Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Saya sedang merebus sayur di panci kecil di dapur. - I am boiling vegetables in the small pot in the kitchen.

sedang is the progressive aspect marker in Indonesian. It shows that the action is ongoing, equivalent to the English “–ing” form (“I am boiling…”). You can often replace sedang with lagi in colloquial speech (“Saya lagi merebus sayur…”), but sedang is more neutral and standard.

Why is the verb merebus formed from rebus with a prefix, instead of just using rebus?

rebus is the root verb meaning “to boil.” To create an active verb that carries a subject (“I boil/I'm boiling”), Indonesian adds the meN- prefix. Because rebus starts with r, the prefix surfaces as me-, giving merebus. Without this prefix, Rebus sayur! would be an imperative (“Boil the vegetables!”) or you’d be using rebus more like a noun.

Why isn’t there an article before sayur? How do I say “some vegetables” or “the vegetables”?

Indonesian has no definite or indefinite articles like “a” or “the.” sayur by itself can mean “vegetables” in general or “some vegetables.” If you need to specify, you can say beberapa sayur (“some vegetables”), sayur-sayuran (“various vegetables”), or add a numeral: tiga sayur (“three vegetables”).

Why is the adjective kecil placed after panci? Do I ever need a word like “yang”?

In Indonesian, adjectives normally follow the noun they modify: panci kecil = “small pot.” You don’t need a linker for simple descriptions. If you want extra emphasis or formality, you can insert yang: panci yang kecil, but this is not required in everyday speech.

There are two instances of di in di panci kecil di dapur. Are they the same as the passive voice marker?

Each di here is a preposition meaning “in/on/at,” marking location. You need one di per phrase: di panci kecil (“in the small pot”) and di dapur (“in the kitchen”). The passive-voice di- is a prefix attached directly to a verb (e.g., direbus, “is boiled”), not a separate preposition.

Can I drop sedang and still be correct? What difference does that make?

Yes. Saya merebus sayur di panci kecil di dapur is still grammatically correct. Without sedang, the sentence is simple present or habitual, and context tells you if it’s happening now. Adding sedang explicitly stresses that the action is in progress at this moment.

What’s the difference between merebus and mendidihkan?

merebus focuses on boiling an object by immersing it in water (e.g., merebus sayur = “boiling the vegetables”).
mendidihkan (from didih) focuses on bringing water itself to a boil (e.g., mendidihkan air = “making the water boil”).

If I want to say “my small pot,” where does the word for “my” go?

Possessive pronouns follow the noun: panci kecil saya = “my small pot.” You can also say panci saya yang kecil for emphasis (“my pot, which is small”), but the normal order is noun + adjective + pronoun.