Ek plaas die kam langs die tandeborsel op die rak.

Yes — plaas can be both:

• a noun: farm
• a verb: place / put

In Ek plaas die kam langs die tandeborsel op die rak, it is clearly a verb, because it comes after Ek and functions as the action of the sentence.

So here plaas means place or put.

In Afrikaans, verbs usually do not change according to the subject in the present tense.

So you get:

• Ek plaas = I place
• Jy plaas = you place
• Hy/Sy plaas = he/she places
• Ons plaas = we place

This is much simpler than English, where you have I place but he places.

Die is the Afrikaans definite article, meaning the.

So in this sentence:

• die kam = the comb
• die tandeborsel = the toothbrush
• die rak = the shelf

Afrikaans uses die for all genders and for both singular and plural in most ordinary cases. So unlike languages such as German or Dutch, you do not need to learn different forms of the for masculine, feminine, neuter, or case.

No — modern Afrikaans does not have grammatical gender in the way many European languages do.

That means nouns like kam, tandeborsel, and rak do not take different articles depending on gender. You simply use die for the and ’n for a/an.

This is one of the reasons Afrikaans grammar often feels simpler to English speakers.

Langs usually means next to, beside, or alongside.

In this sentence:

• langs die tandeborsel = next to the toothbrush

It is a preposition, and it is followed directly by the noun phrase. You do not need an extra word like of or to after it.

Examples:

• langs die bed = next to the bed
• langs die muur = next to the wall

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

So:

• tande = teeth
• borsel = brush
• tandeborsel = toothbrush

This is completely normal in Afrikaans. English sometimes writes similar ideas as one word too, but less consistently.

You will see many compounds in Afrikaans, for example:

• badkamerdeur = bathroom door
• boekrak = bookshelf
• huiswerkboek = homework book

Both langs die tandeborsel and op die rak are giving extra information about where the comb is being placed.

So the structure is roughly:

• Ek plaas = I place
• die kam = the comb
• langs die tandeborsel = next to the toothbrush
• op die rak = on the shelf

This word order is possible and natural, but Afrikaans can sometimes allow a little flexibility with these location phrases.

A very clear alternative is:

• Ek plaas die kam op die rak langs die tandeborsel.

That version may feel slightly easier to parse for an English speaker.

There is a little possible ambiguity, just as there can be in English with stacked location phrases.

The most likely intended meaning is:

• I place the comb
• on the shelf
• next to the toothbrush

But because langs die tandeborsel and op die rak are both prepositional phrases, a listener could momentarily wonder how they connect.

If you want to make it clearer, you can say:

• Ek plaas die kam op die rak langs die tandeborsel.

That more strongly suggests that the comb is being placed on the shelf, and that it ends up next to the toothbrush there.

Yes, very often you can.

In everyday Afrikaans, sit is commonly used for put / place / set, especially in casual speech.

So this would also work:

• Ek sit die kam langs die tandeborsel op die rak.

The difference is mainly one of tone:

• plaas = a bit more formal, deliberate, or careful
• sit = very common and everyday

Op means on.

So:

• op die rak = on the shelf

This is a very common Afrikaans preposition.

Other examples:

• op die tafel = on the table
• op die vloer = on the floor
• op die bed = on the bed

A simple English-friendly guide is:

• Ek ≈ eck
• plaas ≈ plahss
• die ≈ dee
• kam ≈ kahm
• langs ≈ lahngs
• die tandeborsel ≈ dee TAN-duh-bor-sel
• op ≈ op
• die rak ≈ dee ruk / rahk

A rough full pronunciation guide:

Ek plaas die kam langs die tandeborsel op die rak.
≈ Eck plahss dee kahm lahngs dee TAN-duh-bor-sel op dee rahk

A few useful notes:

• aa in plaas is a long vowel.
• g in langs can vary by accent, but learners are usually understood if they pronounce it simply as a normal g or a light throat sound.
• r in Afrikaans can also vary depending on the speaker and region.

Because Afrikaans expresses these relationships with prepositions directly:

• langs = next to
• op = on

English sometimes uses extra linking words depending on the structure, but Afrikaans does not need anything extra here. The sentence is complete as it is:

• Ek plaas die kam langs die tandeborsel op die rak.

So the location relationships are already fully expressed by langs and op.