Saya membaca materi kuliah di perpustakaan.

I read lecture material at the library.

Breakdown of Saya membaca materi kuliah di perpustakaan.

• saya: I
• di: at
• membaca: to read
• perpustakaan: the library
• materi kuliah: the lecture material

Questions & Answers about Saya membaca materi kuliah di perpustakaan.

Is this sentence in present, past, or future? How do I make it specific?

Indonesian verbs don’t change for tense. Context or time words mark time.

• Neutral/ambiguous: Saya membaca materi kuliah di perpustakaan. (I read / I am reading / I read earlier)
• Right now (progressive): Saya sedang membaca… or informal lagi: Saya lagi membaca…
• Completed: Saya sudah/telah membaca…
• Just now: Saya baru saja membaca…
• Future: Besok saya akan membaca…

Do I have to include saya? Can I just say Membaca materi kuliah di perpustakaan?

You can drop saya if the subject is clear from context (e.g., answering a question, notes, headlines). As a standalone sentence, keeping saya makes it clear who’s doing the action, since Indonesian verbs don’t show person.

What’s the difference between saya, aku, and gue?

• saya: neutral/formal; safe with strangers, at work, in writing.
• aku: informal/intimate; friends, family, casual settings.
• gue/gua: very informal Jakarta slang; use with peers in that scene. Example equivalents: Saya/Aku/Gue membaca materi kuliah di perpustakaan.

Why is it membaca and not just baca? What does that prefix do?

• meN- makes active verbs, especially transitive ones. With roots starting with b/p/f/v, it becomes mem-: meN- + baca → membaca.
• The bare root baca appears in dictionaries and imperatives: Baca! (Read!)
• Other examples: menulis (write), mengajar (teach), mencari (search), melihat (see).

Can I say Saya baca materi kuliah… without the meN- prefix?

Yes in casual speech: Saya/Aku/Gue baca… is very common. In careful speech and writing, prefer membaca.

What exactly does materi kuliah mean? Could I say materi pelajaran or bahan kuliah?

• materi kuliah: course/lecture materials (notes, slides, readings) at the university level.
• materi pelajaran: “lesson material,” common for school contexts.
• bahan kuliah: materials used for a course (emphasizes physical resources).
• Note: mata kuliah = a specific course (e.g., Calculus), not the materials.

Why not Saya membaca kuliah?

Because kuliah means “lecture/college class” (or the verb “to attend college”). You read the materials, not “a lecture.” Use materi kuliah, catatan kuliah (lecture notes), or bahan bacaan (reading materials).

What does di mean here? How is it different from ke and dari?

• di = at/in (location): di perpustakaan (at/in the library)
• ke = to (destination): ke perpustakaan (to the library)
• dari = from (origin): dari perpustakaan (from the library)

Should it be “in” or “at” the library in English? Does di cover both?

Yes. di covers both “in” and “at.” If you need to stress being inside, use di dalam:

• di dalam perpustakaan = inside the library
• di luar perpustakaan = outside the library

Can the location phrase move? For example, can I say Di perpustakaan, saya membaca materi kuliah?

Yes. Common options:

• Saya membaca materi kuliah di perpustakaan. (neutral)
• Di perpustakaan, saya membaca materi kuliah. (emphasis on location) Avoid splitting the verb and object: Saya membaca di perpustakaan materi kuliah sounds odd.

Does di perpustakaan modify the verb or the noun? How would I say “the course materials that are in the library”?

In your sentence, the natural reading is the location of the action (where you read). To specify materials located in the library, use a relative clause:

• Saya membaca materi kuliah yang ada di perpustakaan.

How do I say “the library” versus “a library” in Indonesian?

Indonesian has no articles. Use context or markers:

• Definite: di perpustakaan itu or di perpustakaannya (that/the library already known)
• Indefinite: di sebuah perpustakaan (at a library), though often you just say di perpustakaan and let context decide.

Is materi singular or plural? How do I show quantity?

Number is usually unmarked. Use quantifiers when needed:

• beberapa materi (several materials)
• berbagai materi (various materials)
• banyak materi (a lot of material) Reduplication (materi-materi) is possible but less common than using quantifiers.

What’s the passive version of this sentence?

Three common passives:

• Full passive: Materi kuliah dibaca oleh saya di perpustakaan. (formal)
• Passive without oleh (typical with pronouns): Materi kuliah dibaca saya di perpustakaan.
• Short passive (very common): Materi kuliah saya baca di perpustakaan. These put focus on materi kuliah rather than the reader.

What’s the difference between membaca and belajar? Could I say Saya belajar di perpustakaan?

• membaca = to read (specific activity).
• belajar = to study (broad: reading, solving problems, reviewing). So yes: Saya belajar di perpustakaan is fine but less specific than membaca materi kuliah.

Why is di written separately here, but sometimes I see di- attached to a verb?

• Separate di = preposition “at/in,” written as a separate word: di perpustakaan.
• Prefixed di- = passive verb prefix, attached to the verb: dibaca (is/was read). Common mistake to write the preposition glued (e.g., ✗ dirumah). Correct is di rumah.

Can I drop di and just say Saya membaca materi kuliah perpustakaan?

No. Locations need a preposition. Without di, it looks like a noun–noun compound (e.g., “library course materials”), not a location. Say di perpustakaan.

How can I make it more specific, like “at the university library” or “at our campus library”?

Add a following modifier or a possessor:

• di perpustakaan universitas
• di perpustakaan kampus
• di perpustakaan kampus kami/kita (our campus library; kami = we (not including the listener), kita = we (including the listener))
• di perpustakaan UI/UGM, etc.

Any quick pronunciation tips for this sentence?

• Syllables: Sa-ya mem-ba-ca ma-te-ri ku-li-ah di per-pus-ta-ka-an
• Indonesian vowels are pure; c = “ch”; r is tapped; the e in per- is a schwa-like sound.
• Light stress usually on the second-to-last syllable of words: mem-ba-ca, per-pus-ta-ka-an.

Is there a shorter, casual way students actually say this?

Yes, colloquially:

• Gue lagi baca materi kuliah di perpus.
• Less slangy: Aku lagi baca materi kuliah di perpus. Here lagi ≈ sedang (in the middle of), and perpus is a common shortening of perpustakaan.