Ons draf saam.

In this sentence, ons means we.

A useful thing to know is that ons can also mean us in other sentences, depending on its role.

• Ons draf saam. = We jog together.
• Hulle sien ons. = They see us.

So ons can work for both we and us, unlike English.

Draf usually means to jog or to trot.

In everyday speech, if you are talking about people exercising, draf is best understood as jog:

• Ek draf elke oggend. = I jog every morning.

It is not usually the basic word for run fast in general. For run, Afrikaans often uses hardloop.

So:

• draf = jog / trot
• hardloop = run

Saam means together.

It shows that the action is being done jointly:

• Ons eet saam. = We eat together.
• Hulle werk saam. = They work together.

So in Ons draf saam, saam tells you that we are jogging together.

Afrikaans often does not use a separate present-tense form of to be the way English does in sentences like We are jogging together.

Instead, Afrikaans commonly uses the main verb directly:

• Ons draf saam.

This can correspond to English We jog together or We are jogging together, depending on context.

So the absence of are is normal.

It can be understood as either, depending on context.

Ons draf saam may mean:

• We jog together (habitually / generally)
• We are jogging together (right now)

Afrikaans often uses the same basic present-tense form for both ideas. If the speaker wants to make the time clearer, they can add context words such as:

• nou = now
• elke dag = every day
• vanoggend = this morning

For example:

• Ons draf nou saam. = We are jogging together now.
• Ons draf elke Saterdag saam. = We jog together every Saturday.

This is the normal basic Afrikaans main-clause word order:

subject + verb + other information

So:

• Ons = subject
• draf = verb
• saam = adverb

That gives:

• Ons draf saam.

This is very similar to English word order in a simple statement.

Sometimes, yes, but Ons draf saam is the most natural basic version.

Afrikaans adverbs can sometimes move depending on emphasis or sentence structure, but learners should treat saam after the verb as the safest pattern in simple sentences:

• Ons draf saam.

If you make the sentence longer, placement can vary a little:

• Ons draf elke oggend saam.
• Ons draf saam in die park.

For a beginner, the easiest rule is: put saam after the verb unless you have a special reason not to.

A rough English-friendly guide is:

• ons ≈ onts or awns
• draf ≈ druhf or drahf
• saam ≈ sahm

A few notes:

• dr in draf is pronounced together, like in English drum
• aa in saam is a long vowel
• final m in saam is pronounced clearly

A rough overall pronunciation might be:

onts drahf sahm

Exact pronunciation varies by accent, but that approximation is good enough for a learner.

It stays the same.

Afrikaans verbs usually do not change form according to the subject in the present tense.

So you get:

• Ek draf = I jog
• Jy draf = you jog
• Ons draf = we jog
• Hulle draf = they jog

This is much simpler than English, where you have forms like I run but he runs.

Yes, in the right context, because draf can also mean trot.

But if the sentence is about people and exercise, the natural meaning is usually:

• We jog together

If it were about horses or a very specific style of movement, trot together could make sense.

So the exact meaning depends on context, but for everyday learner purposes, jog is the best translation here.

You would normally use the Afrikaans double negative:

• Ons draf nie saam nie. = We do not jog together.

This is a very important Afrikaans pattern:

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

So:

• Ons draf saam.
• Ons draf nie saam nie.

In a yes/no question, Afrikaans usually puts the verb first:

• Draf ons saam? = Are we jogging together? / Do we jog together?

This verb-first pattern is very common:

• Werk jy vandag? = Are you working today?
• Kom hulle saam? = Are they coming along?

So the statement:

• Ons draf saam.

becomes the question:

• Draf ons saam?

Here are a few common ones:

• Ek draf saam. = I jog along / I jog together with them.
• Ons draf nou saam. = We are jogging together now.
• Ons draf elke dag saam. = We jog together every day.
• Ons hardloop saam. = We run together.
• Ons stap saam. = We walk together.

These help you see the same structure with different subjects, time words, and verbs.