Kami menyelesaikan laporan harian sebelum rapat dimulai.

We complete the daily report before the meeting starts.

Breakdown of Kami menyelesaikan laporan harian sebelum rapat dimulai.

• kami: we
• sebelum: before
• rapat: the meeting
• harian: daily
• dimulai: to start
• laporan: the report
• menyelesaikan: to complete

Questions & Answers about Kami menyelesaikan laporan harian sebelum rapat dimulai.

What’s the difference between kami and kita?

In Indonesian, both mean “we,” but:

• Kami = we (excluding the listener)
• Kita = we (including the listener)

Use kami here unless you’re talking to someone who is part of the group finishing the report. Examples:

• Kami akan berangkat dulu. = We (not you) will leave first.
• Kita akan berangkat sekarang. = We (you included) will leave now.

Why use menyelesaikan instead of selesai?

• Menyelesaikan is a transitive verb meaning “to finish/complete (something),” so it can take a direct object: laporan harian.
• Selesai is an adjective/stative verb meaning “finished/done,” and doesn’t take a direct object.

Alternatives:

• Active: Kami menyelesaikan laporan harian.
• Stative: Laporannya sudah selesai. or Kami sudah selesai mengerjakan laporan harian.

How is menyelesaikan formed, and why does it start with meny-?

Menyelesaikan = meN- + selesai + -kan.

• The prefix meN- marks an active verb; with roots starting with s, the s drops and meN- becomes meny-: selesai → menyelesaikan.
• The suffix -kan often makes the verb transitive/causative (“cause to be finished”).

Common meN- assimilation patterns:

• s → meny- (s drops): sapu → menyapu
• t → men- (t drops): tulis → menulis
• p → mem- (p drops): pakai → memakai
• k → meng- (k drops): kirim → mengirim

What tense is this? Does it mean past?

Indonesian verbs don’t inflect for tense. The sentence can be past, habitual, or future; context decides. You can add markers:

• Past/completed: Kami sudah/udah menyelesaikan laporan harian …
• Habit: Biasanya kami menyelesaikan laporan harian …
• Future: Kami akan menyelesaikan laporan harian … sebelum rapat dimulai.

Why rapat dimulai? Could I say rapat mulai?

Both are acceptable:

• Rapat dimulai… = passive (“the meeting is begun/starts”); a bit more formal.
• Rapat mulai… = intransitive “the meeting starts”; also natural, often a bit more direct.

Examples: Rapat dimulai jam tiga. / Rapat mulai jam tiga.

Can I shorten “sebelum rapat dimulai” to “sebelum rapat”?

Yes. Sebelum rapat is common and natural if the meaning is clear. Sebelum rapat dimulai is more explicit (emphasizes the start time) and slightly more formal. Both are fine:

• Kami menyelesaikan laporan harian sebelum rapat.
• Kami menyelesaikan laporan harian sebelum rapat dimulai.

Is sebelum a preposition or a conjunction, and where can the clause go?

Sebelum works with either a noun phrase or a clause:

• With a noun phrase: sebelum rapat
• With a clause: sebelum rapat dimulai

You can place the sebelum-phrase first or second:

• Kami … sebelum rapat dimulai.
• Sebelum rapat dimulai, kami …

How do I use sebelumnya correctly?

Sebelumnya means “previously/beforehand” (an adverb), not a subordinator. Use it as its own time adverb:

• Sebelumnya, kami menyelesaikan laporan harian. = Previously, we finished the daily report.
• Kami menyelesaikan laporan harian sebelumnya. = We finished the daily report earlier/before.

Don’t use sebelumnya to introduce a following clause like “sebelumnya rapat dimulai.” For that, use sebelum + clause or the nominalized form: sebelum dimulainya rapat.

Why is it laporan harian (not harian laporan)? What’s the word order?

In Indonesian, the head noun comes first and modifiers follow it:

• laporan harian = daily report (laporan = report; harian = daily) Other examples: rapat penting (an important meeting), kue cokelat (chocolate cake).

Do I need “the/a” with laporan harian? How do I show definiteness or possession?

Indonesian has no articles. Make it definite or possessive with:

• “that/the”: laporan harian itu; laporannya (“the report” in context)
• Possession: laporan harian kami (our daily report), laporan harian mereka (their daily report), laporan hariannya (his/her daily report)

How would this look in passive voice or with object fronting?

• Passive: Laporan harian diselesaikan (oleh kami) sebelum rapat dimulai. (oleh kami is optional)
• Object-fronted active: Laporan harian kami selesaikan sebelum rapat dimulai. (emphasis on the report)

Both are natural, with the passive sounding more formal.

Can I replace menyelesaikan with other verbs?

Yes, depending on nuance:

• menuntaskan = to complete/bring to a conclusion (thorough)
• merampungkan = to finalize/complete (often formal)
• menyudahi = to put an end to/finish (can mean “stop” rather than “complete”)
• membereskan = to tidy up/wrap up (colloquial)

Example: Kami menuntaskan/merampungkan laporan harian sebelum rapat dimulai.

What’s the difference between rapat and pertemuan?

• rapat = a formal/work meeting (agenda, decisions)
• pertemuan = a meeting/encounter more generally (can be formal or informal)

You can say: Kami menyelesaikan laporan harian sebelum pertemuan dimulai.

How would this sound in informal Jakarta-style speech?

A common colloquial version:

• Kita udah nyelesain laporan harian sebelum rapat mulai. Notes:
• kita includes the listener; use kami if you want to exclude them.
• udah = sudah; nyelesain = menyelesaikan (colloquial shortening).

Can I refer back to “laporan harian” with -nya?

Yes. If “the report” is already known, you can say:

• Kami menyelesaikannya sebelum rapat dimulai. = We finished it before the meeting started. Here, -nya means “it.”

Do I need a comma anywhere?

Not in the original order. Add a comma if the sebelum-clause comes first:

• Sebelum rapat dimulai, kami menyelesaikan laporan harian.