Ons argiveer die rugsteunkopie op die eksterne hardeskyf.

Yes. Ons can mean both we and us in Afrikaans.

• Ons argiveer die rugsteunkopie ... = We archive the backup copy ...
• Hulle help ons. = They help us.

Afrikaans does not distinguish between we and us the way English does. You understand the meaning from the sentence structure.

Because Afrikaans verbs usually do not change according to the subject.

So you get:

• Ek argiveer = I archive
• Jy argiveer = you archive
• Ons argiveer = we archive
• Hulle argiveer = they archive

This is much simpler than English, where only a few forms change, and much simpler than Dutch or German, where verbs change more often.

It is the present tense.

So Ons argiveer die rugsteunkopie op die eksterne hardeskyf means We archive the backup copy on/to the external hard drive in a general present-time sense.

Afrikaans often uses the present tense in places where English might also use a present continuous form:

• Ons argiveer ... can mean We archive ... or, depending on context, We are archiving ...

In Afrikaans, die is the definite article for almost everything:

• singular nouns
• plural nouns
• all genders

So both of these are correct:

• die rugsteunkopie = the backup copy
• die eksterne hardeskyf = the external hard drive

Unlike German or Dutch, Afrikaans does not have different definite articles like de/het or der/die/das.

Yes.

• die = the
• ’n = a/an

So:

• die rugsteunkopie = the backup copy
• ’n rugsteunkopie = a backup copy

A useful detail: ’n is written with an apostrophe and is not capitalized, even at the beginning of a sentence in normal spelling conventions. The next word is capitalized instead.

Because Afrikaans very often writes compound nouns as a single word, just like Dutch and German often do.

So:

• rugsteun = backup
• kopie = copy
• rugsteunkopie = backup copy

English often separates these kinds of nouns, but Afrikaans usually joins them.

For the same reason: it is a compound noun.

• harde = hard
• skyf = disk/disc
• hardeskyf = hard drive / hard disk

In Afrikaans, technical terms and everyday compounds are very commonly written as one word.

Because adjectives before nouns in Afrikaans often take an -e ending.

So:

• ’n eksterne hardeskyf = an external hard drive
• die eksterne hardeskyf = the external hard drive

This -e is very common when an adjective comes before a noun.

Compare:

• die groot hond = the big dog
• die nuwe rekenaar = the new computer
• die eksterne hardeskyf = the external hard drive

There are rules and exceptions, but for learners, the important point is that the -e form is very normal in front of nouns.

Here op means something like on or onto, depending on context.

In computer-related Afrikaans, op is very commonly used for something being stored on a device, medium, or platform:

• op die hardeskyf = on the hard drive
• op die rekenaar = on the computer
• op die bediener = on the server

So Ons argiveer die rugsteunkopie op die eksterne hardeskyf means that the backup copy is being archived on/to the external hard drive.

Mostly yes. This sentence has the basic Afrikaans main-clause pattern:

Subject + Verb + Object + Prepositional phrase

• Ons = subject
• argiveer = verb
• die rugsteunkopie = object
• op die eksterne hardeskyf = prepositional phrase

So the structure is very close to English:

We archive the backup copy on the external hard drive.

Afrikaans word order becomes more different from English in subordinate clauses and in sentences with modal verbs or perfect constructions.

Yes, Afrikaans allows some movement for emphasis, but the verb normally stays in the second position in a main clause.

For example:

• Ons argiveer die rugsteunkopie op die eksterne hardeskyf.
• Op die eksterne hardeskyf argiveer ons die rugsteunkopie.

The second version puts more emphasis on where the archiving happens. This verb-second pattern is an important feature of Afrikaans main clauses.

A very common past construction in Afrikaans uses het + ge-.

So:

• Ons het die rugsteunkopie op die eksterne hardeskyf geargiveer.
• We archived the backup copy on the external hard drive.

Here:

• het = auxiliary verb
• geargiveer = past participle

This is one of the most common ways to talk about completed past actions in Afrikaans.

Afrikaans normally uses double negation.

So the negative version is:

• Ons argiveer nie die rugsteunkopie op die eksterne hardeskyf nie.

This literally looks like We archive not the backup copy on the external hard drive not, but in natural Afrikaans that is the normal pattern.

The basic idea is:

• first nie goes after the verb or later in the clause
• second nie usually comes at the end of the clause

Not necessarily. Afrikaans technical language can vary, and some speakers may also use forms based on English, especially in IT contexts. But rugsteunkopie is a good, clear Afrikaans form:

• rugsteun = backup
• kopie = copy

So it is a transparent and useful word for learners.

It is a normal Afrikaans verb, although it is related to the same international root as English archive. Afrikaans has many words of this type, especially in formal, academic, and technical language.

You may also see related forms like:

• argief = archive
• argivering = archiving

So argiveer is a perfectly normal verb to learn and use.

Because die rugsteunkopie comes directly after the verb and functions as the direct object.

So in:

• Ons argiveer die rugsteunkopie op die eksterne hardeskyf

the thing being archived is die rugsteunkopie.

The phrase op die eksterne hardeskyf only tells you the location or destination of that action. It does not act as the object.

A good way is this:

• Ons = we
• argiveer = archive
• die rugsteunkopie = the backup copy
• op die eksterne hardeskyf = on/to the external hard drive

So you can think of it as:

We + archive + the backup copy + on/to the external hard drive

That makes it easier to see both the grammar and the vocabulary at the same time.