Ons gebruik die navorsing.

Ons means we in this sentence.

A useful extra point: in Afrikaans, ons can also mean us depending on where it appears in the sentence.

• Ons gebruik die navorsing. = We use the research.
• Hy help ons. = He helps us.

So ons can be either subject or object, and the sentence structure tells you which one it is.

No. In Afrikaans, verbs usually do not change form according to the subject.

So you get:

• Ek gebruik = I use
• Jy gebruik = you use
• Hy gebruik = he uses
• Ons gebruik = we use

This is simpler than English, because Afrikaans does not have a special -s form like he uses.

Die here means the.

Afrikaans uses die as the definite article for:

• singular nouns
• plural nouns
• all grammatical genders

So unlike some other languages, you do not need to learn different forms such as masculine/feminine/neuter articles.

Examples:

• die boek = the book
• die tafel = the table
• die boeke = the books

In this sentence, die navorsing means the research.

Navorsing means research.

It comes from the verb navors or navorsing doen in the general sense of investigating or carrying out research. In many contexts, navorsing works like the English uncountable noun research.

So:

• die navorsing = the research
• wetenskaplike navorsing = scientific research

It usually refers to research as an activity, field, or body of work, rather than one single experiment.

This is the normal basic word order for a simple main clause in Afrikaans:

Subject + Verb + Object

So:

• Ons = subject
• gebruik = verb
• die navorsing = object

That makes the sentence straightforward and neutral.

Afrikaans often follows verb-second rules in main clauses, but in a simple statement where the subject comes first, that naturally gives you:

Ons gebruik die navorsing.

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

So Ons gebruik die navorsing can mean:

• We use the research
• We are using the research

The exact meaning depends on context.

Afrikaans does have ways to emphasize ongoing action, but very often the simple present is enough.

You usually make a sentence negative in Afrikaans with nie ... nie.

So:

• Ons gebruik die navorsing. = We use the research.
• Ons gebruik nie die navorsing nie. = We do not use the research.

This double negative structure is a very common feature of standard Afrikaans.

In a yes/no question, Afrikaans typically puts the verb first:

• Gebruik ons die navorsing? = Do we use the research?

This is similar to English inversion, although English usually needs do.

Compare:

• Statement: Ons gebruik die navorsing.
• Question: Gebruik ons die navorsing?

A rough guide for English speakers:

• gebruik ≈ guh-BRAYK or khuh-BRAYK
• navorsing ≈ nah-FOR-sing

A few helpful notes:

• g in Afrikaans is usually a throaty sound, not the soft English g.
• ui in gebruik is a diphthong that may feel unfamiliar to English speakers.
• w in Afrikaans is usually like English v.

So gebruik may sound a bit closer to geh-BRAYK with a throaty first sound.

Yes. The structure stays the same:

Ons + verb + object

For example:

• Ons gebruik die boek. = We use the book.
• Ons gebruik die rekenaar. = We use the computer.
• Ons gebruik die inligting. = We use the information.

So once you know this pattern, you can reuse it very easily with other vocabulary.