Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Kami mengerti syarat keselamatan sebelum berkemah. - We understand the safety requirements before camping.

Mengerti means “to understand.” In the sentence Kami mengerti syarat keselamatan sebelum berkemah, it serves as the main action (verb) in an SVO structure: Kami (Subject) + mengerti (Verb) + syarat keselamatan (Object).
Paham is a synonym that also means “to understand” or “to get it.” You could say Kami paham syarat keselamatan sebelum berkemah, and the meaning remains essentially the same. Mengerti is slightly more formal/neutral, while paham can be more conversational.

Why is there no particle like tentang or relative word yang between mengerti and syarat keselamatan?

In Indonesian, many transitive verbs (like mengerti) take a direct object without any connector. So mengerti syarat keselamatan is perfectly grammatical.

Adding tentang (to get mengerti tentang syarat keselamatan) is not wrong, but it’s less common when you have a clear object.
Inserting yang (to make mengerti yang syarat keselamatan) would turn it into a relative clause and break the direct object structure.

How does sebelum berkemah function, and why is it placed at the end of the sentence?

Sebelum berkemah is a time adverbial clause meaning “before camping.” Indonesian allows such time clauses either at the beginning or the end. Placing it at the end keeps the focus on what is understood (the safety requirements) before specifying the timing.

Why is there no explicit subject in sebelum berkemah?

Indonesian often omits the subject in subordinate clauses when it’s the same as the main clause’s subject. Here, kami (we) is implied as the one who will “camp,” so you don’t repeat it.

Why is syarat not pluralized as syarat-syarat to mean “requirements”?

Nouns in Indonesian are generally not marked for plural. Syarat can mean one requirement or many, depending on context. If you want to emphasize multiple requirements, you can reduplicate: syarat-syarat keselamatan, but it isn’t necessary.

What’s the difference between kami and kita, and could we use kita here?

Both mean “we,” but:

Kami is exclusive: it refers to the speaker and others, excluding the listener.
Kita is inclusive: it refers to the speaker, others, and the listener.
Use kami when you want to talk about your group without the person you’re speaking to. If you include your listener in the camping group, you would say Kita mengerti syarat keselamatan sebelum berkemah.

Can we replace berkemah with another word, and what does the prefix ber- indicate?

Berkemah means “to camp,” and the prefix ber- often forms intransitive verbs that describe an action or state related to a root word (in this case, kemah, “camp”). You could use other verbs to talk about camping, for example:

mendirikan tenda (“to pitch a tent”)
camping (an English loanword)
But berkemah is the standard native verb for “camping.”

How would you express “We have already understood the safety requirements before camping” or “We haven’t understood them yet” in Indonesian?

You add aspect markers:

Already understood: Kami sudah mengerti syarat keselamatan sebelum berkemah.
Not yet understood: Kami belum mengerti syarat keselamatan sebelum berkemah.
Here, sudah indicates completion (“already”), and belum indicates the action hasn’t happened yet.