Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Di dekat pintu, saya mengambil keranjang belanja kecil. - Near the door, I pick up a small shopping basket.

dekat alone can function as an adjective or adverb (“close” or “near”) when describing something:
- Jalan itu dekat (“That road is near/close”).
But to say “at a point near…” you need di dekat:
- Di dekat pintu, … (“Near the door, …”).

Can Di dekat pintu come at the end of the sentence instead of at the beginning?

Yes. Indonesian word order is flexible for adverbial (location) phrases. Both are correct and mean the same:

Fronted for emphasis on location:
Di dekat pintu, saya mengambil keranjang belanja kecil.
Moved to the end to emphasize the action first:
Saya mengambil keranjang belanja kecil di dekat pintu.

Is the comma after Di dekat pintu required, or is it optional?

The comma after an introductory phrase is optional in Indonesian. Writers often add it for clarity or rhythm, but you can also write without it:

How is the verb mengambil formed from the root ambil?

Root verb: ambil (“take”).
To form an active, transitive verb, attach the me- prefix.
Because ambil begins with a vowel, the prefix surfaces as meng-:
meng- + ambil → mengambil

This meng- prefix indicates you are actively taking something; it does not mark tense.

What role does saya play here? Can it be omitted or replaced with aku?

saya is the neutral/polite first-person pronoun (“I”).
You can replace it with aku in informal speech.
Indonesian often omits subject pronouns if context is clear, though in spoken or written sentences you’ll frequently include one for clarity:
- Omitted: Di dekat pintu mengambil keranjang belanja kecil. (understandable in some contexts, but less common in everyday speech)
- With pronoun: Di dekat pintu saya mengambil… or Di dekat pintu aku mengambil…

Why are the words ordered as keranjang belanja kecil? How does Indonesian handle noun phrases and adjectives?

Indonesian uses this order:

Here:

So keranjang belanja kecil = [keranjang] + [belanja] + [kecil] → “small shopping basket.”

Why isn’t there an article like “a” or “the” before keranjang belanja kecil?

Indonesian has no articles. Nouns stand alone, and context determines definiteness or indefiniteness.

Keranjang belanja kecil can mean “a small shopping basket” or “the small shopping basket” depending on the situation; no extra word is needed.

How do you express “baskets” in plural? If I wanted to say “small shopping baskets,” what would I use?

Plurality is usually shown by context or by adding quantifiers/reduplication:

Context alone: Keranjang belanja kecil ada di sana. (could be one or many)
With numerals or quantifiers:
- Tiga keranjang belanja kecil (“three small shopping baskets”)
- Beberapa keranjang belanja kecil (“several small shopping baskets”)
Reduplication (less common for “basket”):
- Keranjang-keranjang belanja kecil (emphatic “lots of small shopping baskets”)

What does belanja add to keranjang? How is keranjang belanja different from keranjang alone?

keranjang by itself means any “basket.”
By adding the noun belanja (“shopping”) after the head noun, you create a compound noun: keranjang belanja (“shopping basket”).
It specifies the basket’s purpose; without belanja, you wouldn’t know it’s the kind used for shopping.

How do I know whether mengambil is past, present, or future? Are there tense markers in Indonesian?

Indonesian verbs don’t change form for tense. mengambil could mean “I take,” “I took,” or “I will take.” You rely on context or time adverbs: