Saya memegang payung di depan rumah.

I am holding an umbrella in front of the house.

Breakdown of Saya memegang payung di depan rumah.

• rumah: the house
• saya: I
• di depan: in front of
• payung: the umbrella
• sebuah: an
• memegang: to hold

Questions & Answers about Saya memegang payung di depan rumah.

Does the verb form memegang mean “am holding” or just “hold”? How do I show the -ing sense?

Indonesian verbs don’t change for tense/aspect. Saya memegang payung ... can mean I hold/am holding/held, depending on context. To make “am holding” explicit, add an aspect marker:

• Neutral: Saya sedang memegang payung di depan rumah.
• Colloquial: Aku lagi pegang payung di depan rumah.

Why is it Saya here? Can I use Aku or something else?

Saya is neutral/polite and safe with anyone. Aku is casual/intimate; in Jakarta slang you’ll hear gue. Keep your register consistent (don’t mix saya with gue in the same sentence).

Do I need “a/the” before payung? When would I use sebuah?

Indonesian has no articles. payung can mean “a(n) umbrella” or “the umbrella” from context. Use sebuah to stress “one umbrella” (counting), or payungnya / payung itu to make it definite.

• Saya memegang sebuah payung... (one umbrella)
• Saya memegang payungnya/payung itu... (the/that/his umbrella, depending on context)

Why is it memegang, not mepegang or menpegang?

It’s the meN- prefix rule. With roots starting with p, meN- becomes mem- and the initial p drops: pegang → memegang. Other examples: pakai → memakai, pukul → memukul, potong → memotong, pilih → memilih.

Can I just say pegang instead of memegang? What about megang?

• memegang = standard/neutral active form (recommended in writing).
• pegang = common in casual speech.
• megang = very colloquial/Jakartan. All mean “to hold” when followed by a direct object.

What’s the nuance compared with membawa, memakai/menggunakan, or berpayung?

• memegang payung: holding it in your hand (neutral).
• membawa payung: carrying an umbrella with you (may be closed).
• memakai/menggunakan payung: using it (typically open, rain/sun).
• berpayung: being under/with an umbrella (formal/literary flavor).

What exactly does di depan rumah mean—outside or inside at the front?

di depan rumah is outside, in front of the house. For “at/in the front part of the house” (e.g., porch/front area), use di bagian depan rumah or di teras rumah.

Is it di depan or didepan?

Write the preposition separately: di depan. The attached form di- is the passive verb prefix (e.g., dipegang). didepan is incorrect.

Can I move the place phrase to the front?

Yes, for emphasis: Di depan rumah, saya memegang payung. The neutral/default order keeps di depan rumah at the end.

How do I say “in front of my house / his house / that house”?

• My house: di depan rumah saya (neutral) / di depan rumahku (casual).
• His/her house: di depan rumahnya.
• That/the specific house: di depan rumah itu.

How do I negate this? Do I use tidak or bukan?

Use tidak before verbs/adjectives: Saya tidak memegang payung di depan rumah. Use bukan for nouns/equatives: Itu bukan rumah saya.

How do I make it clearly past or future?

Add time/aspect words:

• Past: Tadi saya memegang payung di depan rumah. / Kemarin saya memegang...
• Completed: Saya sudah memegang payung di depan rumah.
• Future: Saya akan memegang payung di depan rumah nanti.

What’s the passive version of this sentence?

• Formal passive: Payung dipegang (oleh) saya di depan rumah.
• Colloquial passive (Pasif 2): Payungnya saya pegang di depan rumah. (-nya often makes it “the umbrella”.)

Should it be di depan rumah or can I say depan rumah?

As a location phrase, include di: di depan rumah. depan rumah without di is fine inside a noun phrase (e.g., halaman depan rumah) or in very casual elliptical speech.

How do I show movement vs. location with depan?

• Static location: di depan rumah (in front of).
• Movement to: ke depan rumah (to the front of).
• Movement from: dari depan rumah (from the front of).

Are plurals marked? What if I’m holding two umbrellas?

Use numbers or quantifiers:

• Saya memegang dua payung di depan rumah.
• Saya memegang beberapa payung di depan rumah. Reduplication (payung-payung) is possible but less common here.

Is di hadapan rumah okay?

Yes, di hadapan also means “in front of,” but it’s more formal/literary. In everyday speech, di depan is more common.

Can I drop Saya?

In casual conversation, yes if the subject is clear: Lagi pegang payung di depan rumah. In careful speech or writing, keep Saya.