Die skroef en wasser is bymekaar.

Die is the Afrikaans definite article, so it means the.

A useful thing to remember is that Afrikaans does not change the definite article for gender or number. So the same word die is used for:

• the screw → die skroef
• the washer → die wasser
• the screws → die skroewe

So unlike languages such as German or Dutch, you do not have to learn different forms of the for different nouns.

Afrikaans often uses one article before two coordinated nouns, especially when they are being treated as a natural pair:

• die skroef en wasser

This is understood as the screw and the washer.

You can also say:

• die skroef en die wasser

That sounds a bit more explicit, but the version with only one die is very normal and natural.

Because Afrikaans verbs do not change the way English verbs do for different subjects.

In the present tense of wees (to be), the form is simply is for all persons and numbers:

• ek is = I am
• jy is = you are
• hy is = he is
• ons is = we are
• hulle is = they are

So even though English says the screw and washer are together, Afrikaans still uses is.

No. In Afrikaans, is does not tell you whether the subject is singular or plural.

For example:

• Die skroef is hier. = The screw is here.
• Die skroewe is hier. = The screws are here.

So in your sentence, is is used simply because that is the normal present-tense form of wees.

Bymekaar usually means together, with each other, or in one place.

In this sentence, it suggests that the screw and washer are:

• together physically,
• grouped together,
• or possibly matched up as a set.

So it is a little broader than a very literal English together. Depending on context, it can mean:

• next to each other,
• collected together,
• assembled together,
• or kept together.

Because in Afrikaans, bymekaar is normally written as a single word when it functions as this common adverbial expression meaning together or in one place.

Even though it looks like it contains parts that might remind you of separate words, in normal spelling it is:

• bymekaar

not

• by mekaar

for this meaning.

Sometimes yes, but the nuance is a little different.

• saam = together, jointly, along with
• bymekaar = together, gathered together, in one place

So:

• Die skroef en wasser is saam.
• Die skroef en wasser is bymekaar.

Both could be understood, but bymekaar often sounds more natural if you mean the items are physically together or kept as a pair.

This is standard Afrikaans main-clause word order:

• Die skroef en wasser = subject
• is = finite verb
• bymekaar = complement/adverbial

Afrikaans usually keeps the finite verb in the second position in a normal statement. That is why the structure is very straightforward here.

If you turned it into a yes/no question, the verb would come first:

• Is die skroef en wasser bymekaar?

A rough English-style guide would be:

• Die → like dee
• skroef → roughly skroof
• en → like in or a short unstressed en
• wasser → roughly VAH-ser or VA-sər
  
  • note that Afrikaans w sounds like English v
• is → like iss
• bymekaar → roughly bey-muh-KAAR

So the whole sentence is approximately:

dee skroof en VA-ser iss bey-muh-KAAR

That is only an approximation, but it is a good starting point.

It is closely related in meaning, but the Afrikaans spelling is wasser.

A learner may notice two things:

• it looks similar to English washer
• but it is spelled with ss, not sh

Also, pronunciation is different from English:

• Afrikaans w sounds like v
• the middle consonant is an s sound, not English sh

So it is best to learn it as an Afrikaans word in its own right, even if it is easy to connect it to the English hardware term.