Ons was die stoompyp en die stoomspuitstuk.

Here ons means we, because it is the subject of the sentence.

A useful thing to know is that Afrikaans ons can also mean:

• us as an object
• our before a noun

So the form stays the same, and the sentence structure tells you what it means.

Examples:

• Ons kom. = we are coming
• Hy sien ons. = he sees us
• Ons huis = our house

In your sentence, it is clearly the subject, so it means we.

By itself, was can be ambiguous in Afrikaans.

It can be:

• the past form of wees = to be
• the present form of was = to wash

So Ons was ... could mean either:

• We were ...
• We wash ...

Normally, context or the given translation tells you which one is meant.

A very useful contrast:

• Ons was ... = we were ... / we wash ...
• Ons het ... gewas. = we washed ...

So if the intended meaning is past washed, Afrikaans usually uses het + gewas, not plain was.

No. Afrikaans verbs usually do not change form for different persons the way English verbs do.

So Afrikaans does not make the English-style distinction:

• I was
• you were
• we were

Instead, Afrikaans simply uses was for all of them:

• Ek was
• Jy was
• Ons was
• Hulle was

This is one of the nice simplifications in Afrikaans grammar.

Because there are two separate definite nouns:

• die stoompyp
• die stoomspuitstuk

Repeating die before each noun is normal and clear in Afrikaans when you mean the X and the Y.

English can also do this:

• the steam pipe and the steam nozzle

Afrikaans often repeats the article in this kind of structure, especially when the nouns are clearly separate items.

No. Die is the standard definite article for nouns in Afrikaans, regardless of gender.

That means Afrikaans does not work like German, where articles change depending on masculine, feminine, neuter, and case.

So you can use die with:

• singular nouns
• plural nouns
• nouns of any gender category

Examples:

• die pyp = the pipe
• die pype = the pipes
• die stoomspuitstuk = the steam nozzle

This makes Afrikaans articles much easier than in many other European languages.

Because Afrikaans forms compound nouns very readily, and compounds are usually written as one word.

So:

• stoom + pyp becomes stoompyp
• stoom + spuitstuk becomes stoomspuitstuk

This is very common in Afrikaans, just as in Dutch and German.

A good rule is that the last part is the main noun:

• pyp is the basic noun in stoompyp
• spuitstuk is the basic noun in stoomspuitstuk

The earlier part describes what kind of thing it is.

Yes. This is a normal main-clause word order in Afrikaans:

• subject
  • finite verb
    • the rest

So:

• Ons = subject
• was = finite verb
• die stoompyp en die stoomspuitstuk = complement or object phrase, depending on which was is intended

That basic pattern is very common in simple Afrikaans statements.

You would normally say:

Ons het die stoompyp en die stoomspuitstuk gewas.

That is the usual Afrikaans past construction for most verbs:

• het
  • past participle

So:

• was as a standalone verb form can mean wash in the present
• het ... gewas is the normal way to say washed

This is why learners often pause when they see Ons was ...: without context, it can look ambiguous.

Then you would use is:

Ons is die stoompyp en die stoomspuitstuk.

So for wees = to be, the important forms here are:

• is = are / is / am
• was = was / were

Again, Afrikaans keeps things simpler than English by using fewer different verb forms.