Ek sou met die verkoper oor die kandelaar onderhandel.

Sou usually means would.

So Ek sou ... onderhandel means I would negotiate ...

In Afrikaans, sou is commonly used for:

• hypothetical situations: I would
• conditional ideas: I would, if...
• sometimes a softer, less direct tone

So this sentence sounds like a hypothetical or conditional statement rather than a simple future statement.

For comparison:

• Ek sal ... onderhandel = I will negotiate ...
• Ek sou ... onderhandel = I would negotiate ...

Because sou is a modal/auxiliary verb, and the main verb goes to the end in a main clause.

So the structure is:

• Ek = subject
• sou = auxiliary/modal
• met die verkoper oor die kandelaar = other information
• onderhandel = main verb at the end

This is very normal in Afrikaans.

Compare:

• Ek onderhandel met die verkoper. = I negotiate with the seller.
• Ek sou met die verkoper onderhandel. = I would negotiate with the seller.

When a verb like sou, kan, moet, wil, etc. is present, the other verb usually moves to the end.

Because onderhandel often takes two complements:

• met iemand = with someone
• oor iets = about something

So:

• met die verkoper = with the seller
• oor die kandelaar = about the chandelier/candelabrum

Together: onderhandel met iemand oor iets = negotiate with someone about something

This is a very useful pattern to remember:

• Ek onderhandel met haar oor die prys. = I negotiate with her about the price.
• Hulle het met die maatskappy oor die kontrak onderhandel. = They negotiated with the company about the contract.

Not always. Verkoper literally means seller or salesperson/vendor, depending on context.

It can refer to:

• someone selling something in a shop
• a sales representative
• the seller in a transaction

So in this sentence, the seller is often the safest translation.

Also, verkoper is not specifically masculine in everyday grammar, even though English salesman is.

Kandelaar usually means candelabrum, candlestick, or sometimes chandelier, depending on context.

The exact English word depends on what kind of object is meant:

• a standing candle holder
• a multi-armed candle holder
• sometimes a hanging light fitting, depending on usage

If your provided meaning says chandelier, then that is the intended sense here. But it is good to know that kandelaar can have a broader range than one single English word.

Die is the definite article the.

Afrikaans uses die for:

• singular nouns: die verkoper
• plural nouns: die verkopers
• all genders

So unlike languages such as German or Dutch, Afrikaans does not change the for grammatical gender in ordinary usage.

That is why both nouns simply take die:

• die verkoper = the seller
• die kandelaar = the chandelier/candelabrum

Yes, this is a normal and natural word order.

Afrikaans is fairly flexible with adverbials and prepositional phrases, but this sentence has a very standard layout:

• subject
• auxiliary
• prepositional phrases
• main verb at the end

So: Ek sou met die verkoper oor die kandelaar onderhandel.

You could sometimes rearrange parts for emphasis, for example:

• Ek sou oor die kandelaar met die verkoper onderhandel.

But the original version sounds very natural and neutral.

Yes. Afrikaans, like English, can use would-type sentences without explicitly stating the condition.

So Ek sou met die verkoper oor die kandelaar onderhandel can stand on its own and imply something like:

• if I were in that situation
• if it were necessary
• if I wanted to buy it

The condition can be understood from context.

For example:

• Ek sou met die verkoper oor die kandelaar onderhandel, maar ek het nie genoeg geld nie. = I would negotiate with the seller about the chandelier, but I do not have enough money.

A very useful pattern to learn is:

onderhandel met iemand oor iets

This means: to negotiate with someone about something

So you can build many sentences from it:

• Ek onderhandel met die bestuurder oor my salaris.
• Sy het met die eienaar oor die huur onderhandel.
• Ons sal met hulle oor die kontrak onderhandel.

Learning the whole pattern is better than learning onderhandel by itself, because the prepositions are part of how the verb is normally used.

You would normally use a past construction such as:

Ek het met die verkoper oor die kandelaar onderhandel.

That means: I negotiated with the seller about the chandelier.

So compare:

• Ek sou ... onderhandel = I would negotiate
• Ek het ... onderhandel = I negotiated / I have negotiated

Afrikaans very often uses het + past participle form, but with many verbs like onderhandel, the verb form looks the same as the infinitive in practice.

It is pronounced roughly like ON-der-han-del, with the stress usually near the beginning.

It is not related in meaning to English underhand. Even though it may look familiar to an English speaker, onderhandel means negotiate.

It is better to learn it as one whole word with its own meaning, rather than trying to connect it to English pieces.