Die pompfilter is vuil.

Here die means the.

So Die pompfilter is vuil = The pump filter is dirty.

A useful thing to know is that Afrikaans uses die for:

• singular nouns
• plural nouns
• all genders

So unlike some other European languages, you do not have to learn different forms of the for masculine, feminine, or neuter nouns.

No. In Afrikaans, die is usually pronounced roughly like dee.

So in this sentence:

• die ≈ dee

That is a very common beginner trap, because English speakers naturally want to read it like the English verb die.

Afrikaans, like Dutch and German, very often writes compound nouns as a single word.

So:

• pomp = pump
• filter = filter
• pompfilter = pump filter

English often writes these as two words, but Afrikaans commonly joins them into one compound noun.

Mostly yes. Here is is the present-tense form of to be.

So:

• Die pompfilter is vuil = The pump filter is dirty

A very important difference from English is that Afrikaans does not change the verb is for number in the same way English does. For example:

• Die pompfilter is vuil = The pump filter is dirty
• Die pompfilters is vuil = The pump filters are dirty

So even with a plural subject, Afrikaans still uses is.

Because vuil is describing the subject through the verb is.

This is the same basic pattern as in English:

• The pump filter is dirty
• subject + be
  • adjective

So in Afrikaans:

• Die pompfilter = subject
• is = linking verb
• vuil = adjective/predicate adjective

This is a very normal sentence pattern in Afrikaans.

Because it is being used after is, not directly before a noun.

Compare the difference:

• Die pompfilter is vuil = The pump filter is dirty
  Here vuil stays plain.

But when an adjective comes directly before a noun in Afrikaans, it often takes an extra -e:

• die vuil pompfilter = the dirty pump filter

So:

• after is: vuil
• before a noun: often vuil(e), and in this case vuil usually becomes vuil? Actually with many adjectives it can take -e, but usage depends on the adjective and form.

For this sentence, the key point is simple: after is, adjectives normally do not change.

No, not in the way languages like German or French do.

Afrikaans does not use separate masculine, feminine, and neuter definite articles. You can use die across the board.

That makes sentences like this easier:

• die tafel = the table
• die huis = the house
• die pompfilter = the pump filter

So you do not need to memorize noun gender to choose the article.

You would use 'n for a/an:

'n pompfilter is vuil.

A few useful notes:

• 'n is unstressed
• it is pronounced more like a weak uh sound
• it is written with an apostrophe

Even at the beginning of a sentence, it stays 'n, not 'N:

• 'n Pompfilter is vuil.

You would usually make pompfilter plural by adding -s:

Die pompfilters is vuil. = The pump filters are dirty.

Notice two important things:

• die stays die
• is stays is

So the plural is structurally very simple in Afrikaans.

Not in this sentence. It matches English quite closely:

• Die pompfilter = The pump filter
• is = is
• vuil = dirty

So the pattern is:

• subject + verb + adjective

Afrikaans word order can become more different from English in longer sentences, especially with verbs and subordinate clauses, but this particular sentence is very straightforward.

Yes, if the context already makes it clear which filter you mean.

• Die filter is vuil = The filter is dirty
• Die pompfilter is vuil = The pump filter is dirty

Using pompfilter is more specific. It tells you what kind of filter it is.