Ons gebruik vanjaar rugsteunkrag.

In Afrikaans, verbs usually do not change according to the subject in the present tense.

So:

• ek gebruik = I use
• jy gebruik = you use
• ons gebruik = we use
• hulle gebruik = they use

That makes Afrikaans much simpler than English here. In this sentence, gebruik is the normal present-tense form, and it stays the same with ons.

Yes, ons usually means we.

It can also mean us in other sentences, depending on its role:

• Ons gebruik rugsteunkrag. = We use backup power.
• Hy help ons. = He helps us.

So ons can be either a subject or an object, just like some English pronouns change form, except Afrikaans uses the same word for both.

Yes, it could go somewhere else.

Afrikaans main clauses normally follow a verb-second pattern. That means the finite verb usually comes early in the sentence. In:

• Ons gebruik vanjaar rugsteunkrag.

the subject ons comes first, and the verb gebruik comes second.

But you can also move vanjaar to the front for emphasis:

• Vanjaar gebruik ons rugsteunkrag.

That still means the same thing, but now vanjaar is more prominent, and the verb gebruik still stays in second position.

Vanjaar is an adverb of time. It means this year.

It tells you when the action happens. In the sentence, it modifies gebruik by saying that the use of backup power is happening this year.

A very close alternative is:

• hierdie jaar = this year

So you may see both:

• Ons gebruik vanjaar rugsteunkrag.
• Ons gebruik hierdie jaar rugsteunkrag.

Vanjaar is very common and natural.

Rugsteunkrag is a compound noun, which is very common in Afrikaans.

It is made up of:

• rugsteun = backup / support
• krag = power / electricity

Together, rugsteunkrag means backup power.

Afrikaans often writes compound nouns as one word, where English often uses two words. So even though English has backup power, Afrikaans combines it into rugsteunkrag.

This is a very normal pattern in Afrikaans.

Because rugsteunkrag is being used here as a general, uncountable idea, similar to English power or electricity.

So:

• Ons gebruik vanjaar rugsteunkrag. = We use backup power this year.

You do not need die here unless you are talking about a specific backup-power system or a specific instance already known in context.

Compare:

• Ons gebruik rugsteunkrag. = We use backup power.
• Ons gebruik die rugsteunkrag van die gebou. = We use the building’s backup power.

It can be both, depending on context.

In this sentence, gebruik is clearly a verb: use.

But Afrikaans also has gebruik as a noun, meaning use or sometimes custom / habit, depending on context.

Examples:

• Ek gebruik dit daagliks. = I use it daily. → verb
• Die gebruik van selfone is verbode. = The use of cell phones is forbidden. → noun

In Ons gebruik vanjaar rugsteunkrag, it is definitely the verb.

By itself, it most naturally suggests a general situation or repeated practice during this year, not just one single moment.

So it can imply something like:

• this year we are using backup power
• this year we rely on backup power
• this year backup power is part of what we use

Afrikaans present tense often covers meanings that English might express with either simple present or present continuous, depending on context.

So the exact nuance comes from the situation, not from a special verb form.

A rough guide is:

• Ons ≈ ons with a short o
• gebruik ≈ guh-BRAYK or khuh-BRAYK, with a guttural g
• vanjaar ≈ fun-YAHR
• rugsteunkrag ≈ rukh-STUN-khrakh, again with guttural sounds in g and krag

A few helpful points:

• Afrikaans g is usually a harsh, throat sound, not the English g in go
• j in jaar sounds like English y
• aa is usually a long vowel, like in father, but a bit tenser

You do not need perfect pronunciation at first; getting the stress and the main vowels right will already help a lot.

Yes, absolutely.

That sentence is perfectly natural and means essentially the same thing.

The difference is mainly style:

• vanjaar is compact and very common
• hierdie jaar is slightly more explicit

So both are good:

• Ons gebruik vanjaar rugsteunkrag.
• Ons gebruik hierdie jaar rugsteunkrag.

In everyday Afrikaans, vanjaar is often the more idiomatic choice.

Because Afrikaans follows the verb-second rule in main clauses.

Only one element normally comes before the finite verb. If vanjaar is placed first, then the verb must come immediately after it:

• Vanjaar gebruik ons rugsteunkrag.

Not:

• Vanjaar ons gebruik rugsteunkrag.

This is one of the most important word-order patterns in Afrikaans, and it is very useful to get comfortable with early on.