Ons beskerm die natuur.

Yes. Ons can mean both we and us in Afrikaans.

In this sentence, ons is the subject of the verb beskerm, so it means we:

• Ons beskerm die natuur. = We protect the nature / We protect nature.

As an object, it can mean us:

• Hy help ons. = He helps us.

Afrikaans often uses the same form where English has two different forms.

No. In Afrikaans, verbs usually do not change form for different subjects in the present tense.

So you get:

• Ek beskerm = I protect
• Jy beskerm = You protect
• Hy beskerm = He protects
• Ons beskerm = We protect

Unlike English, Afrikaans does not add -s for he/she/it in the present tense.

Yes. In this sentence, die is the definite article, so it means the.

• die natuur = the nature

A useful thing for learners: Afrikaans uses die for all nouns in the singular and plural when they are definite. There is no separate word like English the for singular versus plural, and there is no gender distinction like de/het in Dutch or der/die/das in German.

Good question. Afrikaans often uses the article in places where English might not.

So while die natuur literally looks like the nature, the natural English translation is usually just nature:

• Ons beskerm die natuur. = We protect nature.

This is something you often have to learn through exposure: the article is normal in Afrikaans even when English would leave it out.

Natuur is a noun, and yes, it is clearly related to English nature.

They are cognates, so the meaning is easy to recognize. The spelling is just a little different:

• English: nature
• Afrikaans: natuur

The Afrikaans word is pronounced more like na-TYOOR than the English pronunciation of nature.

A simple learner-friendly pronunciation guide could be:

• Ons ≈ ons / awns
• beskerm ≈ buh-SKE-rm
• die ≈ dee
• natuur ≈ na-TYOOR

A few important notes:

• die in Afrikaans is pronounced dee, not like the English verb die.
• g is not in this sentence, so there is no harsh Afrikaans g sound to worry about here.
• The stress is usually strongest on skerm in beskerm and on the second syllable in natuur.

Yes, in this simple main clause the order is very similar to English:

• Ons = subject
• beskerm = verb
• die natuur = object

So it follows a basic Subject–Verb–Object pattern:

• Ons beskerm die natuur.
• We protect nature.

This makes the sentence very straightforward for English speakers.

Yes, it can, depending on context.

Afrikaans often uses the simple present where English might use either:

• We protect nature
• We are protecting nature

If you need to make the ongoing action especially clear, Afrikaans can use other constructions, but in many everyday contexts the simple form beskerm is enough.

The infinitive is beskerm.

In Afrikaans, the verb form you see in the present tense is often the same as the infinitive:

• Ons beskerm die natuur.
• om die natuur te beskerm = to protect nature

So beskerm is both the base form and the present-tense verb form here.

Yes, but the meaning would change.

• die natuur = the nature / nature
• ’n natuur = a nature

In this sentence, die is the natural choice because we are talking about nature in a general, known sense. Using ’n natuur would sound unusual here.

So:

• Ons beskerm die natuur. = natural
• Ons beskerm ’n natuur. = not natural in normal usage

Afrikaans usually uses a double negative with nie ... nie.

So:

• Ons beskerm nie die natuur nie. = We do not protect nature.

This is a very important Afrikaans pattern:

• one nie usually comes after the verb or later in the clause,
• and another nie comes at the end.

In a yes/no question, Afrikaans usually puts the verb first:

• Beskerm ons die natuur? = Do we protect nature?

That is different from the normal statement order:

• Ons beskerm die natuur.

So the main change is verb-first word order.

Yes, indirectly. The Afrikaans word skerm can relate to the idea of shielding or protecting, and beskerm means protect or shield.

So a learner may notice that beskerm has a built-in sense of covering or defending something. That can help you remember it:

• beskerm = protect, defend, shield

It is a useful vocabulary connection, even if the exact history is a little different from modern English screen.