Ruang tamu saya rapi.

to be

Breakdown of Ruang tamu saya rapi.

• ruang tamu: the living room
• rapi: tidy

Questions & Answers about Ruang tamu saya rapi.

Why does rapi come after ruang tamu saya rather than before, like adjectives do in English?

In Indonesian, adjectives normally follow the noun they modify. The pattern is:

• Noun + Adjective
  So instead of saying neat living room, you literally say living room neat, i.e. ruang tamu saya rapi.

Why isn’t there a word equivalent to English is in Ruang tamu saya rapi?

Equative sentences with adjectives in Indonesian do not require a copula in the present tense. You simply place the adjective after the subject. Thus ruang tamu saya serves as the subject and rapi as the predicate without any linking verb.

Why is saya placed after ruang tamu? In English, my comes before the noun.

Possessive pronouns in Indonesian are post-nominal. You express possession by placing the owner after the thing possessed:

• buku saya (my book)
• rumah dia (their house)
• ruang tamu saya (my living room)

Can I use the suffix -ku instead of saya? For example, ruang tamuku rapi?