

A few helpful notes:

• kursus sounds a bit like KUR-sus
• materiaal has several syllables, with the final part sounding roughly like ree-aal
• Afrikaans r is usually trilled or tapped more than in most English accents

You do not need perfect pronunciation right away; being clear and steady is more important.

In Afrikaans, die is usually pronounced roughly like dee, not like the English word die.

So:

• die tafel sounds roughly like dee TAH-fel

This is a very common point of confusion for English speakers.

Yes, that is possible.

• is op die tafel focuses on location: the course material is on the table
• lê op die tafel focuses more on the fact that it is lying there

In many everyday situations, is op die tafel is perfectly natural.
If you want to emphasize physical position, lê can be more specific.

No. Afrikaans does not capitalize all nouns.

So you write:

• Die kursusmateriaal is op die tafel.

Only the first word of the sentence, proper names, and other normally capitalized items get a capital letter. Words like kursusmateriaal and tafel stay lowercase.