Ons haal die kinders by die skool.

Yes. In this sentence, haal means fetch, go and get, or pick up.

Afrikaans often uses haal where English uses pick up, especially when you go somewhere to collect a person. So Ons haal die kinders by die skool is a natural way to say We pick up the children at/from the school.

Afrikaans does not always need a separate word matching English up.

That is a very common question.

By usually means by, at, or with. But with haal, it often introduces the place where someone is being collected.

So:

• by die skool = at the school literally
• but in natural English, the whole phrase may be translated as from the school if that sounds more idiomatic

The important idea is: the school is the location where the children are being fetched.

Yes, you could.

Ophaal also means pick up or collect, and it is very common in Afrikaans:

• Ons haal die kinders by die skool op.

That version sounds a bit more explicitly like pick up/collect. The version with just haal is also correct and natural.

So both are possible, but haal already works well in this sentence.

Because die is the normal definite article in Afrikaans for both singular and plural nouns.

So:

• die kind = the child
• die kinders = the children
• die skool = the school

Unlike some other languages, Afrikaans does not have different words for the based on gender, and it does not change the for plural the way English does not either.

Yes. Afrikaans uses die for plurals too.

That means:

• die kind = the child
• die kinders = the children

So if you see die, it does not tell you by itself whether the noun is singular or plural. You have to look at the noun form instead.

Afrikaans often keeps the article where English leaves it out.

English can say:

• from school
• at school

But Afrikaans very naturally says:

• by die skool

Here die skool usually refers to the specific school involved, or simply to the school as a concrete place. So even if English might drop the, Afrikaans often keeps die.

The singular is kind, and the plural is kinders.

Afrikaans plural forms are not all made in the same way. Some nouns take -e, some take -s, and some have other patterns, including -ers.

So kind → kinders is a plural form you should learn as a vocabulary item. In that sense, it is a bit like English child → children: you simply remember the correct plural.

No. In Afrikaans, verbs usually do not change form for person.

So you get:

• Ek haal
• Jy haal
• Hy haal
• Ons haal
• Hulle haal

The verb stays haal each time. That is one reason Afrikaans verb grammar is often simpler than English verb grammar.

This is the present-tense form, but Afrikaans present tense is quite flexible.

Depending on context, Ons haal die kinders by die skool can mean:

• We pick up the children at/from the school
• We are picking up the children at/from the school
• sometimes even We will pick up the children at/from the school

Afrikaans often uses the simple present where English has several different choices. Context tells you which one is meant.

This is the normal word order for a main clause in Afrikaans.

The parts are:

• Ons = subject
• haal = verb
• die kinders = object
• by die skool = place phrase

So the basic structure is very close to English:

We + pick up + the children + at/from the school

Afrikaans main clauses usually put the finite verb in the second position, and this sentence follows that pattern.

Afrikaans normally uses double nie in negative sentences.

So this becomes:

Ons haal nie die kinders by die skool nie.

That pattern is very important in Afrikaans:

• first nie after the verb area
• second nie near the end of the clause

It is one of the most noticeable differences from English.