'n Lid sekondeer die mosie, en ons stem.

Because 'n is the indefinite article a/an, and in Afrikaans it is normally written in lowercase, even at the beginning of a sentence. When a sentence starts with 'n, the next word gets the capital letter instead.

So:

• 'n Lid sekondeer die mosie. = correct
• 'N lid sekondeer die mosie. = not standard

This is a very common thing learners notice early on.

'n means a or an.

In this sentence:

• 'n Lid = a member

A few useful points:

• It is the indefinite article
• It does not change for gender or number
• It is written with an apostrophe: 'n
• It is usually unstressed in speech

So 'n Lid is just the normal way to say a member.

In normal speech, 'n is usually pronounced as a very weak uh / schwa sound, something like the unstressed sound in the first syllable of about.

So 'n Lid sounds roughly like:

• uh lit / ə lit

It is not pronounced like the English letter name en in careful everyday speech.

Yes. sekondeer is the Afrikaans verb meaning to second in the meeting/parliamentary sense, as in to formally support a motion so it can proceed.

So:

• 'n Lid sekondeer die mosie = A member seconds the motion

It is a normal verb in Afrikaans, even though its meaning may feel formal or procedural.

It is the present tense form.

Afrikaans verbs are usually much simpler than English verbs because they do not change form much for different subjects.

So:

• ek sekondeer = I second
• jy sekondeer = you second
• hy sekondeer = he seconds
• ons sekondeer = we second

Unlike English, the verb does not usually add -s for he/she/it.

die means the, so die mosie means the motion.

This suggests that the motion is a specific one already known in the context, for example in a meeting.

Compare:

• 'n mosie = a motion
• die mosie = the motion

So the sentence is talking about a particular motion that has already been introduced.

No. One useful feature of Afrikaans is that die is used very broadly.

It can mean:

• the for singular nouns
• the for plural nouns

And Afrikaans does not have grammatical gender like languages such as German or Dutch.

So in this sentence:

• die mosie = the motion

Very straightforward.

Here stem is a verb meaning vote.

So:

• ons stem = we vote

Be careful, because stem can also be a noun meaning voice.

That means the word can have different meanings depending on context:

• Ek hoor jou stem. = I hear your voice.
• Ons stem oor die mosie. = We vote on the motion.

In your sentence, it is clearly the verb.

Because stem here is a verb, not a plural noun.

• ons stem = we vote
• stemme = voices or sometimes votes as a plural noun, depending on context

So ons stem is a complete clause:

• ons = we
• stem = vote

Because en is a coordinating conjunction meaning and. After a coordinating conjunction, Afrikaans usually keeps normal main-clause word order.

So:

• ons stem = normal order
• subject ons
• verb stem

That is why you get:

• 'n Lid sekondeer die mosie, en ons stem.

If this were a different kind of conjunction, such as omdat (because), the word order would be different.

Yes. mosie is the standard word for a motion, especially in formal discussion, meetings, committees, or parliamentary procedure.

So phrases like these are natural:

• 'n mosie indien = to submit a motion
• 'n mosie sekondeer = to second a motion
• oor die mosie stem = to vote on the motion

It is a fairly formal word, but completely normal in that context.

The Afrikaans sentence is in the present tense, so the most direct reading is:

• A member seconds the motion, and we vote.

Afrikaans often uses the present tense in places where English might also choose a more context-dependent translation, but grammatically the sentence itself is present tense.

If it were past tense, Afrikaans would normally show that more clearly, for example with a perfect construction.

Yes, it sounds fairly formal because of the meeting-related vocabulary:

• lid = member
• sekondeer = second
• mosie = motion
• stem = vote

So this is the kind of sentence you might hear in:

• a committee meeting
• a council session
• a board meeting
• a parliamentary setting

It is grammatical everyday Afrikaans, but the situation it describes is formal.