Breakdown of Murid-murid menunggu di gerbang sekolah setiap pagi.
pagi
the morning
di
at
setiap
every
menunggu
to wait
murid
the student
gerbang sekolah
the school gate
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Questions & Answers about Murid-murid menunggu di gerbang sekolah setiap pagi.
What does murid-murid mean, and why isn't it just murid?
murid-murid is the plural form of murid, meaning students. The hyphen marks reduplication, which is how Indonesian often expresses plurals when the quantity is general or indefinite.
Why is there no article like the or a before gerbang sekolah?
Indonesian does not use articles. Nouns stand alone, and definiteness is usually inferred from context. If you need to specify, you can add words like ini (this) or itu (that): di gerbang sekolah itu means at that school gate.
What role does di play in di gerbang sekolah?
di is a preposition indicating static location, equivalent to at or in in English. It shows where the action takes place: at the school gate.
Could we use ke gerbang sekolah instead of di gerbang sekolah?
No. ke marks movement toward a location (to), while di marks presence at a location (at). Since the students are waiting (not moving toward), di is correct.
How do you analyze the phrase gerbang sekolah?
This is a noun phrase where gerbang (gate) is the head noun and sekolah (school) modifies it. Together they mean school gate or literally gate of the school.
What is the function of menunggu, and how does the prefix me- work here?
menunggu means to wait. The root verb is tunggu (wait), and the prefix me- (becoming men- before consonants like t) forms an active verb. Indonesian verb prefixes often change form to fit the root’s initial sound.
Why isn’t there a separate continuous tense like is waiting?
Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense. menunggu can express both simple and continuous aspects. If you want to emphasize continuity, you can add sedang: sedang menunggu means is waiting right now.
What does setiap pagi mean?
setiap means every and pagi means morning, so setiap pagi translates to every morning.
Why is setiap pagi placed at the end of the sentence?
Time expressions in Indonesian are flexible. They can go at the beginning or end. Placing setiap pagi at the end emphasizes the habitual or routine nature of the action.
Could you say para murid instead of murid-murid?
Yes. para is a plural marker for people. para murid and murid-murid both mean the students, but para murid can sound more formal or literary.