Die meerderheid ondersteun die mosie.

Because die is the Afrikaans definite article, meaning the. It is used for:

• singular nouns: die mosie = the motion
• plural nouns: die mosies = the motions
• all grammatical genders, because Afrikaans does not have separate words like the for masculine, feminine, or neuter nouns

So here:

• die meerderheid = the majority
• die mosie = the motion

Yes. Meerderheid is the normal word for majority.

Examples:

• die meerderheid van die kiesers = the majority of the voters
• 'n groot meerderheid = a large majority

In your sentence, die meerderheid is the subject.

No. In Afrikaans, verbs usually do not change according to the subject in the present tense.

So you get:

• Ek ondersteun = I support
• Jy ondersteun = you support
• Hy ondersteun = he supports
• Ons ondersteun = we support
• Hulle ondersteun = they support

That is why ondersteun stays the same after die meerderheid.

Grammatically, it is usually treated as singular, because meerderheid is a singular noun meaning majority.

So:

• Die meerderheid ondersteun die mosie.

In English, the majority can sometimes feel singular or plural depending on style, but in Afrikaans the noun itself is singular. In this sentence, though, you do not see a verb change anyway, because Afrikaans present-tense verbs stay the same.

Yes, in this simple main clause it is basically the same:

• Die meerderheid = subject
• ondersteun = verb
• die mosie = object

So the pattern is:

Subject + Verb + Object

That makes this sentence very straightforward for an English speaker.

Mosie usually means motion, especially in a formal setting such as:

• a meeting
• a council
• a debate
• a parliament

So die mosie is not physical motion here. It means a formal proposal that people can discuss or vote on.

The plural is:

• mosies = motions

A simple learner-friendly guide is:

• meer sounds roughly like meer in English mere, but longer
• der is a light middle syllable
• heid sounds roughly like hate without a strong t, though the exact Afrikaans sound is a bit different

So approximately: MEER-der-hate

That said, Afrikaans pronunciation is not identical to English spelling, so this is only an approximation.

A rough English-friendly pronunciation is:

ON-der-STAYN or ON-der-STANE

The last part steun contains the Afrikaans eu sound, which does not match a normal English vowel exactly. So any English-style spelling is only approximate.

The stress is usually on the last syllable: onderSTEUN

Yes. Ondersteun is a general verb meaning support. It can be used in different contexts, such as:

• Ek ondersteun jou besluit. = I support your decision.
• Hulle ondersteun die span. = They support the team.
• Sy ondersteun haar familie finansieel. = She supports her family financially.

In your sentence, because of die mosie, it clearly means supporting a formal motion.

Because die means the, while 'n means a/an.

So:

• Die meerderheid ondersteun die mosie. = The majority support(s) the motion.
• 'n meerderheid ondersteun die mosie. = A majority support(s) the motion.

Both are possible, but they mean slightly different things. Die meerderheid points to a specific majority, while 'n meerderheid is more indefinite.

No. Afrikaans does not capitalize all nouns.

Only the first word of the sentence and proper names are capitalized here:

• Die meerderheid ondersteun die mosie.

So meerderheid and mosie stay lowercase unless they begin the sentence.

Yes. In English, both The majority support the motion and The majority supports the motion can occur, depending on dialect and style.

The Afrikaans sentence itself does not show that difference, because ondersteun stays the same. So the translation depends on the English style you want to use.

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

So the negative would be:

Die meerderheid ondersteun nie die mosie nie.

This is a very important Afrikaans pattern:

• first nie usually comes after the verb or verb phrase
• second nie comes at the end of the clause

So literally, Afrikaans often frames negation as: do not ... not
but you should think of it as one normal Afrikaans negative structure, not as bad grammar.