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Questions & Answers about Tas sekolah saya berat.
Why is there no word for is in the sentence?
In Indonesian, adjectives can function as the predicate, so you just say berat for “is heavy.” You don’t use adalah before adjectives. Correct: Tas sekolah saya berat. Incorrect: Tas sekolah saya adalah berat. Use adalah when the complement is a noun phrase, e.g., Dia adalah guru (He is a teacher).
Why does my (saya) come after the noun?
Possessive pronouns follow the noun in Indonesian. So tas saya = “my bag,” rumah mereka = “their house.” In the sentence, tas sekolah saya = “my school bag.”
What exactly does tas sekolah mean?
It’s a noun–noun compound: tas (bag) + sekolah (school) = “bag for school,” i.e., a school bag. If you need “the school’s bag,” say tas milik sekolah or context-driven tas sekolahnya (which can also mean “his/her school bag,” depending on context).
Can I say tas saya sekolah to mean my school bag?
No. The head noun comes first, then its modifiers: tas sekolah saya. Tas saya sekolah is ungrammatical.
Is the sentence singular or plural?
Indonesian doesn’t usually mark plural. Tas sekolah saya berat most naturally reads as singular. To make plural explicit:
- Tas-tas sekolah saya berat.
- Beberapa tas sekolah saya berat.
- Semua tas sekolah saya berat.
- For “all are heavy”: Tas-tas sekolah saya berat-berat.
Do I need the or a in Indonesian?
No articles. Specificity is shown with demonstratives:
- Tas sekolah saya ini berat = This school bag of mine is heavy.
- Tas sekolah saya itu berat = That (aforementioned) school bag of mine is heavy.
How do I say very heavy, too heavy, or not heavy?
- Very: sangat berat (before) or berat sekali (after). Colloquial: berat banget.
- Too: terlalu berat.
- Not: tidak berat. Colloquial: nggak berat.
How do I ask Is my school bag heavy?
- Formal/neutral: Apakah tas sekolah saya berat?
- Conversational (rising intonation): Tas sekolah saya berat?
- Another common pattern: Berat tidak tas sekolah saya? / Berat nggak tas sekolah saya?
How do I say my heavy school bag as a noun phrase?
Use yang to make the adjective attributive: tas sekolah saya yang berat. Without yang, tas sekolah saya berat is a full clause (“…is heavy”). With yang, you’re identifying which bag (often implying there are others).
Where do adjectives usually go?
After the noun when attributive: tas berat (a heavy bag), tas merah (a red bag). As predicates, adjectives stand alone: Tas itu berat (That bag is heavy).
Can I use other ways to say my?
Yes:
- tas sekolah saya (formal/neutral)
- tas sekolahku (using enclitic -ku, neutral/informal)
- tas sekolah aku (informal)
- tas sekolahmu (your bag), tas sekolahnya (his/her/its school bag) Colloquial Jakarta: tas sekolah gue/gua. Note: write tas sekolahku (attach -ku to the last word of the noun phrase), not tasku sekolah.
Why might someone add itu after the noun phrase?
Itu marks a specific, known, or pointed-at referent. Tas sekolah saya itu berat highlights a particular bag already in context (roughly “that school bag of mine is heavy”).
How is it pronounced?
Roughly: tas [tas], sekolah [sə-KO-lah] (the first e is a schwa), saya [SA-ya], berat [bə-RAT] (the e is schwa; the r is tapped/rolled lightly). Stress is light and not strongly contrastive.
Can the adjective come first?
Yes, for emphasis you can put the predicate first: Berat tas sekolah saya. This highlights the heaviness (“Heavy, my school bag is”). This predicate–subject order is common in Indonesian.