Ons betaal die kursusgeld by die opleidingslokaal.

Ons is the subject pronoun meaning we. In a normal Afrikaans main clause, the subject often comes first, followed by the finite verb:

Ons betaal ... = We pay ...

So the basic pattern here is:

subject + verb + object + place

Afrikaans main clauses usually follow the verb-second pattern. When the subject comes first, the verb comes right after it:

Ons betaal die kursusgeld ...

If some other element comes first, the verb still stays in second position:

By die opleidingslokaal betaal ons die kursusgeld.

That is a very important word-order rule in Afrikaans.

Afrikaans verbs usually do not change form according to the subject the way English verbs sometimes do.

Compare:

• ek betaal = I pay
• jy betaal = you pay
• hy betaal = he pays
• ons betaal = we pay

So betaal stays the same with most subjects. That is one of the simpler parts of Afrikaans grammar.

The Afrikaans present tense can cover several meanings that English often separates:

• we pay
• we are paying
• sometimes even we will pay, if the context makes that clear

So Ons betaal die kursusgeld could describe a general fact, a current action, or a planned action, depending on context.

If you want to strongly emphasize an ongoing action, Afrikaans can use a construction like:

Ons is besig om die kursusgeld te betaal
= We are busy paying the course fee

But the simple present is very common and natural.

Die is the definite article in Afrikaans, meaning the.

It is used before both nouns here:

• die kursusgeld
• die opleidingslokaal

Unlike English, and unlike languages such as German or Dutch, Afrikaans does not change the definite article for gender. It also does not have different forms like the for singular vs. plural.

So die works for:

• singular nouns
• plural nouns
• all grammatical genders

No. Standard Afrikaans does not have grammatical gender in the way many European languages do.

That means you do not have to learn separate articles like masculine, feminine, or neuter forms. You simply use die for the.

This makes sentences like this much easier to build than in some other languages.

Afrikaans very often writes compound nouns as one word.

So:

• kursus = course
• geld = money

Together:

• kursusgeld = course fee / tuition fee

This is completely normal in Afrikaans. English often writes similar ideas as two words, but Afrikaans usually combines them into a single compound noun.

For the same reason: Afrikaans likes compound nouns.

You can break it down roughly like this:

• opleiding = training
• lokaal = room / hall / venue

So opleidingslokaal means something like training room or training venue.

Again, English may write these as separate words, but Afrikaans commonly joins them into one noun.

In this sentence, by means at.

So:

by die opleidingslokaal = at the training room / at the training venue

Afrikaans by can often correspond to English:

• at
• by
• sometimes near, depending on context

Here it indicates the place where the payment happens.

A learner might wonder why it is not in. The difference is that by often focuses on being at that place/location, while in would emphasize being inside it. In many real situations, by is the more natural choice for at the venue/place.

Yes, but the verb-second rule still applies.

For example, you can move the place phrase to the front:

By die opleidingslokaal betaal ons die kursusgeld.

Notice what happened:

• By die opleidingslokaal moved to the front
• betaal stayed in second position
• ons moved after the verb

That is very typical Afrikaans word order.

Because betaal here is the main finite verb of the sentence, not an infinitive.

In Afrikaans, te is often used before an infinitive in certain constructions, for example:

Ons probeer die kursusgeld betaal.
or
Ons begin om die kursusgeld te betaal.

But in Ons betaal die kursusgeld ..., betaal is simply the main verb, so no te is needed.

It can do both jobs, depending on context.

Here, ons is a subject pronoun:

Ons betaal ... = We pay ...

But ons can also be possessive before a noun:

ons kursusgeld = our course fee

So a learner has to tell from the sentence structure whether ons means we or our. In this sentence, because it comes right before the verb betaal, it clearly means we.