Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Dia membawa apel ke kantor dan pisang untuk adiknya. - He/She brings an apple to the office and a banana for his/her younger sibling.

Dia is a gender-neutral third-person singular pronoun; it can mean “he” or “she.” For formal writing you may see ia (mostly as a subject). For respectful reference to elders or VIPs, use beliau. “They” (plural) is mereka; Indonesian doesn’t have a singular “they.”

What tense is membawa? How do I say past, present, or future?

Indonesian verbs don’t change for tense. Dia membawa can mean “brought,” “is bringing,” or “brings,” depending on context. Add time/aspect words when needed:

Past: Dia sudah membawa…, Kemarin dia membawa…
Progressive: Dia sedang membawa…
Future: Dia akan membawa…, Nanti dia akan membawa…

Why membawa and not bawa?

Membawa is the standard active form (meN- prefix + root). Bawa is the bare root, common in casual speech and imperatives:

Casual: Dia bawa apel ke kantor…
Imperative: Bawa apel itu! Note: meN- + b = mem-, hence mem-bawa → membawa.

Should it be membawakan because the bananas are for someone?

Use either:

membawa X untuk Y = bring X for Y (natural with membawa)
membawakan X (untuk/kepada) Y = bring X for/to Y (benefactive -kan) Examples:
Dia membawa pisang untuk adiknya.
Dia membawakan pisang untuk adiknya. Both are fine; with membawakan, untuk is common; kepada is possible but sounds more like giving to a person. A double-object order like Dia membawakan adiknya pisang exists, but with membawa/membawakan, many speakers prefer adding untuk/kepada for clarity.

Do apel and pisang mean one or many? Do I need a classifier?

Bare nouns are number-neutral. apel/pisang could be “apple(s)”/“banana(s).” Specify quantity if needed:

One: sebuah apel, satu apel
Many/some: beberapa apel
Exact: dua (buah) apel, tiga pisang Reduplication (apel-apel) marks plurality but is less common in everyday speech than using numbers/quantifiers.

Does ke kantor mean “to the office” or “to his/her office”? There’s no “the” or “a” in Indonesian, right?

Correct—no articles. Ke kantor simply means “to office/to the office.” Context supplies definiteness. To specify possession or definiteness:

ke kantornya = to his/her/the office (specific)
ke kantor saya = to my office
ke kantor itu = to that (specific) office

What’s the difference between ke and di?

ke = to/toward (movement/destination): ke kantor
di = at/in (location): di kantor Use ke with motion verbs like pergi, datang, membawa.

Why untuk and not kepada, buat, or bagi?

untuk = for/for the benefit of; very natural with membawa.
kepada = to (a person as recipient); common with giving verbs (memberi, mengirim).
buat = colloquial “for,” interchangeable with untuk in speech.
bagi = formal “for” (often in written style). So here pisang untuk adiknya is the default natural phrasing.

Does ke kantor apply only to apel, or to both apel and pisang?

As written, it’s most naturally parsed as two parallel chunks:

[apel ke kantor] and [pisang untuk adiknya]. To say both fruits go to the office: Dia membawa apel dan pisang ke kantor. To say both are for the sibling: Dia membawa apel dan pisang untuk adiknya. To say both go to the office for the sibling: Dia membawa apel dan pisang ke kantor untuk adiknya. For maximum clarity, you can also repeat or add keduanya (“both”).

Who does adiknya refer to? The subject’s sibling?

-nya is a third-person marker that can mean “his/her/their (singular)” or just “the (specific).” In this sentence, the default reading is “his/her younger sibling,” likely referring back to dia, but it could also refer to another third person mentioned earlier. Context decides.

Why is it adiknya and not adik-nya?

Clitics like -nya attach directly with no hyphen: adiknya. Hyphens are used for reduplication (adik-adik) or certain affixation examples in pedagogical contexts, but not for possessive -nya.

How do I specify the sibling’s gender?

Add a descriptor:

adik laki-laki = younger brother
adik perempuan = younger sister Example: … pisang untuk adik perempuannya.

Can I move the phrases around?

Word order is flexible, but keep it clear:

Neutral: Dia membawa apel ke kantor dan pisang untuk adiknya.
Both to office: Dia membawa apel dan pisang ke kantor.
Fronting is possible but can sound marked: Ke kantor dia membawa apel… Avoid splitting elements in ways that create ambiguity.

Is dan the right connector here? Any punctuation needed?

Yes, dan (“and”) naturally links the two coordinated objects with their own modifiers. No comma is needed.

How do I pronounce the key words?

dia: dee-ah
membawa: məm-BAH-wah (the first e is a schwa)
apel: AH-pəl (e ≈ schwa)
kantor: KAN-tor
adiknya: ah-DIK-nya (the y in nya is like “ny” in “canyon”)