Ons sertifiseer 'n afskrif van die registrasiesertifikaat.

'n is the Afrikaans indefinite article, equivalent to English a or an.

So:

• 'n afskrif = a copy

It is always written with a lowercase n, even at the beginning of a sentence. The apostrophe is part of the spelling.

A useful writing rule:

• At the start of a sentence, you capitalize the next word, not 'n itself.
  Example: 'n Afskrif is nodig.

In speech, 'n is usually pronounced very weakly, like a quick neutral vowel, similar to the a in about.

This is the normal Afrikaans main-clause word order:

• Subject + verb + object

So here:

• Ons = subject
• sertifiseer = verb
• 'n afskrif van die registrasiesertifikaat = object

That is very similar to English:

• We certify a copy of the registration certificate.

Afrikaans is often quite close to English in basic main-clause word order.

No. In Afrikaans, verbs usually do not change form the way they do in English.

So you get:

• Ek sertifiseer = I certify
• Jy sertifiseer = you certify
• Ons sertifiseer = we certify
• Hulle sertifiseer = they certify

This is much simpler than English, where we say I certify but he certifies.

Because sertifiseer is already the full main verb: certify.

The sentence is not saying:

• We are certifying ... specifically as a progressive form

It simply uses the present tense, which in Afrikaans often covers what English expresses as either:

• we certify
• we are certifying

Afrikaans usually does not use a separate auxiliary here.

Yes, afskrif means copy.

In formal or administrative language, afskrif is a very common word. In this sentence, it means a copy of a document.

So:

• 'n afskrif = a copy
• 'n gesertifiseerde afskrif = a certified copy

You may also hear kopie in everyday speech, but afskrif is often preferred in official or formal contexts.

van usually means of or from, depending on context.

Here it means of:

• 'n afskrif van die registrasiesertifikaat
  = a copy of the registration certificate

So the structure is:

• afskrif = copy
• van die registrasiesertifikaat = of the registration certificate

This works very much like English of the.

Afrikaans, like Dutch and German, very often forms compound nouns by writing them as one word.

So:

• registrasie = registration
• sertifikaat = certificate
• registrasiesertifikaat = registration certificate

English usually writes such combinations as separate words, but Afrikaans often joins them.

This is completely normal in Afrikaans official vocabulary.

Because die here means the.

The sentence is talking about:

• 'n afskrif = a copy
• van die registrasiesertifikaat = of the registration certificate

So the copy is indefinite, but the certificate is definite.

In other words:

• a copy of the registration certificate

That mix of indefinite + definite article is perfectly normal in both Afrikaans and English.

In this sentence, yes: Ons means we.

It is the subject of the sentence, so it refers to the people doing the certifying.

Afrikaans also uses ons in other roles, depending on context, but for a learner the main thing to remember here is:

• Ons sertifiseer ... = We certify ...

Because it is the first word of the sentence, it is capitalized. Normally it would be written ons in the middle of a sentence.

Yes, it is in the present tense.

Afrikaans simple present often covers both of these English ideas:

• We certify
• We are certifying

Context decides which one sounds best in English.

So Ons sertifiseer ... can be understood as a general statement, a formal statement, or something happening now, depending on the situation.

A common Afrikaans past-tense pattern uses het + past participle.

So you would normally say:

• Ons het 'n afskrif van die registrasiesertifikaat gesertifiseer.

That means:

• We certified a copy of the registration certificate.

Notice the pattern:

• Ons = subject
• het = auxiliary
• main information at the end: gesertifiseer

This is one of the most important tense patterns in Afrikaans.

A simple learner-friendly guide:

• Ons ≈ ons / awns
• sertifiseer ≈ ser-ti-fi-SEER
• 'n ≈ a very weak uh
• afskrif ≈ AF-skrif
• van die ≈ fun dee or van dee, depending on accent and speech speed
• registrasiesertifikaat ≈ re-khi-stra-SEE-ser-ti-fi-KAAT

A few notes:

• g in Afrikaans is often a throaty sound, but there is no g in the main tricky words here except in registrasie, depending on accent.
• The stress in sertifiseer falls near the end.
• 'n is never stressed.

If you want, a good reading rhythm for the whole sentence is:

• Ons sertifiseer 'n afskrif van die registrasiesertifikaat.

Yes, very much so.

Words like:

• sertifiseer
• afskrif
• registrasiesertifikaat

all sound administrative or legal. This is the kind of sentence you might see in:

• government offices
• banks
• licensing departments
• document services

So even though the grammar is straightforward, the vocabulary is fairly formal.