Die vinielplaat is oud.

Die is the Afrikaans definite article, meaning the.

A useful thing for English speakers to know is that Afrikaans does not have different forms of the for different genders. In fact, die is used:

• for singular definite nouns
• for plural definite nouns

So:

• die vinielplaat = the vinyl record
• die vinielplate = the vinyl records

Yes. Afrikaans very often writes compound nouns as one word.

So vinielplaat is made from:

• viniel = vinyl
• plaat = record/disc/plate

Together, vinielplaat means vinyl record.

This is very common in Afrikaans, so English two-word combinations often become one word in Afrikaans.

By itself, plaat can mean a plate, a flat piece, a disc, or a record, depending on context.

In vinielplaat, it specifically refers to a record. So the compound means a record made of vinyl.

Is is the present-tense form of wees (to be) used here as a linking verb, just like English is in The vinyl record is old.

A very helpful feature of Afrikaans is that is stays the same with different subjects in the present tense:

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

So Afrikaans is simpler than English here, because you do not need to learn several present-tense forms of to be.

Because this is a normal Afrikaans sentence pattern:

• subject
  • verb
    • complement

So:

• Die vinielplaat = subject
• is = linking verb
• oud = complement/adjective

This works much like English:

• The vinyl record
  • is
    • old

So the word order in this sentence is very familiar to an English speaker.

Here oud comes after the verb is, so it is being used predicatively. In that position, Afrikaans adjectives usually stay in their basic form.

So:

• Die vinielplaat is oud. = The vinyl record is old.

When an adjective comes before a noun, Afrikaans often uses a different form. With this adjective, you would commonly say:

• die ou vinielplaat = the old vinyl record

So the short answer is:

• after is → oud
• before the noun → often ou

You would say:

'n vinielplaat is oud.

Here 'n is the Afrikaans indefinite article, meaning a/an.

So compare:

• Die vinielplaat is oud. = The vinyl record is old.
• 'n vinielplaat is oud. = A vinyl record is old.

You make vinielplaat plural by changing it to vinielplate:

Die vinielplate is oud.

Notice two important things:

• die stays die
• is stays is

So only the noun changes here.

Singular:

• Die vinielplaat is oud.

Plural:

• Die vinielplate is oud.

A rough English-style guide would be:

• Die ≈ dee
• vinielplaat ≈ vih-NEEL-plaht
• is ≈ iss
• oud ≈ owt

So the whole sentence is roughly:

dee vih-NEEL-plaht iss owt

This is only an approximation, but it is a good starting point for an English speaker.

Yes. Oud can describe both people and things.

For example:

• Die man is oud. = The man is old.
• Die huis is oud. = The house is old.
• Die vinielplaat is oud. = The vinyl record is old.

So there is nothing unusual about using oud for an object here.