Die deurgrendel sluit die deur.

Die is the Afrikaans definite article, usually equivalent to English the.

It appears twice because there are two definite nouns in the sentence:

• die deurgrendel = the door bolt / latch
• die deur = the door

Unlike English, Afrikaans does not change the definite article for gender or number. It is just die in all these cases.

Yes. Afrikaans, like Dutch and German, very often forms compound nouns by writing them as one word.

So:

• deur = door
• grendel = bolt / latch
• deurgrendel = door bolt / door latch

This is very normal in Afrikaans. English sometimes writes similar ideas as two words, but Afrikaans often combines them into one.

Yes. It is the same noun: deur = door.

In deurgrendel, the first part deur- describes what kind of grendel it is: a bolt/latch for a door.

So the sentence literally has:

• door-bolt
• closes / shuts / locks
• the door

That repetition may feel a little strange to an English speaker, but it is perfectly normal.

Sluit commonly means close, shut, or lock, depending on context.

In this sentence, it can suggest that the door bolt shuts or locks the door. The exact English choice depends on the context you were given.

Some related uses are:

• Die winkel sluit om sesuur. = The shop closes at six.
• Sluit die deur. = Close/Shut the door.
• Sluit die deur toe. = Lock the door or shut the door securely, depending on context.

So sluit is a flexible verb.

This is the normal subject–verb–object order for a simple main clause in Afrikaans:

• Die deurgrendel = subject
• sluit = verb
• die deur = object

So it works very much like English:

• The door bolt
  • closes/locks
    • the door

For a beginner, this sentence is actually quite straightforward in its word order.

In a basic Afrikaans main clause, the noun phrase before the verb is normally the subject, and the noun phrase after the verb is usually the object.

So:

• Die deurgrendel comes before sluit → subject
• die deur comes after sluit → object

Even though both noun phrases begin with die, word order tells you their roles.

Usually, no. Afrikaans verbs are much simpler than English verbs in this way.

The verb sluit stays the same with different subjects:

• Ek sluit = I close
• Jy sluit = you close
• Hy sluit = he closes
• Ons sluit = we close
• Hulle sluit = they close

So Afrikaans does not add an -s the way English does in he closes.

Because sluit is already the main verb.

English and Afrikaans both only need one main verb here:

• The door bolt closes the door.
• Die deurgrendel sluit die deur.

You would only use is-type verbs when the sentence needs them, for example in a description:

• Die deur is toe. = The door is closed.

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

It is understandable and correct, but in everyday speech people may also simply say grendel if the context already makes it clear that it is a door bolt/latch.

Afrikaans often has both:

• a shorter everyday word
• a more specific compound word

So deurgrendel is perfectly logical and clear, especially for teaching vocabulary.

A rough guide is:

Die deurgrendel sluit die deur
≈ dee DUR-khren-del skloyt dee DUR

A few helpful points:

• die sounds like dee
• deur has a vowel sound that does not exactly match standard English; dur is only a rough approximation
• gr in grendel is a harsher sound than English g
• sluit has an ui sound that English speakers often find difficult; skloyt is only approximate

If you are learning pronunciation, the hardest parts are usually deur and sluit.

Yes. Shuts can be a very natural translation here.

Depending on context, possible English renderings include:

• The door bolt closes the door.
• The door bolt shuts the door.
• The door bolt locks the door.

The Afrikaans sentence itself does not force just one English choice in isolation. Context decides which is best.