Ons het mos die afskrif.

Mos is a very common Afrikaans particle with no neat one-word English equivalent. It adds a sense like:

• you know
• after all
• as you know
• obviously / remember

In Ons het mos die afskrif, mos suggests that the speaker thinks this should already be clear or known to the listener.

So it is not adding new factual content as much as adding attitude or shared knowledge.

Examples of the feeling:

• We do have the copy, you know.
• But we have the copy, after all.

Yes. You can say:

Ons het die afskrif.

That is grammatically fine. Without mos, the sentence is more neutral and straightforward.

Adding mos makes it sound more like:

• a reminder
• a mild correction
• an appeal to shared knowledge

So the difference is mainly in tone, not basic meaning.

In a normal Afrikaans main clause, the conjugated verb usually comes in the second position.

Here:

• Ons = subject
• het = finite verb
• mos = particle
• die afskrif = object

So the pattern is:

Subject + finite verb + particle/adverb + object

That is why you get:

Ons het mos die afskrif.

This is very normal Afrikaans word order.

Here het is the main verb meaning have.

It is not functioning as a perfect auxiliary in this sentence.

Compare:

• Ons het die afskrif. = We have the copy.
• Ons het die afskrif gekry. = We got / have received the copy.

In your sentence, het just means possession: have.

Die is the definite article, meaning the.

So die afskrif means the copy, referring to a specific copy that both speaker and listener can identify.

If you said:

Ons het 'n afskrif

that would mean We have a copy, which is less specific.

Because the sentence includes mos, it already sounds like the speaker assumes the listener knows which copy is meant, so die fits very naturally.

Afskrif usually means copy, especially a written copy, transcript, or duplicate of a document.

Depending on context, it could refer to:

• a copied document
• a transcript
• a written duplicate

It is built from the idea of writing something off / from another version, which helps explain why it is connected with written copying rather than, for example, a physical object in general.

In this sentence, ons means we.

Afrikaans uses ons for both:

• we
• us

So Afrikaans does not make the same form distinction English does.

Examples:

• Ons het die afskrif. = We have the copy.
• Hulle sien ons. = They see us.

You understand the role from the sentence structure.

Since mos does not translate directly, the best English version depends on tone and context. Natural possibilities include:

• We do have the copy, you know.
• But we have the copy.
• We have the copy, after all.
• We’ve got the copy, remember.

So even if you were shown one fixed meaning, it is useful to know that mos often needs a tone-based translation rather than a word-for-word one.

Mos is extremely common in everyday spoken Afrikaans and also appears in informal writing.

It is not slang, but it is usually more conversational than formal. In very formal or official writing, speakers may avoid it simply because it adds a spoken, interpersonal tone.

So:

• very common in speech
• normal in casual writing
• less common in highly formal writing

A rough English-friendly guide is:

UHF-skrif

A bit more carefully:

• af sounds like the uf in stuff, but shorter
• skrif begins with skr-, like script without the t, and the vowel is somewhat like the i in sit, though not exactly the same in all accents

Also note:

• sk is pronounced clearly
• the g sound is not present here, so afskrif is easier than some other Afrikaans words for English speakers

If you want to sound more natural, keep the word fairly crisp and stress the first syllable.