Ons gebruik 'n klomp glip.

It uses the normal Afrikaans main-clause pattern:

Ons + gebruik + 'n klomp glip

So it is:

• subject: Ons
• verb: gebruik
• object / noun phrase: 'n klomp glip

That is very similar to basic English word order: We use ...

In Afrikaans, ons can mean both we and us. Afrikaans does not make the same subject/object distinction here that English does.

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

Examples:

• Ons werk. = We work.
• Hy sien ons. = He sees us.

Because Afrikaans verbs usually do not change form for person or number in the present tense.

So you get:

• ek gebruik
• jy gebruik
• hy gebruik
• ons gebruik
• hulle gebruik

Unlike English, there is usually no extra ending like uses versus use.

'n is the Afrikaans indefinite article, the equivalent of English a or an.

A few important points:

• It is pronounced like a very weak uh sound, not like the letter n
• It is written with an apostrophe: 'n
• It stays lowercase even at the beginning of a sentence

For example:

• 'n boek = a book
• 'n mens weet nooit = one never knows

So in this sentence, 'n introduces the noun phrase 'n klomp glip.

'n klomp literally means something like a heap / a bunch / a pile, but very often it works like a lot of or many.

So it is a quantity expression.

Examples:

• 'n klomp mense = a lot of people
• 'n klomp werk = a lot of work

It is common and fairly informal in everyday Afrikaans.

Because Afrikaans can put 'n klomp directly before a noun:

• 'n klomp mense
• 'n klomp probleme
• 'n klomp werk

So 'n klomp glip follows a normal pattern in that respect.

You often see van when the phrase is followed by a more definite group or a pronoun, for example:

• 'n klomp van hulle
• 'n klomp van die studente

So the absence of van here is not the strange part.

Yes, in this sentence glip has to be functioning like a noun, because it comes after 'n klomp as part of the object phrase.

That is exactly why this sentence may feel odd to a learner: glip is more commonly recognized as a verb meaning to slip.

So the grammar frame is understandable, but the word choice is unusual unless there is some special context where glip is being used as a noun or technical term.

Often, yes: if the following word is a normal countable noun, Afrikaans usually uses the normal plural form after 'n klomp.

For example:

• 'n klomp boeke
• 'n klomp mense
• 'n klomp foute

That is one reason 'n klomp glip sounds a bit unusual. If glip is meant as a regular countable noun, many learners would expect some clearer plural form or a different wording. If it is being treated as a mass noun or jargon term, the singular might make more sense.

So this is less about a general grammar rule being broken, and more about the phrase sounding non-standard or context-dependent.

A native speaker would probably find the structure natural, but the combination 'n klomp glip sounds unusual without context.

In other words:

• Ons gebruik ... is normal
• 'n klomp ... is normal
• glip in this slot is what makes the sentence feel odd

So if this comes from a textbook, exercise, or machine-generated example, it may be grammatically shaped like Afrikaans but not be a very idiomatic everyday sentence unless there is a specific specialized meaning intended.

Afrikaans normally uses the double-negative pattern with nie ... nie.

So the negative version would be:

Ons gebruik nie 'n klomp glip nie.

Pattern:

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

That is a very common Afrikaans sentence pattern to get used to.