Die tandkroon en vulsel is beskadig.

Die is the definite article in Afrikaans, 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 die is used for:

• the crown
• the crowns
• the filling
• the fillings

That is simpler than in some other languages.

In Afrikaans, one article can cover two nouns joined by en.

So Die tandkroon en vulsel means the crown and filling.

You can also say Die tandkroon en die vulsel. That version sounds a little more explicit, because it repeats the article for both items. Both are possible, but the version with one die is completely normal.

Afrikaans writes many compound nouns as one word.

So:

• tand = tooth
• kroon = crown
• tandkroon = tooth crown / dental crown

This is very common in Afrikaans. English often writes similar ideas as two words, but Afrikaans usually joins them into a single compound noun.

Vulsel is a noun. In this sentence it means a filling in the dental sense.

It is related to the verb vul meaning to fill. The ending -sel often helps form a noun meaning something produced by an action or used in it.

So an English speaker can think of vulsel as a normal concrete noun here: the dental filling.

Because Afrikaans verbs do not change for number the way English verbs do.

In English, you say:

• the crown is
• the crown and filling are

But in Afrikaans, the present tense form is stays the same:

• die tandkroon is
• die tandkroon en vulsel is

So is works with both singular and plural subjects.

After is, Afrikaans normally uses the plain adjective form, without the -e ending.

So you get:

• Die tandkroon is beskadig.
• Die tandkroon en vulsel is beskadig.

But when the adjective comes before a noun, you often use the -e form:

• die beskadigde tandkroon
• die beskadigde vulsel

So:

• is beskadig = predicative use, after the verb
• beskadigde tandkroon = attributive use, before the noun

Here it functions as an adjective after is, describing the condition of the crown and filling.

So the structure is:

• subject: Die tandkroon en vulsel
• verb: is
• description/complement: beskadig

Even if the word is related to the verb beskadig meaning to damage, in this sentence it is describing a state: damaged.

The sentence follows a very common Afrikaans pattern:

Subject + verb + complement

So here:

• Die tandkroon en vulsel = subject
• is = verb
• beskadig = complement/adjective

That is very similar to English, except that Afrikaans keeps is for both singular and plural subjects.

Yes, absolutely.

That version is also correct. Repeating die can make the two nouns feel a little more individually marked:

• Die tandkroon en vulsel is beskadig.
• Die tandkroon en die vulsel is beskadig.

Both are grammatical. The shorter version is often a little smoother and more economical.

A rough English-friendly guide would be:

duh TANT-krohn en FUL-sel is buh-SKAA-dukh

A few notes:

• die sounds like duh, not like English die
• tand has a clear t
• kroon has a long oo sound
• g in beskadig is the throaty Afrikaans/Dutch g, which English does not really have

If you cannot make the Afrikaans g yet, a soft kh-like sound is a reasonable learner approximation.