Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Pasar di tengah kampung buka setiap pagi. - The market in the middle of the village opens every morning.

Indonesian doesn’t use a copula like “is” before verbs or adjectives in simple present statements. Here, buka is the verb (“opens/is open”), so no extra verb is needed. You don’t use adalah here; adalah is for equating nouns (e.g., “X is Y”), not for verbs like buka.

Why buka and not membuka, dibuka, or terbuka?

buka: intransitive “to be open/opens (for business).” Example: Toko buka = “The shop is open.”
membuka: transitive “to open (something).” Example: Mereka membuka toko = “They open the shop.”
dibuka: passive “is/was opened (by…).” Example: Toko dibuka pukul 7 = “The shop is opened at 7.”
terbuka: state “open” (not closed), often physical or general. Example: Pintu terbuka = “The door is open.” Not used for business hours.

What tense is this? How do we know it’s habitual?

Indonesian has no tense inflections. Habitual meaning comes from time expressions like setiap pagi (“every morning”) and context. So buka here is understood as a regular/habitual action.

Can I move the time phrase? Where else can I put setiap pagi?

Yes. Common placements:

End: Pasar … buka setiap pagi. (neutral)
Fronted: Setiap pagi, pasar … buka. (emphasis on time) Both are natural.

What’s the difference between setiap and tiap? And between pagi, pagi-pagi, and pagi hari?

setiap and tiap both mean “every”; tiap is slightly more informal/colloquial.
pagi = morning (neutral).
pagi-pagi = very early morning.
pagi hari = “in the morning (time),” a bit more formal/emphatic.

What does di do here, and how is it different from the prefix di-?

di (separate word) is a preposition meaning “at/in/on.” Example: di tengah kampung = “in the middle of the village.”
di- (attached to a verb) is a passive prefix. Example: dibuka = “opened (passive).” Spacing matters: preposition has a space; passive prefix doesn’t.

Is di tengah the same as di tengah-tengah or di pusat?

di tengah: in the middle (neutral).
di tengah-tengah: emphasizes “right in the middle/among,” more emphatic.
di pusat: “in the center/hub,” often for administrative or commercial centers; more abstract/formal than just physical middle.

What’s the nuance difference between kampung and desa?

kampung: village or (in cities) a neighborhood/community area; conversational, warm, sometimes “hometown.” In Indonesian slang, kampungan means “uncouth,” so use it carefully.
desa: village in a more formal/administrative sense. In official contexts, desa is preferred.

Do we need yang: Pasar (yang) di tengah kampung …?

yang can be added to explicitly mark the modifier: Pasar yang di tengah kampung = “the market that is in the middle of the village.” Without yang, it’s still natural; adding yang can sound a bit more formal or contrastive.

How do I mark “the market” versus “a market”? Are articles used?

Indonesian has no articles. Definiteness is inferred from context or shown with:

Demonstratives: itu (that/the), ini (this/the). Example: Pasar di tengah kampung itu buka…
Enclitic -nya for “the/that/its” (contextual). Example: Pasarnya buka… = “The market opens…” in a known context.
If you need “a,” you can use sebuah (a classifier): Sebuah pasar… = “A market…”

Is the noun singular or plural here?

Unmarked nouns can be singular or plural. Context suggests one market. To make plural explicit, you could say pasar-pasar (markets), though with di tengah kampung it naturally implies a single market.

How would I negate this? How do I say it’s closed?

Negation: Pasar … tidak buka setiap pagi. = “The market doesn’t open every morning.”
“Closed” (state): tutup. Example: Pasar … tutup pada pagi hari. = “The market is closed in the mornings.”
Note: buka/tutup behave like intransitive verbs for business status.

Could this sentence appear without the subject, like on a sign?

Yes. On signs you often see elliptical forms like Buka setiap pagi (“Open every morning”) or Buka: 07.00–12.00.

How would I ask “What time does it open?”

Pasar buka jam berapa? (colloquial, very common)
More formal: Pasar buka pukul berapa?

Is it okay to add selalu (“always”), like “always open every morning”?

Avoid doubling habitual markers. Selalu and setiap overlap in meaning, so selalu buka setiap pagi is redundant. Use one:

Selalu buka pagi.
Buka setiap pagi.

Any quick pronunciation tips for this sentence?

u as in “food” (not “put”): buka, kampung.
e in tengah/setiap is a schwa (like the ‘a’ in “sofa”): tə-.
ng is the velar nasal /ŋ/ (as in “sing”): tengah, kampung.
Final r in pasar is tapped.