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?