Breakdown of Dia mengundang sepuluh tamu ke pesta ulang tahun itu.
itu
that
dia
he/she
ke
to
mengundang
to invite
sepuluh
ten
tamu
the guest
pesta ulang tahun
the birthday party
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Questions & Answers about Dia mengundang sepuluh tamu ke pesta ulang tahun itu.
What does Dia mean in this sentence, and does it indicate gender?
Dia is a third-person pronoun meaning he or she. Indonesian pronouns do not mark gender, so without extra context Dia can refer to either a male or a female.
Why is mengundang used instead of just undang?
undang is the root verb “invite.” To form the active verb you add the meN- prefix. Because undang begins with a vowel, the prefix surfaces as meng-, giving mengundang.
Why is the number sepuluh placed before tamu?
Indonesian follows a numeral-noun order, just like English. So you say sepuluh (ten) before the noun tamu (guest).
Why isn’t there any plural marker on tamu?
Indonesian generally does not mark plurality on nouns. The numeral sepuluh already shows there are more than one. If you omit the number, you can sometimes use reduplication (e.g. tamu-tamu) to indicate a vague plural, but it’s optional and context-driven.
What is the function of ke in ke pesta ulang tahun itu?
ke is a preposition meaning to. It indicates direction or destination, so ke pesta ulang tahun itu means “to that birthday party.”
What does itu do at the end of pesta ulang tahun itu?
itu is a demonstrative meaning that. It specifies which birthday party you’re talking about: “that birthday party.”
How is tense expressed here? There’s no past-tense verb form.
Indonesian verbs do not inflect for tense. Time is shown by context or by adding words like sudah (already) or akan (will) before the verb. If you want to stress that the invitations are already sent, you can say Dia sudah mengundang sepuluh tamu…
Could you omit ke and say Dia mengundang sepuluh tamu pesta ulang tahun itu?
No. Without ke, it sounds like the party itself is the purpose of the invitation. ke is needed to show movement or direction to the party. Omitting it makes the sentence unnatural.
Why is it pesta ulang tahun and not ulang tahun pesta?
In Indonesian compounds, the head noun comes first. Here, pesta (party) is the head, and ulang tahun (birthday, literally “repeat year”) modifies it. So pesta ulang tahun means “birthday party.”