Saya akan menulis cerita pendek sore ini.

I will write a short story this afternoon.

Breakdown of Saya akan menulis cerita pendek sore ini.

• sebuah: a
• saya: I
• menulis: to write
• pendek: short
• cerita: the story
• akan: will
• sore ini: this afternoon

Questions & Answers about Saya akan menulis cerita pendek sore ini.

What does saya mean, and how is it different from aku?

saya is the neutral/formal pronoun for “I.” You use it:

• In formal or polite situations (work, with elders, in writing)
• When you want to sound respectful

aku is the informal pronoun for “I.” You’ll hear it:

• Among close friends or family
• In casual speech, song lyrics, text messages

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What is the function of akan in the sentence? Can I replace it with mau?

akan is a future marker equivalent to English “will.” It shows that the action (writing) will happen later.

You can often swap akan with mau, which literally means “want” but doubles as a colloquial future marker:

• Saya akan menulis… (neutral/formal)
• Saya mau menulis… (more casual, common in speech)

Nuance: akan can sound slightly more formal or certain; mau feels more about intention or plan.

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Why is menulis formed with the prefix me-, and what is its root?

The root verb is tulis (“write”). Indonesian uses the active-transitive prefix me- to form verbs that act on an object. Due to consonant assimilation rules, me- + tulis becomes menulis.

So menulis cerita pendek literally means “(to) write a short story.”

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Why is the adjective pendek placed after the noun cerita? In English it’s “short story,” with the adjective first.

Indonesian word order for noun phrases is:
noun + modifier (adjective, number, demonstrative)

Hence: cerita (story) + pendek (short) → cerita pendek.

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What does sore ini mean, and why not ini sore?

sore = “afternoon,”
ini = “this”

Combined as sore ini = “this afternoon.” In Indonesian, demonstratives like ini generally follow the noun they modify (postnominal). So you say sore ini, not ini sore.

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What’s the difference between sore ini and nanti sore?

• sore ini = “this afternoon” (refers to the entire current or upcoming afternoon)
• nanti sore = “later this afternoon” (emphasizes a point later within the afternoon)

Use nanti sore if you’re speaking in the morning and want to stress that it’ll happen at a later time today.

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Could I say Saya mau menulis cerpen sore ini? What is cerpen?

Yes, you can! cerpen is an abbreviation of cerita pendek, commonly used in journalism and casual writing. So Saya mau/akan menulis cerpen sore ini is perfectly natural and slightly more concise.

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Why are there no words for “a” or “the” before cerita pendek?

Indonesian does not use definite or indefinite articles like English. Context alone tells you whether you mean “a short story,” “the short story,” or just “short story” in general. If you need to be specific, you can add:

• sebuah cerita pendek (a short story)
• cerita pendek itu (that short story)

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Could the time expression sore ini appear elsewhere in the sentence?

Yes. Time adverbials in Indonesian are flexible. You could say:

• Sore ini saya akan menulis cerita pendek. (emphasis on time)
• Saya sore ini akan menulis cerita pendek.
• Saya akan menulis cerita pendek sore ini. (neutral placement)

All three are correct; position mainly affects emphasis and flow.