Murid-murid saling bertanya di perpustakaan.

The students ask each other in the library.

Breakdown of Murid-murid saling bertanya di perpustakaan.

• di: in
• murid: the student
• perpustakaan: the library
• saling bertanya: to ask each other

Questions & Answers about Murid-murid saling bertanya di perpustakaan.

What does the doubled noun murid-murid indicate? Is it necessary?

• It marks plurality: murid-murid = students.
• Not strictly required here, because saling already implies more than one person. You could say Murid saling bertanya..., and context makes it plural.
• Using murid-murid just makes the plurality explicit and is very natural.

Is there any difference between murid-murid and para murid?

• Both mean “students (plural).”
• para murid is a more formal style and uses para (a plural marker for humans).
• murid-murid is neutral and common in all registers.
• Don’t combine them: avoid para murid-murid.

Could I just write murid without doubling? Would that be singular?

• Indonesian nouns don’t inflect for number, so murid can be singular or plural.
• With saling, Murid saling bertanya... is understood as plural.
• Without saling or other context, Murid bertanya... will often be read as singular.

What’s the difference between murid, siswa, and mahasiswa?

• murid: pupil/student (often school-age; also “disciple”).
• siswa: student at elementary through high school (very common in news/formal writing).
• mahasiswa: university student.
• Choose based on the educational level you mean.

Is the hyphen in murid-murid required?

• Yes, in standard spelling reduplication takes a hyphen: murid-murid, buku-buku.
• People sometimes omit it informally, but the recommended form uses the hyphen.

What does saling do in this sentence?

• saling marks a reciprocal action: each participant acts on the others.
• So saling bertanya = ask each other.
• You need at least two participants (explicitly or from context).

Where should saling go?

• Place saling directly before the verb or verb phrase: saling bertanya, saling membantu, saling menghormati.
• Don’t put it after the verb: bertanya saling is wrong.

Can I say saling bertanya pertanyaan?

• No. bertanya is intransitive and doesn’t take a direct object like pertanyaan.
• More natural options:
  • Mereka saling bertanya.
  • Mereka saling mengajukan pertanyaan. (use transitive mengajukan with the noun pertanyaan)
  • Mereka saling menanyakan jadwal/tugas/hal-hal tertentu. (use menanyakan with the specific thing asked about)

Do I need kepada after saling bertanya?

• No. saling already implies “to each other.”
• Without saling, specify the addressee with bertanya kepada/pada [person]: Murid-murid bertanya kepada pustakawan.

Is saling bertanya-tanya correct?

• Generally avoid it. bertanya-tanya means “to wonder; to repeatedly ask oneself,” not “ask each other.”
• Use saling bertanya for mutual asking, and bertanya-tanya (without saling) for “wondering.”

How does saling bertanya differ from tanya jawab?

• saling bertanya focuses on the act of asking each other.
• tanya jawab is a set phrase for a Q&A session. As a verb phrase, you can say bertanya jawab or saling bertanya jawab to emphasize an exchange of questions and answers.

Why is it di perpustakaan instead of ke perpustakaan?

• di marks location (at/in).
• ke marks movement toward a place (to).
• Example: Murid-murid pergi ke perpustakaan, lalu mereka saling bertanya di perpustakaan.

Does di perpustakaan mean “in the library” or “at the library”?

• It can mean either “in” or “at.” di covers both; context decides.

How do I express tense/aspect here?

• Indonesian doesn’t inflect for tense. Add time/aspect markers:
  • Past/completed: sudah/telah, or time words like tadi, kemarin.
  • Progressive: sedang or lagi — Murid-murid sedang saling bertanya...
  • Future: akan or a future time word.

Can I front the location phrase: Di perpustakaan, murid-murid saling bertanya?

• Yes. Fronting di perpustakaan is common and grammatical for topic or emphasis.

What does perpustakaan come from?

• From pustaka (book, literature) with the place-forming affixes per- -an → perpustakaan = “a place for books,” i.e., a library.

What’s the difference between di perpustakaan and di perpustakaannya?

• di perpustakaan: at/in a/the library (neutral).
• di perpustakaannya: at the specific/previously mentioned library, or “at his/her/their library,” depending on context. You can also be explicit: di perpustakaan sekolah.

Can I use pada instead of di for a physical location?

• Generally no. Use di for physical places.
• pada is used with abstract references, recipients, or times: pada saya, pada kesempatan ini, pada hari Senin. pada perpustakaan sounds odd.

What prepositions work with bertanya?

• Addressee: bertanya kepada/pada [person] — both are common; kepada is a bit more formal/explicit.
• Topic: bertanya tentang/soal [topic].
• You can combine them: bertanya kepada pustakawan tentang jam buka.

Spelling tip: di vs di-?

• di as a preposition is written separately: di perpustakaan.
• di- as a passive prefix attaches to a verb (no space): ditanya (was asked).

Any quick pronunciation tips for the sentence?

• murid-murid: mu-rid mu-rid; Indonesian u is like the vowel in “food,” i like “see.”
• saling: SA-ling; final ng is the sound in “sing.”
• bertanya: ber-TA-nya; ny is like the Spanish ñ.
• perpustakaan: per-pus-ta-ka-an; the first e is a schwa. Indonesian stress is light and fairly even across syllables.