Mits ons die wisselkoers verifieer, skakel ons verblyfkoste om.

Mits means provided that, as long as, or sometimes if in a fairly formal sense.

In this sentence, it introduces a condition:

• Mits ons die wisselkoers verifieer = Provided that we verify the exchange rate

A few useful notes:

• Mits is more formal than as.
• In everyday speech, many speakers would more often use as for a simple if.
• Mits often suggests a condition that must be met.

So the tone of the sentence is a bit formal or business-like.

Because mits introduces a subordinate clause, and in Afrikaans subordinate clauses usually send the finite verb to the end.

So:

• Mits ons die wisselkoers verifieer

Breakdown:

• Mits = subordinating conjunction
• ons = subject
• die wisselkoers = object
• verifieer = verb, placed at the end

This is very normal Afrikaans word order after words like:

• dat
• omdat
• as
• terwyl
• mits

For an English speaker, this often feels unusual because English usually keeps the verb earlier in the clause.

This happens because the sentence begins with a subordinate clause.

In Afrikaans main clauses, the finite verb usually comes in the second position. The whole opening clause:

• Mits ons die wisselkoers verifieer

counts as the first element of the sentence.

That means the main clause must begin with the finite verb:

• skakel ons verblyfkoste om

So the pattern is:

1. first element = the whole mits clause
2. second position = skakel
3. then the subject = ons

This is a very important Afrikaans word-order rule.

Compare:

• Ons skakel verblyfkoste om.
• Mits ons die wisselkoers verifieer, skakel ons verblyfkoste om.

Both are correct; the second one has inversion because something else comes first.

Because skakel om is a separable verb.

The full verb is effectively:

• omskakel = to convert / switch over

But in a main clause, separable verbs split:

• Ons skakel verblyfkoste om.

Here:

• skakel is the verb part that moves into the finite-verb position
• om goes to the end of the clause

This is similar to other separable verbs in Afrikaans:

• aantrek → Ek trek my jas aan
• opstaan → Hy staan vroeg op

If the verb is in an infinitive or certain subordinate structures, it often stays together:

• om verblyfkoste om te skakel
• dat ons verblyfkoste omskakel

So skakel ... om is normal here.

Yes, but it depends on the structure.

In the sentence you were given, the main clause is:

• skakel ons verblyfkoste om

That is correct because separable verbs split in a main clause.

You would usually see omskakel as one word when:

• it appears in a subordinate clause
• it is an infinitive
• it is a participle-like form in some contexts

Examples:

• dat ons verblyfkoste omskakel
• om verblyfkoste om te skakel

So both forms belong to the same verb, but the sentence structure decides whether it is split.

Wisselkoers is a compound noun meaning exchange rate.

It is made up of:

• wissel = exchange
• koers = rate

Afrikaans often forms nouns by joining words together into one compound, where English would often use two separate words.

Other similar examples:

• treinstasie = train station
• hotelkamer = hotel room
• vliegtuigkaartjie = plane ticket

So wisselkoers is a very typical Afrikaans-style compound noun.

Because die wisselkoers refers to a specific exchange rate, while verblyfkoste is being used more generally as an unmarked noun phrase.

So:

• die wisselkoers = the exchange rate
• verblyfkoste = accommodation costs / lodging costs, in a more general sense

In Afrikaans, die is used for definite nouns, both singular and plural:

• die boek = the book
• die boeke = the books

But nouns can also appear without an article, especially when talking about things in a general, indefinite, or mass/collective way.

So this difference is not strange:

• one noun phrase is definite
• the other is more general

Verblyfkoste is a compound noun meaning accommodation costs or lodging costs.

It is built from:

• verblyf = accommodation / stay
• koste = costs

Grammatically, koste is already a plural-like noun, so the whole compound naturally refers to costs in general rather than one single cost.

That is why it may feel plural in meaning, even though Afrikaans often treats these cost-type expressions a bit more flexibly than English learners expect.

The main point is:

• verblyfkoste is a normal compound noun
• it refers to the costs connected with accommodation

It is a normal Afrikaans word, although it is clearly related to the same international root as English verify.

It is fairly formal and often used in:

• business
• administration
• finance
• technical language

In everyday speech, some speakers might choose a simpler alternative depending on context, such as:

• bevestig = confirm
• kontroleer = check

But verifieer is absolutely acceptable Afrikaans.

Sometimes yes, but the nuance changes.

• As ons die wisselkoers verifieer, skakel ons verblyfkoste om.
• Mits ons die wisselkoers verifieer, skakel ons verblyfkoste om.

The version with as is more neutral and can simply mean if. The version with mits sounds more like provided that or on condition that.

So mits is stronger and more formal. It emphasizes that verifying the exchange rate is a requirement.

Yes, it sounds fairly formal, especially because of:

• mits
• verifieer
• the financial term wisselkoers

It sounds like something you might see in:

• a business procedure
• an internal policy
• a travel or finance context
• a formal explanation

A more everyday version might use simpler wording, but the grammar of the original sentence is perfectly normal and correct.