Agt studente lees die boek.

It follows the normal Afrikaans main-clause pattern:

subject + verb + object

Here that is:

• Agt studente = subject
• lees = verb
• die boek = object

So Afrikaans is behaving very much like English here:

• Eight students read the book

In Afrikaans, numbers usually stay in one form before a noun. So you simply say:

• agt studente = eight students
• drie boeke = three books
• tien kinders = ten children

The number does not change to agree with the noun.

Because studente is the plural of student.

A very common way to form plurals in Afrikaans is by adding -e or -s, depending on the word. In this case:

• student = student
• studente = students

So agt studente literally means eight students.

Afrikaans verbs usually do not change according to the subject the way English verbs sometimes do.

Compare:

• Ek lees = I read / I am reading
• Jy lees = you read / are reading
• Hy lees = he reads / is reading
• Ons lees = we read / are reading
• Agt studente lees = eight students read / are reading

So unlike English he reads vs they read, Afrikaans just keeps lees.

It can mean either, depending on context.

Afrikaans often uses the simple present where English might use either:

• read
• are reading

So Agt studente lees die boek could mean:

• Eight students read the book
• Eight students are reading the book

Usually the situation tells you which meaning is intended.

Die is the definite article in Afrikaans, meaning the.

So:

• die boek = the book

A very useful thing for learners is that Afrikaans die does not change for gender or number. It is used for:

• singular nouns
• plural nouns
• all genders

Examples:

• die boek = the book
• die boeke = the books
• die man = the man
• die vrou = the woman

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

So in this sentence:

• die boek sounds approximately like dee book

This is one of the most common beginner traps for English speakers.

Agt can be tricky for English speakers because of the g.

A rough guide:

• a sounds somewhat like the vowel in father (depending on accent)
• g is a guttural sound, like the ch in Scottish loch or German Bach
• t is a normal t

So agt is approximately ahkht.

If you cannot make the guttural sound yet, a softer h/k-like sound is often an understandable beginner approximation.

Afrikaans does not use do/does the way English does in ordinary statements.

English:

• Eight students do read the book (emphatic)
• Do eight students read the book? (question)

Afrikaans does not need a separate helper verb here. The main verb lees carries the meaning by itself.

In a normal statement:

• Agt studente lees die boek

In a yes/no question, Afrikaans usually changes the word order instead:

• Lees agt studente die boek?

Yes, very often it would.

Afrikaans commonly uses the simple present for actions happening now, so:

• Agt studente lees die boek

can already mean Eight students are reading the book.

If you want to make the right now / ongoing action idea extra clear, Afrikaans can also use progressive-type structures, but for a beginner this simple sentence is perfectly normal and important to know.

No. Die boek specifically means the book.

If you wanted a book, you would say:

• ’n boek = a book

So compare:

• Agt studente lees die boek = Eight students read the book
• Agt studente lees ’n boek = Eight students read a book

Yes. In a basic yes/no question, Afrikaans usually puts the verb first.

Statement:

• Agt studente lees die boek.

Question:

• Lees agt studente die boek?

That is a very common pattern in Afrikaans and worth learning early.

Yes, as written it is present tense.

If you wanted the past tense, Afrikaans would usually use het plus gelees:

• Agt studente het die boek gelees. = Eight students read / have read the book

If you wanted the future, you could use sal:

• Agt studente sal die boek lees. = Eight students will read the book

So the original sentence is specifically a present-tense form.