Breakdown of Saya menonton pertandingan tenis di televisi tadi malam.
saya
I
televisi
the television
menonton
to watch
tadi malam
last night
di
on
pertandingan tenis
the tennis match
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Questions & Answers about Saya menonton pertandingan tenis di televisi tadi malam.
What is the function of saya in this sentence, and could we use aku instead?
Saya is the standard formal or neutral first-person pronoun meaning “I.” You can replace it with aku for a more casual, intimate tone (e.g. among friends), but aku sounds less polite in formal settings.
What is the base verb of menonton, and how does the prefix meN- work?
The root verb is tonton (“to watch”). The prefix meN- is an active verb prefix that assimilates to the initial consonant of the root (here T→N), forming menonton, which means “to watch.”
Why is there no past‐tense marking on menonton, and how is past time expressed?
Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense. Time is indicated by adverbs like tadi malam (“last night”). The verb menonton stays the same; tadi malam tells you it happened in the past.
How is pertandingan formed, and what exactly does it mean?
Pertandingan comes from the root tanding (“to compete”) with the circumfix per-...-an, which creates a noun meaning “competition” or “match.” Therefore pertandingan tenis = “tennis match.”
Why is the phrase di televisi used, and why not ke televisi?
Di marks location or medium (like English “on” or “at”), so di televisi means “on TV.” Ke televisi would imply motion toward the TV (“to the television”), which doesn’t match “watching.”
Can the time expression tadi malam be placed at the beginning of the sentence?
Yes. Indonesian word order is flexible. You can say Tadi malam saya menonton pertandingan tenis di televisi to emphasize “last night” without changing the meaning.
Is it possible to omit the subject saya since the context makes it clear?
Absolutely. Indonesian often drops subject pronouns when they’re understood. Menonton pertandingan tenis di televisi tadi malam still clearly means “I watched a tennis match on TV last night” if the speaker is obvious.
Why isn’t there an object marker before pertandingan tenis, like dipertandingan?
Object markers like di- or ter- are used in passive or stative verbs. Here menonton is active, so its object pertandingan tenis follows directly without any prefix.