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Karena hujan, kami menunda latihan selama tiga puluh menit.

Karena hujan, kami menunda latihan selama tiga puluh menit.
Because of the rain, we postponed practice for thirty minutes.
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Questions & Answers about Karena hujan, kami menunda latihan selama tiga puluh menit.

Do I need the comma after Karena hujan?

Yes, it’s standard to use a comma when a subordinate clause comes first.

  • Cause first: Karena hujan, kami menunda latihan selama tiga puluh menit.
  • Cause after the main clause (comma usually omitted): Kami menunda latihan selama tiga puluh menit karena hujan.
Is hujan a noun or a verb here?

In Indonesian, hujan can function as either.

  • As a noun: “rain” → Karena hujan ≈ “because of rain.”
  • As an intransitive verb: “to rain” → Karena hujan ≈ “because it’s raining.” If you want to be explicit that it’s ongoing, you can say karena sedang hujan or karena hujan turun.
What’s the difference between kami and kita?
  • kami = “we” excluding the listener.
  • kita = “we” including the listener. If you’re telling your own team including the people you’re speaking to, use kita:
  • Karena hujan, kita menunda latihan selama tiga puluh menit. If you’re reporting to someone not involved, kami fits:
  • Karena hujan, kami menunda latihan selama tiga puluh menit.
Why menunda and not just tunda? What’s happening morphologically?
  • Base verb: tunda (“postpone, delay”).
  • Active transitive form with the meN- prefix: menunda. The initial t drops, yielding men-
    • (t)unda → menunda.
  • Passive: ditunda (“is/was postponed”). Examples:
  • Active: Kami menunda latihan.
  • Passive: Latihan ditunda.
Can I say berlatih instead of latihan?
  • latihan is a noun (practice/training session).
  • berlatih is a verb (to practice). Use menunda
    • noun: menunda latihan sounds natural. Using menunda berlatih is possible but less common; you’d more naturally say menunda mulai berlatih (“delay starting to practice”).
Is selama required to express the duration?

Selama clearly marks duration (“for”).

  • With selama (clear): … menunda latihan selama tiga puluh menit.
  • Without selama (often okay in speech): … menunda latihan tiga puluh menit. Note: Without selama, there’s a small risk of ambiguity (it could be read as “the 30‑minute practice”), so selama is safer in careful writing.
How do I say 30 minutes correctly, and are there alternatives?
  • Spelled-out: tiga puluh menit (no hyphen).
  • Numeral: 30 menit (informal but common).
  • Idiomatic: setengah jam (“half an hour”). All are fine: … selama tiga puluh menit / 30 menit / setengah jam.
Can I change the word order?

Yes. Common variants:

  • Cause first: Karena hujan, kami menunda latihan selama tiga puluh menit.
  • Cause last: Kami menunda latihan selama tiga puluh menit karena hujan.
  • Passive: Latihan ditunda selama tiga puluh menit karena hujan.
  • Object fronting (colloquial/neutral): Latihan kami tunda selama tiga puluh menit karena hujan.
What’s the register of this sentence? How would it sound in casual speech?

Neutral-formal. Colloquial possibilities:

  • Karena ujan, kita tunda latihannya 30 menit ya.
  • Latihan diundur 30 menit karena ujan, ya. Notes:
  • ujan = colloquial for hujan
  • diundur (passive of “move back/postpone”) is very common in speech
  • -nya can mark “the” session already known from context
  • ya softens the tone
Is karena the only option? What about gara-gara, akibat, or sebab?
  • karena = neutral “because,” works almost everywhere.
  • gara-gara = informal and can imply annoyance/blame: Gara-gara hujan, …
  • akibat = “as a result of,” formal and often used for heavier/negative consequences: Akibat hujan lebat, …
  • sebab can mean “cause” (noun) or “because” in some styles, but karena is more common as a conjunction.
  • dikarenakan is formal/bureaucratic; often better to keep it simple with karena.
What if I want to say until a specific time instead of for 30 minutes?

Use sampai or hingga for an endpoint, not selama.

  • Kami menunda latihan sampai pukul tiga.
  • Latihan ditunda hingga pukul 15.00. “Within 30 minutes” is dalam tiga puluh menit, which is different from selama (“for”).
Do I need a classifier with menit?

No. Indonesian doesn’t use classifiers for time units like minutes/hours.

  • Correct: tiga puluh menit
  • No extra word needed.
Can I drop the subject pronoun kami?

In casual context, subject drop is possible if context is crystal clear:

  • Karena hujan, menunda latihan selama tiga puluh menit. But this can sound abrupt or ambiguous. In neutral/formal writing, keep kami (or kita, as appropriate).
Any common mistakes to avoid with this sentence pattern?
  • Using untuk for duration: avoid untuk tiga puluh menit after a verb; use selama.
  • Mixing “cancel” and “postpone”: membatalkan = cancel; menunda/diundur = postpone.
  • Overusing dikarenakan in simple statements where karena is clearer.
  • Hyphenating numbers: write tiga puluh, not “tiga-puluh.”
How do I pronounce the key words naturally?
  • hujan: hoo-JAN (j as in English “jam,” final n pronounced)
  • menunda: muh-NOON-dah (u like “oo” in “book” but a bit longer)
  • latihan: lah-TEE-han (t unaspirated; final n clear)
  • selama: suh-LAH-mah Stress in Indonesian is fairly even; keep vowels pure and short unless doubled.