Nenek saya minum teh di sore hari.

My grandmother drinks tea in the afternoon.

Breakdown of Nenek saya minum teh di sore hari.

• minum: to drink
• teh: the tea
• di: in
• sore hari: the afternoon
• nenek: the grandmother

Questions & Answers about Nenek saya minum teh di sore hari.

Why is it Nenek saya and not Saya nenek?

In Indonesian the possessor follows the possessed noun.
• Nenek saya = “my grandmother.”
• If you swap them to Saya nenek, it literally reads “I grandmother” and is ungrammatical.
You can also use the suffix -ku: Nenekku means the same as nenek saya in colloquial speech.

What does minum mean, and how do you use it?

minum is a verb meaning “to drink.”
• Indonesian verbs are not conjugated for person or tense.
• You simply place the verb in front of the object: minum teh = “drink tea.”

Why isn’t there any tense marking on minum? How do you know when it happens?

Indonesian verbs don’t change form for past, present, or future.
• Time is shown by context or by adding words like sudah (already/past) or akan (will/future).
• In this sentence, di sore hari (“in the late afternoon”) tells you when the action takes place.

What does teh mean, and why is there no “the” or “a” before it?

teh means “tea.”
• Indonesian doesn’t require articles like “a” or “the.”
• To specify “the tea,” you could say tehnya or teh itu.
• For “a cup of tea,” you’d say segelas teh (“one glass of tea”).

What is the role of di in di sore hari?

di is a preposition used for both location and time.
• In di sore hari, it marks the time period “in the late afternoon.”
• Without di, you could still say sore hari, but di sore hari is the more standard way to say “in the late afternoon.”

Does sore mean “afternoon”? What’s the difference between siang and sore?

Yes, both are time-of-day words:
• siang covers late morning to early afternoon (roughly 10 AM–2 PM).
• sore covers late afternoon until just before sunset (roughly 3 PM–6 PM).
After sore, you have malam for night.

Can I say Nenekku minum teh di sore hari instead?

Absolutely. Using the possessive suffix -ku is very common in informal speech:
• Nenekku minum teh di sore hari
• Nenek saya minum teh di sore hari
Both mean exactly the same thing; nenek saya is slightly more formal.

How do I turn this into a question asking when grandma drinks tea?

Use the question word kapan (“when”) at the start and drop di sore hari if you’re replacing it:
• Kapan nenek saya minum teh?
= “When does my grandmother drink tea?”
You could answer with Di sore hari.

How would I ask what grandma is drinking?

There are two common ways:

1. Apa yang diminum nenek saya? (formal)
2. Nenek saya minum apa? (informal)
   Both mean “What is my grandmother drinking?”