Ons stuur die vergoedingsaansoek vandag.

In Afrikaans, verbs usually do not conjugate for person in the present tense the way English verbs do.

So you get:

• ek stuur
• jy stuur
• ons stuur
• hulle stuur

The verb stays stuur in all of these. That is why Ons stuur ... is completely normal.

Die is the definite article, so it means the.

A very useful thing for English speakers is that Afrikaans does not change the article for gender. So the same die is used regardless of whether the noun is masculine, feminine, or neuter.

It is also used with plural nouns, so die can mean:

• the (singular)
• the (plural)

You do not need to learn different forms like in some other languages.

Afrikaans, like Dutch and German, very often writes compound nouns as one word.

So vergoedingsaansoek is a compound made from:

• vergoeding = compensation / reimbursement
• aansoek = application / request / claim

Instead of writing them separately, Afrikaans combines them into one noun.

This is extremely common, so learners should get used to long words that are really just smaller words joined together.

That -s- is a linking sound/letter that often appears in Afrikaans compounds.

So the word is built like this:

• vergoeding
• linking -s-
• aansoek

This linking -s- does not always have a direct meaning of its own. It mainly helps form the compound in the usual Afrikaans way.

Unfortunately, the use of linking letters is not always fully predictable, so it is often best to learn the full compound as a vocabulary item.

Afrikaans often places time words like vandag naturally toward the end of the clause:

• Ons stuur die vergoedingsaansoek vandag.

That said, vandag can also come first for emphasis:

• Vandag stuur ons die vergoedingsaansoek.

Notice what happens then: the verb stuur must come into the second position. This is a very important Afrikaans word-order rule.

So both are possible, but they are arranged differently:

• Ons stuur ... vandag.
• Vandag stuur ons ...

It can mean either one, depending on context.

Afrikaans often uses the simple present tense where English might use either:

• we send
• we are sending

So Ons stuur die vergoedingsaansoek vandag could mean:

• a planned action for today
• something happening today
• a simple present statement about what we do today

If you want to stress the ongoing action, Afrikaans can use a more explicit form such as ons is besig om ... te stuur, but in everyday language the simple present is often enough.

Because stuur here is a finite verb, not an infinitive.

In English, you might think of to send, but Afrikaans only uses something like to when the verb is in the infinitive, for example:

• om te stuur = to send

In your sentence, the verb is the main action of the clause:

• Ons stuur ...

So no om te is needed.

Die means the, while 'n means a/an.

So the choice depends on whether you are talking about:

• a specific, known application → die vergoedingsaansoek
• any one application, or one not yet identified → 'n vergoedingsaansoek

Your sentence uses die, which suggests that the application is a specific one already known to the speaker and listener.

A few pronunciation points that English speakers often notice:

• stuur has a long vowel, roughly like stewr/stur but not exactly like English.
• The r in Afrikaans is usually trilled or tapped more clearly than in most English accents.
• The g in vergoeding is the well-known Afrikaans/Dutch g sound, a throaty sound that English does not really have.
• In a long compound like vergoedingsaansoek, native speakers still pronounce it as one word, but you can mentally hear the parts:
  • vergoeding
  • aansoek

If you are learning pronunciation, it often helps to say the compound slowly in chunks first, then speed it up.

Yes:

• Vandag stuur ons die vergoedingsaansoek.

This version is perfectly correct and puts more focus on today.

The important grammar point is that Afrikaans main clauses normally keep the verb in second position. So when vandag moves to the front, stuur comes immediately after it, and ons moves after the verb.

That is why you get:

• Ons stuur die vergoedingsaansoek vandag.
• Vandag stuur ons die vergoedingsaansoek.

Both are correct; the difference is mainly emphasis.