Die kragopwekker is buite en die skakelaar is af.

In Afrikaans, die is the normal definite article, meaning the.

A few useful points:

• Afrikaans does not have grammatical gender the way languages like German or Dutch do.
• So you do not need different words for the depending on masculine, feminine, or neuter nouns.
• Die is used for singular and plural definite nouns in ordinary sentences.

So:

• die kragopwekker = the generator
• die skakelaar = the switch

That makes Afrikaans simpler than many European languages in this area.

Yes, kragopwekker is a compound noun, which is very common in Afrikaans.

It can be broken down roughly like this:

• krag = power
• opwek = generate / produce
• -er or -ker as part of the noun formation = something that does the action

So kragopwekker is literally something like power-generator.

Afrikaans often joins parts together into one long word where English might use two words or a hyphen. That is completely normal.

Here buite means outside or outdoors, and it is being used adverbially after is.

So:

• Die kragopwekker is buite. = The generator is outside.

You can think of it as describing location.

A useful comparison:

• buite = outside / outdoors
• binne = inside / indoors

For example:

• Die kinders is buite. = The children are outside.
• Die kat is binne. = The cat is inside.

In Afrikaans, af is the normal word for off in many contexts.

So:

• Die skakelaar is af. = The switch is off.

This is very common with things that can be on or off:

• Die lig is aan. = The light is on.
• Die lig is af. = The light is off.

A very useful pairing to remember is:

• aan = on
• af = off

In a normal sentence like this, Afrikaans repeats is in both parts:

• Die kragopwekker is buite en die skakelaar is af.

This is the clearest and most natural version.

Just like in English, you sometimes can omit repeated material in speech if the structure is obvious, but learners should usually keep the second is. So the safest rule is:

• When each part has its own subject, repeat the verb.

Here you have two clauses:

1. Die kragopwekker is buite
2. die skakelaar is af

joined by en.

Yes. This sentence has very straightforward word order.

The pattern is:

• Subject + verb + complement
• Die kragopwekker
  • is
    • buite
• die skakelaar
  • is
    • af

Then the two clauses are joined with en = and.

So for this kind of simple statement, Afrikaans looks very similar to English.

Yes, en is the normal coordinating conjunction meaning and.

It links equal parts of a sentence:

• words: Jan en Marie
• phrases: groot en sterk
• clauses: Die kragopwekker is buite en die skakelaar is af

In simple clause-linking like this, it works very much like English and.

A rough English-friendly guide:

• kragopwekker ≈ khrahkh-op-VEK-er
• buite ≈ BAY-teh or BOY-teh, depending on accent
• skakelaar ≈ SKAA-kel-aar

A few pronunciation notes:

• g in Afrikaans is usually a harsh throat sound, not the English g in go.
• ui in buite is a vowel sound that many English speakers find tricky.
• aa is a long ah sound.

If you are a beginner, getting the stress roughly right is more important than making every sound perfect immediately.

Yes, skakelaar is a standard word for switch, especially an electrical switch.

It comes from skakel, which is related to switching or connecting.

In everyday use, you may also hear people talk about specific kinds of switches in more detailed ways, but skakelaar is a very normal general word and is the right choice here.

Yes. Buite can appear by itself, as in this sentence, or with more information.

Examples:

• Die hond is buite. = The dog is outside.
• Die hond is buite die huis. = The dog is outside the house.

So buite can function on its own, or it can introduce a location phrase.

That is similar to English:

• outside
• outside the house

No. One helpful feature of Afrikaans is that words like buite and af do not change form here.

Also, Afrikaans generally has much less inflection than many other Germanic languages. In this sentence:

• buite stays buite
• af stays af
• is stays is

So you do not have to worry about agreement endings on these words in this kind of structure.

Kragopwekker is a very good standard Afrikaans word for generator, especially in careful or standard usage.

You may sometimes hear English influence in everyday speech, and some speakers might say a borrowed form in casual contexts, depending on region and situation. But for learning solid Afrikaans, kragopwekker is an excellent word to know.

It is also a good example of how Afrikaans often prefers clear compound words built from native elements.