Ons verkry vuurmaakhout by die winkel.

Verkry means obtain, acquire, or get. It is correct Afrikaans, but it sounds a bit formal or written.

In everyday speech, many people would more naturally say:

Ons kry vuurmaakhout by die winkel.

If you specifically want to say buy, then koop is even more natural:

Ons koop vuurmaakhout by die winkel.

So verkry is not wrong, but it is less common in casual conversation.

Afrikaans, like Dutch and German, very often forms compound nouns by joining words together.

So:

• vuur = fire
• maak = make
• hout = wood

Together, vuurmaakhout literally means something like fire-making wood, which is understood as firewood.

This is very normal in Afrikaans. English often separates words more, but Afrikaans frequently combines them into one noun.

Usually vuurmaakhout means firewood, or wood used for making a fire. Depending on context, it can sometimes feel close to kindling, but the broad everyday meaning is usually firewood.

So if you see vuurmaakhout, think first of wood for a fire.

By die winkel means at the shop/store or from the shop/store in this kind of sentence.

With verbs like kry, koop, or verkry, by is commonly used to show the place where you get something:

• Ons koop brood by die winkel.
• Hy kry medisyne by die apteek.

If you say in die winkel, that focuses more on physical location inside the store:

• Ons is in die winkel. = We are in the store.

So in your sentence, by die winkel is about the source/place of getting the firewood, not just being inside the building.

Die is the Afrikaans definite article, meaning the.

Afrikaans uses die for:

• singular nouns
• plural nouns
• all grammatical genders

So unlike some other languages, you do not have to learn different forms for masculine, feminine, or neuter nouns.

Here, die winkel simply means the shop/store.

In a normal Afrikaans main clause, the finite verb usually comes in the second position. This is often called the V2 pattern.

So in:

Ons verkry vuurmaakhout by die winkel.

the order is:

• Ons = subject
• verkry = verb
• vuurmaakhout = object
• by die winkel = place/source phrase

If you move another element to the front, the verb still stays in second position:

By die winkel verkry ons vuurmaakhout.

That structure is very typical in Afrikaans.

No, not in the same way. Afrikaans verbs are much simpler than English verbs in the present tense.

You get:

• Ek verkry
• Jy verkry
• Ons verkry
• Hulle verkry

The verb form stays the same. Afrikaans does not add endings like English gets.

So one useful rule for learners is: present-tense verbs in Afrikaans usually do not change for person.

Because vuurmaakhout is being used as a mass noun here, similar to English firewood.

In English, you can say:

• We buy firewood.

You do not need a before firewood, because it is not being counted as one separate item.

The same idea applies in Afrikaans:

• Ons verkry vuurmaakhout by die winkel.

If you wanted to be more specific, you could add something like:

• Ons verkry die vuurmaakhout by die winkel. = We obtain the firewood at/from the store.
• Ons verkry baie vuurmaakhout by die winkel. = We obtain a lot of firewood at/from the store.

It is grammatical, but it sounds a bit formal because of verkry.

A native speaker in everyday conversation would probably be more likely to say one of these:

• Ons kry vuurmaakhout by die winkel.
• Ons koop vuurmaakhout by die winkel.

Which one is best depends on the exact meaning:

• verkry = obtain/acquire
• kry = get
• koop = buy

So your sentence is fine, but it is not the most casual way to say it.

Yes. Winkel can mean shop or store.

Which English translation sounds best depends on context and regional preference:

• British English often prefers shop
• American English often prefers store

So die winkel can be translated naturally as either the shop or the store.

In everyday Afrikaans, the past tense is usually formed with het plus the past participle.

So you would say:

Ons het vuurmaakhout by die winkel verkry.

If you use the more everyday verb kry, that becomes:

Ons het vuurmaakhout by die winkel gekry.

And if you mean bought:

Ons het vuurmaakhout by die winkel gekoop.

Notice that in the past tense, the main verb usually moves to the end of the clause.