Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Baterai senter saya habis tadi malam. - My flashlight's battery ran out last night.

Indonesian noun phrases go head → modifier. The head is baterai (battery), modified by senter saya (my flashlight). So baterai [senter saya] literally “the battery [of my flashlight].” This pattern is the norm: e.g., kunci mobil saya (my car key), teman kantor saya (my office colleague). Using dari (of/from) is possible but clunky here: baterai dari senter saya sounds less natural than baterai senter saya.

What exactly does habis mean here—verb or adjective? Does it mean “finished”?

Habis is a stative predicate meaning “used up/out of, depleted.” It works like an adjective that can serve as the whole predicate (no “to be” needed):

Baterai senter saya habis = My flashlight’s battery is/ran out.
Similar patterns: Uangnya habis (The money’s gone), Kertasnya habis (We’re out of paper).

Where’s the past-tense “was”? How is past time shown?

Indonesian doesn’t inflect verbs for tense. Past time is indicated by time expressions like tadi malam (last night). The predicate habis itself is tenseless; the time phrase supplies the past meaning.

Do I need sudah/telah before habis?

Not required. Habis already implies a completed/result state.

sudah habis adds emphasis to completion (“already used up”).
telah habis is the same but more formal/literary.
All are correct: Baterai senter saya (sudah/telah) habis tadi malam.

Can I move tadi malam to the front?

Yes. Word-order is flexible for time phrases:

Tadi malam, baterai senter saya habis.
Baterai senter saya habis tadi malam.
Fronting the time sets the scene; end position is neutral. Avoid splitting the predicate unnaturally (e.g., “Baterai senter saya tadi malam habis” is not idiomatic).

How is kehabisan different from habis?

habis states that the subject itself is used up: Baterai senter saya habis (the battery is depleted).
kehabisan + noun means “to run out of [noun],” with the subject being the one that lacks it (often unintentional):
- Senter saya kehabisan baterai (My flashlight ran out of batteries).
- Saya kehabisan baterai senter (I ran out of flashlight batteries).

Could I say Senternya mati tadi malam instead?

Yes, but it’s less specific. Mati means “went dead/turned off/stopped working” (for devices). It doesn’t say why. Baterai … habis specifically points to the depleted battery as the cause.

When would you use -nya, as in baterainya or senternya?

-nya marks a specific/known item or third-person possessor.

Baterainya habis = The battery is dead / its battery is dead (context decides).
Baterai senternya habis = The battery of his/her/that flashlight is dead.
Attach -nya to the noun it refers to; don’t say “baterainya senter saya.”

Is adalah used here? As in “Baterai senter saya adalah habis”?

No. Adalah links nouns to nouns (equational sentences). It isn’t used before adjectives or stative predicates. Say Baterai senter saya habis (optionally sudah habis), not with adalah.

What’s the difference among tadi malam, kemarin malam, semalam, and malam tadi?

tadi malam: last night (the most recent night). Very common.
kemarin malam: also last night; literally “yesterday night,” safe at any time the next day or later.
semalam: last night OR “for one night/overnight” (can be ambiguous). semalaman = all night long.
malam tadi: same meaning as tadi malam; less common but fine.
All are widely understood; tadi malam is the default.

Is baterai singular or plural here?

Number isn’t marked by default. Baterai senter saya habis can mean “the (set of) batteries/the battery power is gone.” To be explicit:

dua baterai (two batteries), kedua baterai senter saya habis (both batteries are dead), semua baterai… (all batteries…).

Can I say Baterai dari senter saya habis?

Understandable, but less natural. For possession/“of,” Indonesian prefers the noun–noun pattern: baterai senter saya rather than using dari.

How do pronouns change the sentence? saya vs aku vs -ku

saya: neutral/formal — Baterai senter saya habis…
aku: informal — Baterai senter aku habis…
-ku (clitic): informal, attaches to the noun — Baterai senterku habis…
Use saya in formal or mixed settings; aku/-ku with friends/family.

What would an informal version sound like?

Colloquial options:

Batre senter gue abis semalem. (Jakarta slang: batre, abis, gue)
Semalem senternya mati.
Note: lowbat is slang for “low battery,” not necessarily fully dead: Senternya lowbat semalem.
In standard writing, prefer baterai, habis, saya.

Can I use yang to emphasize it was the battery (not something else)?

Yes. Baterai senter saya yang habis (bukan lampunya). The yang-construction adds contrastive focus: it was the battery that ran out.

Does habis ever mean “because” or “after”?

In colloquial speech, yes:

Habis mahal. = Because it’s expensive.
Habis itu, kita pulang. = After that, we went home.
In the target sentence, habis is the predicate “used up,” not a conjunction.