Ons onderhandel met die verkoper.

Yes, ons means we in this sentence.

Afrikaans ons can also mean us, depending on its role in the sentence:

• Ons onderhandel met die verkoper. = We are negotiating with the seller.
• Die verkoper help ons. = The seller helps us.

So ons can be either a subject pronoun (we) or an object pronoun (us). The position in the sentence tells you which meaning it has.

Afrikaans often does not use a separate present continuous form the way English does.

In English, you say:

• We negotiate
• We are negotiating

In Afrikaans, Ons onderhandel can cover both ideas, depending on context. Very often, the simple present is enough.

If you want to make the ongoing action extra clear, Afrikaans can use a progressive construction, for example:

• Ons is besig om te onderhandel met die verkoper. = We are busy negotiating with the seller.

But in normal everyday usage, Ons onderhandel met die verkoper is perfectly natural.

No. One of the nice things about Afrikaans is that verbs usually do not change form according to the subject in the present tense.

So you get:

• Ek onderhandel = I negotiate / am negotiating
• Jy onderhandel = you negotiate / are negotiating
• Ons onderhandel = we negotiate / are negotiating
• Hulle onderhandel = they negotiate / are negotiating

Unlike English, there is no extra -s form like he negotiates. Afrikaans keeps the verb form the same.

Yes. Met is the standard Afrikaans preposition for with.

So:

• met die verkoper = with the seller

It is used in many common situations:

• Ek praat met hom. = I am talking with him / to him.
• Sy werk met kinders. = She works with children.
• Ons gaan met die motor. = We are going by car (literally with the car in form, though translation depends on context)

In your sentence, met marks the person the negotiation is happening with.

Here, die is the definite article, meaning the.

So:

• die verkoper = the seller

A useful point for English speakers: Afrikaans uses die for singular and plural definite nouns.

• die verkoper = the seller
• die verkopers = the sellers

So unlike some languages, the article does not change for gender or case. It is very consistent.

Yes. Verkoper means seller or salesperson, and it is related to the verb verkoop, meaning to sell.

A helpful breakdown is:

• verkoop = sell
• verkoper = seller

The ending -er often makes a word for a person who does something, similar to English:

• werk = work
• werker = worker

So verkoper is literally the person who sells.

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

• Subject + verb + rest of sentence

So:

• Ons = subject
• onderhandel = verb
• met die verkoper = prepositional phrase

This is very similar to English: We negotiate with the seller.

Afrikaans word order becomes more interesting in other structures, especially when another element comes first:

• Vandag onderhandel ons met die verkoper. = Today we are negotiating with the seller.

Notice that when Vandag comes first, the verb onderhandel comes before ons. That is a very important Afrikaans pattern.

A very common way to form the past tense in Afrikaans is with het + ge- past participle.

So:

• Ons het met die verkoper onderhandel. = We negotiated with the seller.

A few things to notice:

• het is the past auxiliary
• onderhandel usually stays onderhandel in the past participle form here
• the main verb goes to the end of the clause in this tense

That final position is very important in Afrikaans past-tense sentences.

Afrikaans normally uses a double negative pattern:

• Ons onderhandel nie met die verkoper nie. = We are not negotiating with the seller.

The structure is usually:

• first nie after the verb phrase or relevant part
• second nie at the end of the clause

This is one of the most distinctive features of Afrikaans grammar, and English speakers often need practice with it.

A rough English-friendly guide is:

• onderhandel ≈ ON-duhr-hun-dul

A few pronunciation tips:

• onder- starts with a clear on sound
• the h in handel is pronounced
• the final -el is softer than in careful English pronunciation

If you say it slowly in parts, it becomes easier:

• on-der-han-del

Afrikaans pronunciation is often more phonetic than English spelling, so once you learn the sound patterns, words become easier to read aloud.

Yes, you could.

The difference is:

• Ons onderhandel met die verkoper. = We are negotiating with the seller
  This refers to a specific seller, one both speaker and listener can identify.

• Ons onderhandel met 'n verkoper. = We are negotiating with a seller
  This refers to a non-specific seller.

So the contrast is the same as English the versus a/an.

In normal modern Afrikaans, verkoper can refer to a seller in general and is often used without strongly marking gender in everyday usage.

If you want to make it specifically female, you may also encounter:

• verkoopster = saleswoman / female seller

But in many contexts, verkoper works as a general term, much like seller in English.