Dit is die laaste bladsy.

• Dit = it or this
• is = is
• die = the
• laaste = last or final
• bladsy = page

So the sentence is literally It/This is the last page.

It can be either, depending on context.

In Afrikaans, dit often covers both it and this in simple sentences like this. So Dit is die laaste bladsy could be understood as:

• It is the last page
• This is the last page

If you want to be more explicitly demonstrative before a noun, Afrikaans often uses hierdie, for example hierdie bladsy = this page.

Die is the definite article, so it means the.

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

• singular nouns
• plural nouns
• all genders

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

Examples:

• die bladsy = the page
• die bladsye = the pages

Because Afrikaans usually puts adjectives before the noun, just like English.

So:

• die laaste bladsy = the last page

This is the normal order:

• article + adjective + noun

So:

• die
  • laaste
    • bladsy

Because laat and laaste are different words.

• laat means late
• laaste means last or final

So in this sentence, laaste is the correct word because the meaning is the last page, not the late page.

Also, laaste is the normal form you learn for last in expressions like die laaste bladsy.

No. Afrikaans does not use grammatical gender the way languages like German or French do.

That means you do not need to memorize whether bladsy is masculine, feminine, or neuter. You simply use die for the.

This is one reason Afrikaans grammar is often easier for English speakers.

A rough English-friendly guide is BLAHT-see.

A few helpful points:

• blad- sounds roughly like blahd
• the sy part sounds like see
• the final y in Afrikaans often sounds like ee

This is only an approximation, but it is good enough for a beginner.

Yes. In everyday Afrikaans, Dit is is very often shortened to Dis.

So you will also see and hear:

Dis die laaste bladsy.

That means exactly the same thing and is extremely common in speech and informal writing.

You usually make a yes/no question in Afrikaans by putting the verb first:

Is dit die laaste bladsy?

That means:

Is it the last page?
or
Is this the last page?

So the statement:

• Dit is die laaste bladsy.

becomes the question:

• Is dit die laaste bladsy?

The plural of bladsy is bladsye.

So:

• bladsy = page
• bladsye = pages

And:

• die laaste bladsy = the last page
• die laaste bladsye = the last pages

Notice that die stays the same.