Ons sou die tafeldoek koop as dit handgemaak was.

Sou is the conditional form of sal and usually corresponds to English would.

• sal = will
• sou = would

So:

• Ons sal die tafeldoek koop = We will buy the tablecloth.
• Ons sou die tafeldoek koop = We would buy the tablecloth.

In this sentence, the speaker is talking about a hypothetical situation, not a real future plan, so sou is the correct choice.

Because sou is a modal verb, and in Afrikaans modal verbs usually send the main verb to the end of the clause in its infinitive form.

So the structure is:

• Ons = subject
• sou = finite modal verb
• die tafeldoek = object
• koop = main verb at the end

This is very common in Afrikaans:

• Ek kan Afrikaans praat = I can speak Afrikaans.
• Hulle wil huis toe gaan = They want to go home.
• Ons sou die tafeldoek koop = We would buy the tablecloth.

After as in a subordinate clause, Afrikaans normally sends the finite verb to the end.

So:

• as dit handgemaak was

has the order:

• as = if
• dit = it
• handgemaak = handmade
• was = were/was

This verb-final pattern is typical of Afrikaans subordinate clauses:

• omdat hy moeg is = because he is tired
• as sy kom = if she comes
• as dit handgemaak was = if it were handmade

Afrikaans does not distinguish was and were the way English does. The same form, was, is used for all persons in the past and also in many hypothetical clauses.

So English says:

• if it was handmade
• if it were handmade

But Afrikaans simply uses:

• as dit handgemaak was

In other words, Afrikaans does not need a separate subjunctive form here.

It is normally understood as an unreal or hypothetical condition.

The combination of:

• sou in the main clause
• was in the as clause

strongly suggests a counterfactual idea: the tablecloth is not handmade, so we would buy it only under that unreal condition.

So the sentence means something like:

• We would buy the tablecloth if it were handmade.

Yes, but the meaning changes.

• Ons sou die tafeldoek koop as dit handgemaak was
  = We would buy the tablecloth if it were handmade.
  This sounds hypothetical or contrary to fact.

• Ons sal die tafeldoek koop as dit handgemaak is
  = We will buy the tablecloth if it is handmade.
  This sounds like a real condition that may still be checked.

So was fits a more remote or unreal condition, while is fits a more open, real possibility.

Dit means it and is the normal pronoun here for an inanimate singular thing such as a tablecloth.

Afrikaans does not use grammatical gender the way some other Germanic languages do. For an object like tafeldoek, dit is the natural choice.

So:

• die tafeldoek = the tablecloth
• dit = it

Because Afrikaans very often writes compounds and many participial adjectives as single words.

• hand = hand
• gemaak = made
• handgemaak = handmade

This is very normal in Afrikaans. Compare:

• tuisgemaak = homemade
• selfgemaak = self-made
• oopgemaak = opened

So handgemaak as one word is exactly what you should expect.

It is a compound noun:

• tafel = table
• doek = cloth

So tafeldoek literally means table cloth, and in English we usually write that as tablecloth.

Afrikaans uses compounds very freely, so learners will often see long words made from smaller familiar parts.

Because die is the standard definite article in Afrikaans for singular and plural nouns.

So:

• die tafeldoek = the tablecloth
• die boeke = the books

Afrikaans does not have separate forms like English the for different genders or cases. Die is used very broadly.

Yes. You can say:

• As dit handgemaak was, sou ons die tafeldoek koop.

This means the same thing.

But notice the word order in the main clause after the subordinate clause. When the sentence begins with As dit handgemaak was, the finite verb sou must come before the subject ons in the next clause:

• As dit handgemaak was, sou ons ...

This is a standard Afrikaans word-order rule: if another element comes first, the finite verb still stays in second position.

Not in normal neutral word order.

The usual order is:

• Ons sou die tafeldoek koop

because koop stays at the end of the clause after the object when used with sou.

Putting koop before die tafeldoek would sound unnatural in standard Afrikaans in this sentence.

Usually, no comma is needed in the original order:

• Ons sou die tafeldoek koop as dit handgemaak was.

That is the normal way to write it.

If the as clause comes first, a comma is commonly used:

• As dit handgemaak was, sou ons die tafeldoek koop.

So the presence of a comma depends mostly on clause order and punctuation style, not on a difference in meaning.

A useful way to see it is:

• Main clause: Ons sou die tafeldoek koop
• Subordinate condition clause: as dit handgemaak was

So the full pattern is:

subject + conditional auxiliary + object + main verb + as-clause

More abstractly:

[We would do X] if [condition]

That makes this a very useful model sentence for building other hypothetical statements in Afrikaans.