Die krummel is sag.

In this sentence, die means the.

A useful thing to know is that Afrikaans uses die as the definite article for:

• singular nouns: die krummel = the crumb
• plural nouns: die krummels = the crumbs

Unlike languages such as German or Dutch, Afrikaans does not have grammatical gender in its articles, so you do not have to learn different words for the depending on whether a noun is masculine, feminine, or neuter.

Krummel is singular.

So:

• die krummel = the crumb
• die krummels = the crumbs

For an English speaker, this is straightforward because the plural is often formed by adding -s, though Afrikaans plural patterns can vary from word to word.

Yes, is here is the present-tense form of the verb to be, from the Afrikaans verb wees.

It works very much like English is in this sentence:

• Die krummel is sag. = The crumb is soft.

One very learner-friendly feature of Afrikaans is that is does not change for different persons in the present tense:

• ek is = I am
• jy is = you are
• hy/sy is = he/she is
• ons is = we are
• julle is = you are
• hulle is = they are

So you do not have to memorize forms like am / is / are.

Because sag is a predicate adjective here. It describes the subject die krummel after the linking verb is.

This is similar to English:

• The crumb is soft.

Afrikaans often places descriptive words after is in exactly this kind of sentence:

• Die brood is vars. = The bread is fresh.
• Die water is koud. = The water is cold.

So the structure is:

subject + is + adjective

Because after is, Afrikaans normally uses the basic adjective form, here sag.

Compare:

• Die krummel is sag. = The crumb is soft.
• die sagte krummel = the soft crumb

So:

• after a linking verb like is → usually sag
• before a noun → often sagte

This is a very common point for English speakers, because English adjectives do not change form in these positions, but Afrikaans adjectives often do.

Yes, absolutely.

That would mean:

• die sagte krummel = the soft crumb
• is sag = is soft

So the whole sentence is grammatical, though a bit repetitive in meaning:

• Die sagte krummel is sag.

This shows the two adjective positions clearly:

• sagte before the noun
• sag after is

This is the normal, neutral word order for a simple main clause in Afrikaans:

Die krummel + is + sag
subject + verb + complement

For learners, this sentence is nice and basic because it follows a very familiar pattern.

Afrikaans main clauses usually keep the finite verb in the second position. In this sentence, the subject comes first, so is comes second.

A rough English-friendly guide would be KRUH-mul.

A few notes:

• The kr- at the start is pronounced clearly.
• The u sound is not exactly like English u, but KRUH-mul is a useful approximation.
• The stress is usually on the first syllable: KRUM-mel.

If you are a beginner, getting the stress right is more important than producing a perfect vowel immediately.

A rough guide is sakh, with a throaty final sound.

Important point:

• The final g in Afrikaans is usually not like the English g in go.
• It is often a guttural sound, similar to the ch in Scottish loch or German Bach.

So sag is not pronounced like English sag. That is a very common beginner mistake.

In this sentence, yes, it most naturally means physical softness: the crumb has a soft texture.

But sag can also have broader uses depending on context, such as:

• soft in texture
• gentle or mild
• not harsh

Still, with krummel, the most natural reading is physical softness.

No, in a normal present-tense sentence like this, you keep is.

So:

• Die krummel is sag. = correct
• Die krummel sag. = not correct in standard Afrikaans

English speakers usually find this easy, because English also needs the verb to be in this kind of sentence.

Normally, no. In a sentence like this, die is simply the.

If you want this or that, Afrikaans usually uses other words, such as:

• hierdie = this
• daardie = that

So:

• Die krummel is sag. = The crumb is soft.
• Hierdie krummel is sag. = This crumb is soft.
• Daardie krummel is sag. = That crumb is soft.