Ons bly op beginnersvlak slegs indien agterwaartse passe moeilik is.

Here bly means stay or remain, and both are good translations in English depending on context.

In this sentence, Ons bly op beginnersvlak ... means:

• We stay at beginner level ...
• or We remain at beginner level ...

Afrikaans bly is very common for the idea of continuing in a state or place.

Examples:

• Ek bly by die huis. — I stay at home.
• Dit bly moeilik. — It remains difficult.

So in your sentence, bly is about continuing at the same level.

Afrikaans often uses op where English might use at.

So:

• op beginnersvlak = at beginner level

This is a normal Afrikaans preposition choice. You should not translate prepositions too literally word-for-word from English.

Compare:

• op skool — at school
• op universiteit — at university
• op beginnersvlak — at beginner level

So although op often means on, here it is the natural Afrikaans way to express at a certain level.

Afrikaans very often forms compound nouns as a single word.

So:

• beginner
  • vlak → beginnersvlak

This means beginner level.

That is very normal in Afrikaans. English often writes these as two words, but Afrikaans usually joins them.

Other examples:

• taalkursus — language course
• huiswerkboek — homework book
• beginnersklas — beginner class

So if you see a long Afrikaans word, it is often just a compound made of smaller familiar words.

Slegs means only.

In this sentence:

• Ons bly op beginnersvlak slegs indien ...
• We stay at beginner level only if ...

Its position is quite natural in formal or careful Afrikaans. It limits the condition that follows.

You may also hear net in everyday speech:

• Ons bly net op beginnersvlak as ...

But slegs is a bit more formal or written in tone than net.

Indien means if, but it is usually more formal than as.

So these are similar:

• slegs indien ... — only if ...
• net as ... — only if ... / only when ...

In everyday spoken Afrikaans, many people would more naturally say as:

• Ons bly op beginnersvlak net as agterwaartse passe moeilik is.

But indien is perfectly correct and common in writing, instructions, rules, or formal explanations.

A simple way to remember it:

• as = common everyday if
• indien = more formal if

Because indien agterwaartse passe moeilik is is a subordinate clause.

In Afrikaans, when you use conjunctions like indien, dat, omdat, and similar words, the verb often goes to the end of that clause.

So:

• indien agterwaartse passe moeilik is

The normal statement order would be:

• Agterwaartse passe is moeilik.

But after indien, it becomes:

• indien agterwaartse passe moeilik is

This is one of the most important word-order patterns in Afrikaans.

Agterwaartse means backward or backwards in an adjectival sense.

It comes from agter meaning behind / back, and it describes the noun passe.

So:

• agterwaartse passe = backward passes

Depending on the context, this could mean passes in a sport, training exercise, movement drill, or something similar.

That -e is the normal adjectival ending in many cases when an adjective comes before a noun in Afrikaans.

Here:

• agterwaartse describes passe

So you get:

• agterwaartse passe — backward passes

This is very common:

• ’n moeilike taak — a difficult task
• die groot hond — the big dog
• agterwaartse passe — backward passes

Learners should know that adjective endings in Afrikaans are simpler than in some other languages, but the -e before a noun is very common.

Passe is the plural of pas in this meaning.

So:

• ’n pas — a pass
• passe — passes

This is a regular type of plural in Afrikaans, where -e is added.

Examples:

• ’n rak → rakke
• ’n kat → katte
• ’n pas → passe

The double s helps show the correct pronunciation and spelling pattern.

Afrikaans often leaves out articles where English might also leave them out, especially in general statements.

In this sentence, the speaker is talking about:

• beginner level as a general category
• backward passes in a general sense

So no article is needed.

Compare:

• Ons bly op beginnersvlak. — We stay at beginner level.
• Agterwaartse passe is moeilik. — Backward passes are difficult.

If you wanted to make it more specific, you could add die:

• die agterwaartse passe — the backward passes

But in the original sentence, the meaning is general, so no article is necessary.

Because moeilik comes after the linking verb is.

In Afrikaans, adjectives used after verbs like is, bly, word, etc. usually do not take the -e ending.

So:

• Die passe is moeilik. — The passes are difficult.

But before a noun, you often do get the -e:

• moeilike passe — difficult passes

That is the difference:

• before the noun: often moeilike
• after is: moeilik

Yes, that is a very good way to understand it.

The sentence has:

1. a main clause

   • Ons bly op beginnersvlak
   • We stay/remain at beginner level

2. a conditional subordinate clause

   • slegs indien agterwaartse passe moeilik is
   • only if backward passes are difficult

So the overall structure is:

• Main clause + only if + subordinate clause

This is a useful pattern to remember:

• Ons gaan voort slegs indien dit nodig is.
• We continue only if it is necessary.

Once you recognize indien, it becomes easier to expect the verb at the end of that clause.