Die vorm is te lank om nou te lees.

Die is the Afrikaans definite article, meaning the.

So die vorm = the form.

Afrikaans does not change the article for gender, and it also does not have separate forms like English the vs German der/die/das. It is simply die for singular and plural definite nouns in most cases.

Here, vorm means form in the sense of a document or form to fill in.

That is important because vorm can also mean shape in other contexts. In this sentence, the meaning is clearly the document sense:

• die vorm = the form

So this is not talking about a shape being long; it is talking about a form that is too long to read now.

Te lank means too long.

In Afrikaans, te before an adjective often means too in the sense of excessively:

• te groot = too big
• te duur = too expensive
• te moeilik = too difficult
• te lank = too long

So:

• Die vorm is te lank = The form is too long

They do two different jobs.

1. te in te lank means too

   • te lank = too long

2. te in om nou te lees is the infinitive marker, similar to English to

   • te lees = to read

So although both words look the same, they are not doing the same thing.

You can think of the sentence as:

• Die vorm is te lank = The form is too long
• om nou te lees = to read now

Together:

• The form is too long to read now

Om ... te lees is an infinitive construction meaning to read.

In Afrikaans, when an infinitive phrase is introduced after certain adjectives or verbs, it is often built with om ... te + infinitive.

Here:

• om nou te lees = to read now

This whole part explains what the form is too long for:

• te lank om nou te lees = too long to read now

So om introduces the infinitive phrase, and te marks the infinitive verb lees.

Because om nou te lees is an infinitive clause, and in Afrikaans the main verb in that kind of clause normally comes at the end.

So the structure is:

• om
  • other information + te lees

Here:

• om nou te lees

This is very normal Afrikaans word order.

Compare:

• Ek probeer die boek lees. = I try to read the book.
• Dit is maklik om die boek te lees. = It is easy to read the book.

In the second example, the infinitive verb lees comes at the end, just like in your sentence.

Nou means now, and here it modifies the action to read.

So the idea is:

• the form is too long
• to read now

In other words, the sentence does not mean that the form is now too long in some changed state. It means that at this moment, reading it is not practical because it is too long.

So the focus is:

• om nou te lees = to read now

Yes, Afrikaans often allows some flexibility with adverb position, but the meaning or emphasis can shift slightly.

The given sentence:

• Die vorm is te lank om nou te lees.

This most naturally means:

• The form is too long to read now.

You might also see:

• Die vorm is nou te lank om te lees.

That can sound more like:

• The form is now too long to read or
• The form is by now too long to read

So the original placement of nou most clearly ties now to the reading action, not to is te lank.

Afrikaans often leaves out an object when it is already obvious from context.

Here, the object of lees is clearly die vorm, so it does not need to be repeated.

English does the same thing sometimes:

• This book is too hard to read.
• That report is too long to finish today.

We do not need to say to read it or to finish it, because the object is already understood.

So in Afrikaans:

• Die vorm is te lank om nou te lees.

means:

• The form is too long to read now.

The understood object of lees is die vorm.

Yes. It follows a very common pattern:

• [noun] is te [adjective] om te [verb]

Examples:

• Die boek is te moeilik om te verstaan.
  The book is too difficult to understand.

• Die tas is te swaar om te dra.
  The bag is too heavy to carry.

• Die artikel is te lank om nou te lees.
  The article is too long to read now.

So your sentence is a very useful model to learn.

Normally, no. Te lank specifically means too long, with the idea that it is excessive in some way.

If you want to say very long, Afrikaans would usually use something like:

• baie lank = very long

So:

• Die vorm is baie lank. = The form is very long.
• Die vorm is te lank. = The form is too long.

That distinction is important.

A close word-for-word breakdown is:

• Die = the
• vorm = form
• is = is
• te lank = too long
• om = to / in order to introduce the infinitive clause
• nou = now
• te lees = to read

So a very literal gloss would be:

• The form is too long to read now

or even more mechanically:

• The form is too long for now to read

But the natural English meaning is simply:

• The form is too long to read now.

It would sound less natural than the original.

The normal and natural order is:

• Die vorm is te lank om nou te lees.

Placing nou before te lees works well because nou belongs with the action read now.

So although learners may be tempted to put nou at the very end, the original sentence is the better model to follow.

The main things to remember are:

• te + adjective = too + adjective

  • te lank = too long

• om ... te + verb = infinitive phrase

  • om nou te lees = to read now

• the infinitive verb often comes at the end

  • ... om nou te lees

So a very useful template is:

• X is te [adjective] om [time/adverb] te [verb]

Your sentence fits that pattern perfectly:

• Die vorm is te lank om nou te lees.