Die vorige wedstryd was lank.

Die is the Afrikaans definite article, the word for the.

A useful thing to remember is that Afrikaans uses die for both:

• singular nouns: die wedstryd
• plural nouns: die wedstryde

So unlike English, the article itself does not change.

Vorige is the form used before a noun.

In Afrikaans, adjectives that come directly before a noun often take an -e ending. Here, vorige modifies wedstryd, so the normal form is:

• die vorige wedstryd

This is called the attributive use of the adjective.

Wedstryd is a noun meaning a match, game, or contest, depending on context.

Its plural is wedstryde.

So:

• die wedstryd = the match
• die wedstryde = the matches

Was is the past tense of is / wees.

So:

• is = is
• was = was

This verb is irregular. Many Afrikaans verbs form the past with het plus a past participle, but wees uses was instead.

Here it is a linking verb, connecting the subject die vorige wedstryd with the description lank.

Because the adjective is being used after the verb was, not before the noun.

In Afrikaans, this adjective changes form depending on position:

• before a noun: 'n lang wedstryd
• after a linking verb: Die wedstryd was lank

So in this sentence, lank is the correct form.

Here it most naturally means long in duration.

Because wedstryd is an event, the sentence is understood as saying that the match lasted a long time.

Afrikaans lank can refer to time, and in this sentence that is the normal interpretation.

Yes, in this simple sentence it is very similar.

The structure is:

• Die vorige wedstryd = subject
• was = verb
• lank = predicate adjective

So the pattern is:

subject + verb + description

That is very close to English.

Yes. That is also natural Afrikaans.

The difference is mainly nuance:

• Die vorige wedstryd was lank = the match was long
• Die vorige wedstryd het lank geduur = the match lasted a long time

The second version is more explicit about duration.

Yes, a few:

• die is usually pronounced roughly like dee
• w in Afrikaans sounds like English v, so wedstryd starts with a v-like sound
• the g in vorige is usually a guttural sound, not a hard English g
• was is not pronounced like English wuz; the a is more open
• lank ends with a clear k sound

So even if the spelling looks a bit familiar, the sounds are not always English-like.