Volg ons die ompad in die rigting van die dorp?

Because this is a yes/no question in Afrikaans. In main-clause yes/no questions, the finite verb usually comes first.

• Statement: Ons volg die ompad in die rigting van die dorp.
• Question: Volg ons die ompad in die rigting van die dorp?

This is similar to older or more formal English patterns like Are we... ?, where the verb comes before the subject.

Here ons means we.

Afrikaans uses ons for both we and us, so the role is understood from the sentence structure.

• Ons volg... = We follow...
• Volg ons... ? = Are we following... ?
• Hulle sien ons. = They see us.

So in your sentence, even though ons comes after the verb, it is still the subject.

Afrikaans die is the definite article, meaning the.

Unlike English, Afrikaans does not change the article for gender or number. So die can mean:

• the town
• the road
• the people
• and so on

In this sentence:

• die ompad = the detour
• die rigting = the direction
• die dorp = the town / village

So the repetition is completely normal.

Ompad means detour or sometimes a roundabout route.

In this sentence, die ompad volg means to follow the detour or to take the detour route.

A useful breakdown is:

• om = around
• pad = road / path

So the word has the idea of a road that goes around.

In die rigting van means in the direction of.

It is best learned as a phrase:

• in = in
• die rigting = the direction
• van = of

So:

• in die rigting van die dorp = in the direction of the town

English often prefers towards the town, but Afrikaans commonly uses this fuller phrase too.

Because the noun rigting normally goes with van in this expression:

• in die rigting van die dorp = in the direction of the town

If you say the movement more directly, then na is often used:

• Ons ry na die dorp. = We are driving to the town.

So:

• in die rigting van... = a phrase meaning towards / in the direction of...
• na... = more directly to...

Both can point toward a destination, but they are built differently.

It can mean town, small town, or sometimes village, depending on context.

So die dorp is a flexible word. In many cases, translating it as town is safest, but in some contexts village may sound more natural.

Yes. Volg is present tense here.

Afrikaans verbs do not change much according to the subject, so the same form is used with different persons:

• Ek volg
• Ons volg
• Hulle volg

In context, the English translation could be:

• Do we follow the detour in the direction of the town?
• or Are we following the detour toward the town?

Both can work depending on the situation.

No, not in a standard main clause.

For a normal statement, the subject usually comes first:

• Ons volg die ompad in die rigting van die dorp.

For the yes/no question, the verb comes first:

• Volg ons die ompad in die rigting van die dorp?

So the word order helps tell you whether it is a statement or a question.

Yes. A very literal translation would sound a bit stiff:

• Follow we the detour in the direction of the town?

Natural English would usually be:

• Are we following the detour toward the town?
• Do we follow the detour toward the town?

So even if the Afrikaans structure is clear, the best English translation may need more natural wording rather than a word-for-word match.

It would be:

• Ons volg die ompad in die rigting van die dorp.

That means:

• We are following the detour in the direction of the town.
• or We follow the detour toward the town.

This is a useful comparison because it shows the main difference between statement and question word order in Afrikaans.

Yes, it could be shorter if the direction is already clear.

For example:

• Volg ons die ompad? = Are we following the detour?

The longer phrase adds extra information about which way the detour goes. So it is not required for grammar, but it is important for meaning if the destination matters.