Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Setelah lampu menyala, semuanya kembali tenang. - After the lights turn on, everything is calm again.

Setelah is a subordinating conjunction meaning after. It introduces a time clause (a dependent clause) that describes when something happens. Here, Setelah lampu menyala tells us “after the light came on,” and it’s followed by a comma before the main clause. You can also use sesudah in the same way (e.g. Sesudah lampu menyala,…).

Why is menyala used here without the di- prefix, and what kind of verb is it?

Menyala is an intransitive verb formed with the active prefix me- on the root nyala (meaning “flash” or “glow”). It doesn’t take di- because the subject (the lamp) is doing the action itself—it’s not being acted upon by someone else. If you said dinyalakan, that would mean “was turned on (by someone).”

Who or what is the subject of menyala?

The subject is lampu (“the light”). In Indonesian, word order is typically Subject–Predicate, so lampu (subject) comes directly before menyala (predicate): lampu menyala = “the light came on.”

What does semuanya mean, and why not just semua?

Semuanya is an indefinite pronoun meaning everything or all of them, and it can stand alone. By contrast, semua is a determiner/adjective meaning all but normally needs to modify a noun (e.g. semua orang = “all people”).

What is the function of kembali here? Could you use lagi instead?

Kembali means again in the sense of “back to a previous state.” It emphasizes restoration: “returned to calm.” You could say semuanya tenang lagi and still be understood (“everything is calm again”), but kembali tenang sounds a bit more formal or literary and stresses the act of going back to calmness.

Why is there a comma between the clauses?

When you start a sentence with a subordinating conjunction like setelah, you usually separate the dependent clause from the main clause with a comma. It helps the reader see the time clause is complete before the next part begins.

Can you swap the order of the clauses without changing the meaning?

Yes. You could say Semuanya kembali tenang setelah lampu menyala. The meaning (“everything became calm again after the light turned on”) remains the same. The original order (time clause first) simply puts more emphasis on “after the light came on.”