Sofa nyaman itu kami beli tahun lalu.

That comfortable sofa was bought by us last year.

Breakdown of Sofa nyaman itu kami beli tahun lalu.

• itu: that
• kami: we
• beli: to buy
• sofa: the sofa
• nyaman: comfortable
• tahun lalu: last year

Questions & Answers about Sofa nyaman itu kami beli tahun lalu.

Why is nyaman placed after sofa rather than before it like in English?

In Indonesian, adjectives normally follow the noun they modify. So instead of saying comfortable sofa, you say sofa nyaman.

What role does itu play here, and why is it after the noun?

itu is a demonstrative meaning that. It can come after the noun (sofa nyaman itu) to specify “that comfortable sofa.” You could also say itu sofa nyaman, but placing itu after the noun is more common when you’re adding emphasis or detail.

Why isn’t there an article like the before sofa?

Indonesian doesn’t use articles (a, an, the). Definiteness or indefiniteness is either understood from context or shown with demonstratives like ini (this) or itu (that).

Why is beli used without any prefix or suffix, and how do you know it’s past tense?

Most Indonesian verbs are unmarked for tense; they appear in their bare form (called the “root verb”). Past, present, or future time is indicated by adding time expressions—here, tahun lalu (“last year”) tells you the action happened in the past.

Why is the subject kami used instead of kita?

kami means “we” but excludes the person you’re speaking to. kita includes both the speaker and the listener. So kami beli indicates you and others (but not the listener) bought the sofa.

Why does tahun lalu come at the end of the sentence?

Time expressions in Indonesian often follow the verb or the entire verb phrase. Putting tahun lalu (“last year”) at the end is the most natural way to state when the purchase happened.