Ons gebruik die dagtoelae mits die bestuurder dit toelaat.

Here, ons means we because it is the subject of the verb gebruik.

Yes, ons can also mean us in other sentences. Afrikaans uses the same form for both we and us, so the sentence structure tells you which meaning is intended.

• Ons gebruik die dagtoelae = We use the daily allowance
• Hulle help ons = They help us

In Afrikaans, most verbs do not change form according to the subject in the present tense.

So you get:

• ek gebruik
• jy gebruik
• hy gebruik
• ons gebruik
• hulle gebruik

This is much simpler than English, where you have I use but he uses.

Afrikaans, like Dutch and German, very often writes compound nouns as one word.

So dagtoelae is a compound:

• dag = day
• toelae = allowance

Together, dagtoelae means a daily allowance or per diem.

This is very normal in Afrikaans. English often writes these as two words, but Afrikaans usually joins them.

Die is the definite article, meaning the.

Afrikaans uses die for:

• singular nouns
• plural nouns

So unlike some other languages, you do not need different forms for masculine, feminine, neuter, or plural.

In this sentence:

• die dagtoelae = the daily allowance
• die bestuurder = the driver

Not always. Bestuurder can mean driver, but in some contexts it can also mean manager or administrator.

The basic idea is someone who controls or runs something:

• a vehicle → driver
• a business or department → manager

So the exact meaning depends on context. In this sentence, it is understood as driver.

Mits means provided that, on condition that, or as long as.

It introduces a condition that must be met.

So in this sentence, the idea is: we use the daily allowance only if the driver allows it.

Mits often sounds a bit more formal or precise than everyday if.

This is because mits introduces a subordinate clause, and in Afrikaans subordinate clauses usually send the verb to the end.

The verb involved is toelaat, which corresponds to allow.

In a main clause, you would normally get:

• Die bestuurder laat dit toe = The driver allows it

But after a subordinating word like mits, the verb moves to the end and appears as:

• ... mits die bestuurder dit toelaat

So both patterns are correct, but they belong to different sentence structures.

Dit means it, but here it refers to the idea already mentioned earlier in the sentence.

In context, dit means something like:

• the use of the daily allowance
• that arrangement
• that action

So die bestuurder dit toelaat means the driver allows it / allows that.

Afrikaans often uses dit this way to refer back to a whole idea, not just a single concrete object.

Sometimes yes, but the meaning is slightly different.

• mits = provided that / on condition that
• as = if

So mits sounds more specific and conditional. It suggests a requirement must be met.

Compare:

• Ons gebruik die dagtoelae mits die bestuurder dit toelaat.
  = We use the daily allowance provided that the driver allows it.

• Ons gebruik die dagtoelae as die bestuurder dit toelaat.
  = We use the daily allowance if the driver allows it.

Both can work, but mits is the stronger and more exact word for a condition.