Op Saterdag besoek ons my ouma en oupa, want hulle hou daarvan wanneer die hele gesin saam eet.

Both are possible in Afrikaans, but op Saterdag is a very common way to say on Saturday.

• op = on
• Saterdag = Saturday

So Op Saterdag is the direct equivalent of On Saturday.

In everyday Afrikaans, people may also simply say Saterdag besoek ons ..., especially in casual speech. Using op is not wrong at all; it is just a little more explicit.

This is because Afrikaans follows a verb-second pattern in main clauses.

When the sentence begins with a time expression like Op Saterdag, the finite verb usually comes next:

• Op Saterdag besoek ons ...
• literally: On Saturday visit we ...

This may feel unusual to an English speaker, but it is normal in Afrikaans.

Compare:

• Ons besoek my ouma en oupa. = We visit my grandmother and grandfather.
• Op Saterdag besoek ons my ouma en oupa. = On Saturday we visit my grandmother and grandfather.

So when another element comes first, the verb moves into second position.

Afrikaans often uses one possessive word for both nouns when the same possessor applies to both.

So:

• my ouma en oupa = my grandmother and grandfather

This is very natural. You could say my ouma en my oupa, but it sounds more repetitive and is usually unnecessary unless you want special emphasis.

The same idea works in English too:

• my mom and dad
• rather than my mom and my dad

Ouma and oupa are the normal everyday words for grandmother and grandfather.

• ouma = grandma / grandmother
• oupa = grandpa / grandfather

Grootmoeder and grootvader exist, but they are much more formal and less common in ordinary conversation.

So in a family sentence like this, ouma and oupa are exactly what you would expect.

In Afrikaans, a comma is normally used before conjunctions like want when they introduce a new clause.

Here:

• Op Saterdag besoek ons my ouma en oupa,
• want hulle hou daarvan wanneer die hele gesin saam eet.

want means because/for, and it introduces the reason. The comma helps separate the two clauses.

This is more consistent in Afrikaans writing than in English, where comma usage can be a bit looser.

Here want means because.

So:

• ..., want hulle hou daarvan ...
• = ..., because they like it ...

Do not confuse this with the English word want. Afrikaans want does not mean to desire here.

If you want to say want in the English sense, Afrikaans usually uses wil:

• Ek wil eet. = I want to eat.

Hou van is a very common Afrikaans expression meaning to like or to be fond of.

• Ek hou van koffie. = I like coffee.

But when what is liked is not a simple noun, Afrikaans often uses daarvan:

• hulle hou daarvan wanneer ...
• literally: they like of-it when ...
• natural English: they like it when ...

So daarvan refers forward to the idea expressed in the clause wanneer die hele gesin saam eet.

This is a structure English speakers often need to get used to:

• hou van + noun
• hou daarvan + clause/idea

That sounds less natural. The usual Afrikaans structure is:

• hou daarvan wanneer ...

because the thing being liked is an entire situation or event, not just a noun.

So the sentence correctly uses:

• hulle hou daarvan wanneer die hele gesin saam eet
• = they like it when the whole family eats together

For learners, it is safest to remember:

• hou van
  • noun
• hou daarvan
  • clause

Wanneer means when.

So:

• wanneer die hele gesin saam eet
• = when the whole family eats together

In many everyday contexts, Afrikaans speakers also use as where English would use when:

• hulle hou daarvan as die hele gesin saam eet

That version is also very common and natural in speech.

A simple guideline:

• wanneer can sound a bit more explicit or formal
• as is often very common in everyday Afrikaans

Both can work, depending on context.

In Afrikaans, hele usually comes after the article:

• die hele gesin = the whole family

So the normal order is:

• die hele dag = the whole day
• die hele week = the whole week
• die hele gesin = the whole family

English speakers sometimes try to place hele differently, but die hele ... is the standard pattern.

Afrikaans often uses the simple present where English might use either the simple present or present continuous.

So:

• die hele gesin eet saam
• can mean the whole family eats together or the whole family is eating together, depending on context

In this sentence, the general meaning is habitual or typical:

• they like it when the whole family eats together

Afrikaans does have ways to express ongoing action, but very often the ordinary present tense is enough.

Saam means together.

So:

• saam eet = eat together

It is a very common word in Afrikaans:

• Ons gaan saam. = We are going together.
• Hulle werk saam. = They work together.

In your sentence, saam shows that the whole family is sharing the meal together, not eating separately.

Because after a subordinating conjunction like wanneer, Afrikaans normally sends the verb to the end of the clause.

Compare:

Main clause:

• Die hele gesin eet saam.

Subordinate clause:

• wanneer die hele gesin saam eet

This is an important Afrikaans word-order rule. Other subordinating words often do the same thing, for example:

• omdat = because
• dat = that
• terwyl = while
• as = if/when

So the final eet is completely normal here.

Yes. Besoek can be:

• a verb: to visit
• a noun: a visit

In this sentence it is a verb:

• Op Saterdag besoek ons my ouma en oupa.

As a noun:

• Die besoek was lekker. = The visit was nice.

Afrikaans often allows the same form to function as both noun and verb, depending on the sentence.

The original sentence is already natural, but in casual speech you might also hear something like:

• Op Saterdag gaan kuier ons by my ouma en oupa, want hulle hou daarvan as die hele gesin saam eet.

Differences:

• gaan kuier by = go visit / go spend time with
• as instead of wanneer = a bit more conversational

But your original sentence is perfectly good Afrikaans and very clear.