Ons ruil nie die verslete kledingstuk uit nie.

Afrikaans normally uses double negation in standard written language.

So:

• Ons ruil die verslete kledingstuk uit. = affirmative
• Ons ruil nie die verslete kledingstuk uit nie. = negative

A simple way to think about it is:

• the first nie introduces the negation
• the second nie closes it off near the end of the clause

This is one of the most noticeable differences from English, which usually only uses one not.

In a normal main clause, the first nie usually comes after the finite verb.

Here the finite verb is ruil, so you get:

• Ons ruil nie ... nie.

That placement is very typical in Afrikaans. The rest of the clause then follows, and the second nie appears at the end.

Because ruil ... uit is a separable verb.

In other words, the verb idea belongs together, but in a main clause the pieces split:

• ruil goes to the normal verb position
• uit moves toward the end of the clause

So in this sentence:

• Ons ruil nie die verslete kledingstuk uit nie.

You can think of it as the verb uitruil being split apart in a main statement.

Yes, often there is a nuance.

• ruil by itself can mean exchange or swap
• ruil ... uit often suggests exchange out, swap out, or replace by exchanging

In real usage, ruil uit can sound more like changing one item for another, while vervang is often the more straightforward word for replace.

So a learner may notice that this sentence feels a bit more specific than a plain ruil sentence.

Verslete means something like worn out, threadbare, or badly worn from use.

It is commonly used for clothes, shoes, furniture, and other things that have been used so much that they are no longer in good condition.

In this sentence it describes kledingstuk, so it tells you what kind of garment is being talked about: a worn-out one.

Because it is being used as an adjective directly in front of the noun:

• die verslete kledingstuk

That is the normal place for an adjective in Afrikaans, just as in English:

• the worn-out garment

So the structure is:

• die = the
• verslete = worn-out
• kledingstuk = garment / article of clothing

Kledingstuk is a singular noun meaning garment or article of clothing.

It is a compound word:

• kleding = clothing
• stuk = piece/item

So literally it is something like a piece of clothing.

This is a fairly precise word. In everyday speech, people often use klere for clothes, but kledingstuk is useful when you want to refer to one specific item.

Die is the Afrikaans definite article, meaning the.

So die verslete kledingstuk means a specific worn-out garment, not just any garment.

A useful thing to remember is that die is used for both singular and plural nouns:

• die boek = the book
• die boeke = the books

No. Ons can mean different things depending on how it is used.

It can function as:

• we
• us
• our

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

• Ons ruil nie ... nie. = We do not exchange ...

So the meaning here is clear from its position at the start of the sentence.

Not with exactly the same meaning.

• kledingstuk = one specific garment / one item of clothing
• klere = clothes in general

So if you changed the noun to klere, the sentence would refer to clothes more broadly, not one particular item.

That means kledingstuk is the better choice when the sentence is about a single worn-out item.

You simply remove the double negation:

• Ons ruil die verslete kledingstuk uit.

That is the affirmative version.

So comparing the two is a good way to see how the negation works:

• Ons ruil die verslete kledingstuk uit.
• Ons ruil nie die verslete kledingstuk uit nie.

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

• Ruil ons nie die verslete kledingstuk uit nie?

You still keep the double negation if the question is negative.

So the main change is word order:

• statement: Ons ruil nie ... uit nie.
• question: Ruil ons nie ... uit nie?