Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Dia memilih buku sejarah di perpustakaan. - He/She chooses a history book in the library.

In Indonesian, dia is a gender-neutral third-person pronoun. It can mean “he,” “she,” or even “it” (for animals or objects) depending on context. There’s no separate word for “he” vs. “she.”

How do we know when the action happened? Does memilih show past tense?

Indonesian verbs aren’t inflected for tense. memilih simply means “choose/chooses/choosing/chose” depending on context. To specify time, you add time words like sudah (already; past) or sedang (currently; present progressive).
Example:
• Dia sudah memilih buku sejarah… (“He/she has chosen a history book…”)
• Dia sedang memilih buku sejarah… (“He/she is choosing a history book…”)

Why isn’t there an article like “a” or “the” before buku sejarah?

Indonesian doesn’t use articles. A bare noun like buku sejarah can be indefinite (“a history book”), definite (“the history book”), or general (“history books”) depending on context. If you need to be specific, you can add itu (“that”) or ini (“this”): buku sejarah itu = “that history book.”

Why is the modifier sejarah placed after buku, instead of sejarah buku?

In Indonesian noun phrases, the head noun comes first and modifiers follow. So buku (book) is the head, and sejarah (history) tells you what kind of book it is.
Structure: [Head noun] + [Modifier] → buku sejarah.

What does di do in di perpustakaan? Is it a prefix or a preposition?

Here di is a preposition meaning “in/at.” It marks location. It’s different from the passive verb prefix di- (as in dipilih, “is chosen”), which attaches directly to verbs. Always look at the context: preposition di stands before nouns; passive prefix di- stands before verb roots.

What’s the difference between di perpustakaan and ke perpustakaan?

• di perpustakaan = “at/in the library” (location)
• ke perpustakaan = “to the library” (direction)
Use di + place to say where something happens, and ke + place to say where someone goes.

How does the prefix me- work in memilih? Why not just pilih?

The me- prefix is the active transitive verb marker (actor focus). It turns the root pilih (choose) into memilih (to choose [something]). Indonesian verbs need me- or its variants (mem-, men-, meng-, meny-, me-) when used in active sentences with an object.

Could I make buku sejarah plural by saying buku-buku sejarah?

Yes. Reduplication is one way to form plurals: buku-buku sejarah = “history books.” However, in many cases Indonesians rely on context to show plurality and keep it simple with buku sejarah alone.