Breakdown of Kami menunggu di ruang rapat sebelum rapat dimulai.
di
in
kami
we
menunggu
to wait
sebelum
before
rapat
the meeting
dimulai
to start
ruang rapat
the meeting room
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Questions & Answers about Kami menunggu di ruang rapat sebelum rapat dimulai.
Why is it kami and not kita here?
Indonesian distinguishes two kinds of “we”:
- kami = we (excluding the listener)
- kita = we (including the listener)
The sentence uses kami to indicate the listener was not part of the group waiting. If the listener was included, you’d say: Kita menunggu di ruang rapat sebelum rapat dimulai.
Does this mean “we waited” or “we are waiting”? How is tense shown?
Indonesian verbs don’t change for tense. Context or time words show when it happens:
- Past: Kami menunggu tadi di ruang rapat... (earlier)
- Present/progressive: Kami sedang menunggu di ruang rapat...
- Future: Kami akan menunggu di ruang rapat...
Without a time word, it can be past, present, or future depending on context.
Is menunggu the same as tunggu?
- menunggu is the standard verb “to wait” in statements: Kami menunggu...
- tunggu is the base form, often used as an imperative: Tunggu! (“Wait!”)
- Colloquial: nunggu (informal), more common in speech.
- Near-synonym: menanti (more formal/poetic).
Patterns:
- With an object: menunggu rapat dimulai (“wait for the meeting to start”)
- With a conjunction: menunggu sampai/hingga rapat dimulai
- You’ll hear menunggu untuk + verb, but many prefer the clearer sampai/hingga construction.
Why is it di ruang rapat and not pada ruang rapat?
- di marks physical location: di ruang rapat = “in/at the meeting room.”
- pada is used for times, dates, and more abstract “at”: pada pukul 9, pada rapat ini (“at this meeting” as an event). So for a place/room, use di.
Why is di separate in di ruang but attached in di-mulai (dimulai)?
Two different “di”:
- di (separate) is a preposition for location: di ruang rapat
- di- (attached) is a passive voice prefix on verbs: dimulai = “is/was started”
What’s the difference between ruang and ruangan? Is ruangan rapat okay?
- ruang = room/space, commonly used in fixed compounds: ruang rapat, ruang kelas
- ruangan = an enclosed room/space (derived with -an). ruangan rapat is understood and heard, but ruang rapat is the standard set phrase for “meeting room.” Nuance is minor; prefer ruang rapat.
Do we need to repeat rapat? Can we say just sebelum dimulai?
Repeating rapat avoids ambiguity. You can say:
- Kami menunggu di ruang rapat sebelum dimulai. This can work if it’s crystal clear from context that “it” = the meeting. Otherwise, sebelum rapat dimulai is safer and clearer.
Can I say sebelum rapat mulai instead of sebelum rapat dimulai?
Yes, both are natural:
- sebelum rapat dimulai (passive; neutral/formal)
- sebelum rapat mulai (intransitive “mulai”; everyday speech)
Related forms:
- memulai rapat = “to start the meeting” (active)
- rapat dimulai = “the meeting is started/starts” (passive)
- rapat mulai jam 9 = “the meeting starts at 9” (intransitive)
Can I front the time clause: “Before the meeting starts, we wait(ed) in the meeting room”?
Yes:
- Sebelum rapat dimulai, kami menunggu di ruang rapat. Put a comma after the initial subordinate clause. Meaning stays the same.
Do I need sedang to show “are waiting”?
No. Menunggu can be present or past by itself. Use sedang to emphasize it’s in progress:
- Neutral: Kami menunggu di ruang rapat...
- Ongoing: Kami sedang menunggu di ruang rapat...
- Colloquial: Kita lagi nunggu di ruang rapat...
How do I make the time reference explicit (past/future)?
Add time markers:
- Past: tadi, barusan, kemarin
- Kami tadi menunggu di ruang rapat...
- Future: nanti, sebentar lagi, akan
- Kami akan menunggu di ruang rapat...
How do I say “the meeting room” vs “a meeting room” since there are no articles?
Use demonstratives or other markers:
- Definite “the”: ruang rapat itu/tersebut, or sometimes ruang rapatnya
- Kami menunggu di ruang rapat itu.
- Indefinite “a”: you can add sebuah if needed, but often Indonesian omits it:
- Kami menunggu di (sebuah) ruang rapat.
Why not say di rapat for “at the meeting”? When do I use pada or dalam with “rapat”?
Rapat is an event, not a physical place, so:
- “At the meeting (event)” = pada rapat (formal) or dalam rapat (“in the meeting,” i.e., during it)
- “In the meeting room (place)” = di ruang rapat Avoid di rapat for the event sense; it sounds off.
Is there a more casual or more formal way to say this?
- Formal/neutral: Kami menunggu di ruang rapat sebelum rapat dimulai.
- More formal/literary: Kami menanti di ruang rapat sebelum rapat dimulai.
- Casual: Kita nunggu di ruang meeting sebelum meeting mulai. (uses English loan “meeting” and colloquial nunggu)
What’s the difference between sebelum and sampai/hingga?
- sebelum = before
- Kami menunggu ... sebelum rapat dimulai.
- sampai/hingga = until
- Kami menunggu ... sampai/hingga rapat dimulai. Choose based on whether you mean “before” or “until.”
Can I move the place phrase to the end: “Kami menunggu sebelum rapat dimulai di ruang rapat”?
It’s grammatical, but can momentarily read as if “the meeting starts in the meeting room.” To keep it crystal clear that the waiting happens there, it’s better as:
- Kami menunggu di ruang rapat sebelum rapat dimulai.
- Or: Sebelum rapat dimulai, kami menunggu di ruang rapat.