Saya menaruh buku di samping televisi.

I put the book beside the television.

Breakdown of Saya menaruh buku di samping televisi.

• buku: the book
• saya: I
• televisi: the television
• di samping: beside
• menaruh: to put

Questions & Answers about Saya menaruh buku di samping televisi.

Why is di used before samping in di samping televisi?

In Indonesian di is a preposition meaning “at,” “in,” or “on” when it marks a location. Combined with samping (“beside”), di samping means “beside” or “next to.” Remember that di + place word = location prepositional phrase.

Why isn’t there any article like “the” or “a” before buku or televisi?

Indonesian does not use articles such as “a” or “the.” Nouns stand alone. Context (or adding words like sebuah for “a” or itu for “that/the”) tells you whether something is definite or indefinite.

Can you omit saya and just say Menaruh buku di samping televisi?

Yes. Indonesian often drops the subject pronoun when it’s clear from context. So (Saya) menaruh buku di samping televisi is perfectly fine as Menaruh buku di samping televisi, especially in casual speech.

What is the difference between menaruh and meletakkan?

Both menaruh and meletakkan mean “to place” or “to put.”

• menaruh derives from the root taruh and is more neutral.
• meletakkan comes from letak (“position”) with the same meN- prefix and feels slightly more formal or deliberate.

Why is the verb form menaruh instead of just taruh?

Indonesian uses the meN- prefix to form active transitive verbs. The root taruh becomes menaruh to show “someone is placing something.” Without the prefix, taruh is the bare root and is often used colloquially but isn’t the standard active form.

How do you express past or future time for this sentence?

Indonesian verbs are not inflected for tense. Instead, you add time indicators:

• Past: Saya sudah menaruh buku di samping televisi (“I have already put the book beside the TV”) or kemarin (“yesterday”).
• Future: Saya akan menaruh buku di samping televisi (“I will put the book beside the TV”).

Is the word order always Subject–Verb–Object (SVO) in Indonesian?

Yes, the neutral word order is SVO, just like in English: Saya (S) menaruh (V) buku (O). Time and place phrases like di samping televisi typically follow the object, though you can front them for emphasis in informal speech.

Could you say Saya menaruh televisi di samping buku? Would it change the meaning?

Grammatically it’s correct but semantically odd. That sentence means “I put the television beside the book,” implying you moved the TV next to a book. Word order dictates which noun is the direct object. So swap only if you really meant to move the TV.