Breakdown of Saya sedang menunggu teman di depan pintu perpustakaan.
saya
I
teman
the friend
menunggu
to wait
di depan
in front of
sedang
be (progressive)
pintu perpustakaan
the library door
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Questions & Answers about Saya sedang menunggu teman di depan pintu perpustakaan.
What is the function of sedang in this sentence?
sedang marks the progressive aspect, indicating the action is ongoing right now. Without sedang, “Saya menunggu teman” is still correct but less focused on the continuous nature of the waiting. Colloquially, you can also use lagi instead: “Saya lagi menunggu teman…”.
Why is menunggu prefixed with meN-?
The meN- prefix is an active-verb formant in Indonesian. It transforms the root tunggu (to wait) into menunggu (to wait for someone/something). This is part of the meN- verbalisation pattern, creating a transitive verb.
Why is there no article like “the” before pintu perpustakaan?
Indonesian does not use definite or indefinite articles (a, an, the). A bare noun phrase like pintu perpustakaan simply means “(the) library door.” If you need to specify, you can add demonstratives: pintu perpustakaan itu (“that library door”) or pintu perpustakaan ini (“this library door”).
What is the role of di in di depan pintu perpustakaan?
di is the locative preposition meaning “at” or “in.” When combined with depan (“front”), di depan means “in front of.” So di depan pintu perpustakaan translates to “in front of the library door.”
Can I say di pintu perpustakaan instead of di depan pintu perpustakaan?
Yes, di pintu perpustakaan (“at the library door”) is valid and understood. However, di depan pintu perpustakaan specifies you are positioned in front of the door, not inside or exactly at the threshold.
Why is the word order menunggu teman and not teman menunggu?
Indonesian follows Subject–Verb–Object order. Here Saya (subject) sedang menunggu (verb) teman (object). Swapping them to teman menunggu would change the meaning to “the friend is waiting.”
Could I replace Saya with Aku or Gue?
Yes. Saya is formal/polite. Aku is informal, common in everyday speech. Gue is slang (Jakarta style). For example:
- Aku sedang menunggu teman...
- Gue lagi nunggu teman...
Is it possible to drop sedang and still express the same idea?
Yes. Saya menunggu teman di depan pintu perpustakaan is perfectly correct. Omitting sedang simply makes the statement more neutral, while including it emphasizes “right now.”