Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Setelah makan, kami merapikan meja dan kursi. - After eating, we tidy up the table and chairs.

kami excludes the listener (we = not you).
kita includes the listener (we = you and I). In the sentence, kami means the speaker’s group, not including the person being spoken to.

Why isn’t there a word for the in meja dan kursi?

Indonesian doesn’t use articles like the/a. Definiteness comes from context or markers like:

mejanya / kursinya (often feels like the/its/that table/chair)
meja itu / kursi itu (that/the table/chair) Without these, meja dan kursi can mean the table and chairs or just table and chairs in general, depending on context.

Is meja dan kursi singular or plural?

Indonesian usually doesn’t mark plurals. meja dan kursi could mean one table and one chair, or multiple tables and chairs. To be explicit:

Some: beberapa meja dan kursi
Many: banyak meja dan kursi
All: semua kursi (and if needed, semua meja) Reduplication (e.g., kursi-kursi) also marks plurality but is less common than using quantifiers unless you want to emphasize variety or plurality itself.

Why does Setelah makan have no subject? Should it be Setelah kami makan?

Indonesian often omits a repeated subject in a subordinate clause when it’s the same as the main clause. Setelah makan is understood as after we ate/eating. You can say Setelah kami makan for clarity or emphasis; both are correct.

Can the time clause go at the end?

Yes. Kami merapikan meja dan kursi setelah makan. Both orders are natural. Placing the time clause first sounds a bit more topical or structured.

What’s the nuance of merapikan compared to membereskan or membersihkan?

merapikan: to tidy up/put in order (make things neat).
membereskan: to sort out/clear up/finish (get things out of the way).
membersihkan: to clean (remove dirt). After eating:
If you push in chairs and arrange things: merapikan
If you clear plates/put things away: membereskan
If you wipe the table: membersihkan

Why merapikan and not rapikan or rapi?

rapi = neat (adjective).
merapikan = to make neat, to tidy (verb; meN-…-kan from rapi).
rapikan is typically imperative: Rapikan meja! (Tidy the table!) In a normal declarative sentence with a subject, use merapikan.

Do I need di before meja or kursi?

No. merapikan meja means tidy the table (meja is the direct object). di is a preposition for location:

merapikan di meja = tidy (things) on/at the table (focus on the place, not the table as the object).

Can I make this passive?

Yes:

Agentless passive: Setelah makan, meja dan kursi dirapikan.
With agent (more formal): Setelah makan, meja dan kursi dirapikan oleh kami. Active (kami merapikan…) is more neutral/common in everyday speech.

Is the comma after Setelah makan required?

Yes, when the subordinate clause comes first, standard Indonesian uses a comma: Setelah makan, … If the subordinate clause comes after, no comma is needed: Kami merapikan meja dan kursi setelah makan.

Are setelah and sesudah the same? What about habis, sehabis, or usai?

setelah and sesudah: synonyms and both standard.
habis / sehabis: more colloquial/natural in casual speech (especially habis).
usai: more formal/literary. All can fit here depending on tone: Habis makan, kami… (casual), Usai makan, kami… (formal/literary).

How do I show past, present, or future? Indonesian has no tense marking here.

Use time words/aspect markers:

Past/recent: tadi, barusan, or sudah (completed) — e.g., Tadi setelah makan, kami merapikan… or Setelah makan, kami sudah merapikan…
Habitual/present: context alone works — (Biasanya) Setelah makan, kami merapikan…
Future: akan, nanti — Setelah makan, kami akan merapikan…

Should it be meja makan (dining table) instead of meja?

Use meja makan if you want to be specific: Setelah makan, kami merapikan meja makan dan kursi. meja by itself is fine if the context already implies the dining table.

Could I use serta instead of dan?

Yes. serta also means and but is a bit more formal/literary. Kami merapikan meja serta kursi is correct. dan is the most common everyday coordinator.

Does dan ever mean or? How do I say or?

dan always means and. Use atau for or: meja atau kursi = table or chair. If you need and/or, Indonesian usually keeps it context-based or uses phrasing like dan/atau in formal writing.