Die olie is vlambaar.

A simple word-for-word breakdown is:

• die = the
• olie = oil
• is = is
• vlambaar = flammable

So the whole sentence means The oil is flammable.

No. Here, die is the definite article meaning the, and it is pronounced roughly like dee.

That is a very common beginner trap, because the spelling looks familiar to English speakers, but the meaning and pronunciation are different.

Die is the normal Afrikaans word for the.

Afrikaans keeps this simple: die is used with singular and plural nouns, and it does not change for grammatical gender.

So:

• die olie = the oil
• die boeke = the books

Mostly yes. In this sentence, is is the present-tense form of to be, just like English is.

A useful difference is that Afrikaans is simpler here: is stays the same with all persons in the present tense:

• Ek is = I am
• Jy is = you are
• Hy is = he is
• Ons is = we are

So English changes between am / are / is, but Afrikaans just uses is.

This is the normal word order for a basic statement in Afrikaans:

• subject: Die olie
• verb: is
• description/complement: vlambaar

So it works very much like English:

• The oil is flammable

Nothing unusual is happening here.

Because the adjective comes after is.

In Afrikaans, adjectives often have two forms:

• predicative form: after a verb like is → usually no -e
• attributive form: before a noun → often takes -e

So:

• Die olie is vlambaar = The oil is flammable
• vlambare olie = flammable oil

That -e difference is very common in Afrikaans adjectives.

It is built from:

• vlam = flame
• -baar = a suffix meaning something like -able or capable of

So vlambaar literally suggests able to catch flame or capable of flaming, which is why it means flammable.

This can help you remember it.

Yes. Olie is a general word for oil, and the exact kind depends on context.

It can refer to things like:

• cooking oil
• motor oil
• lamp oil
• crude oil

So in Die olie is vlambaar, you understand the type of oil from the situation, not from the word olie itself.

For a yes/no question, Afrikaans usually puts the verb first:

• Is die olie vlambaar? = Is the oil flammable?

That is a very common pattern in Afrikaans.

You would say:

• Die olie is nie vlambaar nie. = The oil is not flammable.

This shows a very important Afrikaans pattern: basic negation often uses nie ... nie.

So the sentence is framed with two nie words:

• is nie vlambaar nie

English speakers often need practice with this, because English only uses one not.