Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Pertandingan tenis antara dokter dan perawat diadakan setiap bulan di lapangan olahraga. - A tennis match between doctors and nurses is held every month on the sports field.

antara means between and is used to connect exactly two parties (e.g., antara A dan B). di antara also translates as among or in between, often referring to being inside a group or list (e.g., di antara murid-murid itu). For a direct competition between two groups, antara alone is more concise.

Why is there no the or a before Pertandingan tenis?

Indonesian does not use articles. Nouns appear without the, a, or an, and definiteness is understood from context.

How is plurality indicated for dokter and perawat? Do they refer to one or multiple people?

Indonesian nouns do not change form for plural. dokter and perawat can be singular or plural based on context. Here they imply multiple doctors and nurses. To emphasize plurality you can use reduplication (e.g., dokter-dokter), but it is often optional.

What does the prefix di- in diadakan signify?

The prefix di- marks the passive voice. Therefore diadakan means is held or is organized (the event becomes the subject of the verb).

Why is diadakan used instead of mengadakan?

mengadakan is the active form (to hold or to organize) where a subject performs the action. diadakan is the passive form (is held) and focuses on the event itself without specifying the organizer.

There are two di in the sentence (diadakan and di lapangan olahraga). Are they the same word?

They look the same but serve different functions:

di- in diadakan is a verb prefix indicating passive voice.
di before lapangan olahraga is a preposition meaning at or in.

What does setiap bulan mean, and why is it placed before diadakan?

setiap means each or every, so setiap bulan means every month. Indonesian allows temporal phrases like this to appear before the verb for clarity or emphasis. The position is flexible.

Can you start the sentence with setiap bulan instead? How flexible is the word order?

Yes. You could say Setiap bulan, pertandingan tenis antara dokter dan perawat diadakan di lapangan olahraga. Indonesian word order is fairly flexible; temporal expressions often go at the beginning for emphasis but can also follow the subject.

What does lapangan olahraga mean, and why is it structured as two nouns?

lapangan means field, olahraga means sport or sports. Together lapangan olahraga means sports field. In Indonesian, the head noun (lapangan) comes first, followed by its modifier (olahraga).

Why is there no yang before diadakan setiap bulan di lapangan olahraga? When do you use yang to introduce relative clauses?

yang can introduce relative clauses but is often omitted when the connection is clear and the clause is short. Adding yang here (e.g., …perawat yang diadakan setiap bulan…) is grammatically correct but can sound redundant in casual or concise speech.