Ons bespreek teologie.

Ons means we.

In Afrikaans, ons can also mean us, depending on the sentence:

• Ons bespreek teologie. = We discuss theology.
• Hy sien ons. = He sees us.

So the exact meaning depends on its role in the sentence.

Bespreek means discuss in this sentence.

Yes, it is related to similar words in other Germanic languages:

• Dutch: bespreken
• German: besprechen

In Afrikaans, bespreek can also have other related meanings in some contexts, such as arrange, book, or reserve, but here it clearly means discuss.

Afrikaans does not need an extra helping verb here.

English often uses do in the present tense:

• We discuss theology.
• Do we discuss theology?

Afrikaans simply uses the main verb:

• Ons bespreek teologie.

There is no equivalent of English do in ordinary present-tense statements like this.

Also, English uses are only with certain structures, such as we are discussing. This Afrikaans sentence is not using that structure; it is just a simple present statement.

It is the present tense.

So Ons bespreek teologie means:

• We discuss theology
• We are discussing theology in some contexts

Afrikaans often uses the simple present where English might use either discuss or are discussing. The exact meaning depends on context.

Afrikaans verbs are much simpler than English verbs in the present tense. They generally do not change according to the subject.

Compare:

• Ek bespreek = I discuss
• Jy bespreek = you discuss
• Ons bespreek = we discuss
• Hulle bespreek = they discuss

So unlike English, where you get I discuss but he discusses, Afrikaans usually keeps the verb the same.

This is the normal word order for a basic main clause in Afrikaans:

subject + verb + object

So:

• Ons = subject
• bespreek = verb
• teologie = object

That makes it very similar to English:

• We discuss theology

Afrikaans word order becomes more different from English in some other sentence types, especially subordinate clauses, but this sentence is straightforward.

Because teologie is being used as an uncountable or general subject area, just like in English.

Compare:

• Ons bespreek teologie. = We discuss theology.
• Sy studeer geskiedenis. = She studies history.

You usually do not need an article before names of fields of study or abstract subjects used in a general sense.

If you wanted to refer to a specific theology, the sentence would be different, but in this simple sentence the bare noun is natural.

Yes. Teologie is a noun meaning theology.

It is a good example of how many academic or international words in Afrikaans look similar to English, though often with slightly different spelling:

• English theology
• Afrikaans teologie

A learner can often recognize words like this, but should still check pronunciation and usage.

A rough English-friendly guide is:

ons buh-SPRAYK tee-oh-loh-GHEE

A few notes:

• ons sounds roughly like ons in honest without the h sound at the start, though not exactly
• bespreek has stress on the second part: -spreek
• teologie has several syllables: te-o-lo-gie

Pronunciation varies somewhat by accent, but this rough guide is enough to get started.

Yes, very often it could.

Afrikaans commonly uses the simple present for things that English may express either as:

• We discuss theology
• We are discussing theology

Context tells you which is meant.

For example:

• In a general statement: Ons bespreek teologie elke week. = We discuss theology every week.
• In a current situation: Stil asseblief, ons bespreek teologie. = Quiet please, we are discussing theology.

In Afrikaans yes/no questions, the verb usually comes first:

• Bespreek ons teologie? = Do we discuss theology? / Are we discussing theology?

So the statement:

• Ons bespreek teologie.

becomes:

• Bespreek ons teologie?

This verb-first pattern is very common in Afrikaans questions.