Ons het meer ruimte nodig.

In Afrikaans, need is often expressed with the pattern iets nodig hê, literally to have something necessary/needed.

So:

• Ons het ... nodig = We need ...
• literally: We have ... needed

This is a very common Afrikaans structure.

Examples:

• Ek het hulp nodig. = I need help.
• Sy het water nodig. = She needs water.
• Ons het meer ruimte nodig. = We need more space.

So het is not translating English have directly here in the usual possession sense; it is part of the Afrikaans way of saying need.

With the expression nodig hê, the word nodig usually comes after the thing that is needed.

So the pattern is:

• subject + hê/het + thing needed + nodig

In your sentence:

• Ons = subject
• het = have
• meer ruimte = the thing needed
• nodig = needed / necessary

That gives:

• Ons het meer ruimte nodig.

This word order is very normal in Afrikaans.

No. Nodig is not the main verb here.

The finite verb is het (from hê).
Nodig is more like necessary / needed and works as part of the expression nodig hê.

So in:

• Ons het meer ruimte nodig

the real verb is het, while nodig completes the meaning.

Ruimte usually means space, room, or area, depending on context.

In this sentence, meer ruimte most naturally means:

• more space
• more room

So it could refer to:

• physical space in a house or office
• extra room in a car
• figurative space, depending on context

English room and space can both fit, but space is often the safest general translation.

Because ruimte is being used in a general, uncountable sense here.

Compare English:

• We need more space
  not usually We need more a space

Afrikaans works similarly:

• meer ruimte = more space

If you were talking about a specific countable item, the structure could be different. But here ruimte is a general mass noun, so no article is needed.

Yes. Ons can mean both we and us, depending on its role in the sentence.

Here it is the subject, so it means we:

• Ons het meer ruimte nodig. = We need more space.

Examples:

• Ons werk vandag. = We are working today.
• Hulle sien ons. = They see us.

So the meaning depends on sentence function, not on a different form.

Yes, you can.

• Ons benodig meer ruimte. = We need more space.

But there is a difference in style:

• Ons het meer ruimte nodig. is very common and natural in everyday Afrikaans.
• Ons benodig meer ruimte. is correct, but can sound a bit more formal, official, or written.

In normal conversation, many speakers would prefer het ... nodig.

In this specific form, het can already be present tense because it comes from hê:

• Ons het meer ruimte nodig. = We need more space.

If you want a clear past meaning, Afrikaans often uses context or a different phrasing, for example:

• Ons het meer ruimte nodig gehad. = We needed more space.

Here:

• gehad is the past participle of hê

So:

• het nodig = need
• het nodig gehad = needed

Afrikaans is a verb-second language in main clauses. That means the finite verb usually comes in the second position.

Basic sentence:

• Ons het meer ruimte nodig.

If you move something else to the front, het still stays second:

• Vandag het ons meer ruimte nodig. = Today we need more space.
• By die kantoor het ons meer ruimte nodig. = At the office we need more space.

So if an adverb or phrase comes first, the subject usually moves after the verb.

Meer means more.

In this sentence, it modifies ruimte:

• meer ruimte = more space

It works much like English more before a noun.

Examples:

• meer tyd = more time
• meer geld = more money
• meer water = more water

So meer ruimte is a very straightforward phrase.

A rough guide for an English speaker is:

• Ons ≈ ons / ohns
• het ≈ het with a short e
• meer ≈ meer / mere
• ruimte ≈ something like ROYM-tuh
• nodig ≈ NOH-dukh or NOH-dikh, depending on accent

A very rough full approximation:

• Ohns het meer ROYM-tuh NOH-dukh

A few notes:

• ui in ruimte is a distinct Afrikaans vowel sound that English does not have exactly.
• The g in nodig is not an English g sound; it is usually a throaty sound.

So the rough English-style pronunciation helps at first, but listening to native audio is important for accuracy.