Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Saya memeriksa halaman laporan sebelum rapat dimulai. - I check the report page before the meeting starts.

In Indonesian noun–noun compounds, the head noun comes first and the modifier follows. Halaman (page[s]) is the head, and laporan (report) specifies which pages.

Analogous patterns:

judul laporan
baju anak
buku matematika

Laporan halaman is not how Indonesian normally expresses an “of” relationship and sounds wrong.

Does halaman mean page or yard here? How do I tell?

Halaman can mean:

page (of a document/book)
yard/courtyard

Context decides. With halaman laporan, it clearly means pages of a report. For the “yard” sense, you’d see contexts like halaman rumah or the synonym pekarangan.

Is halaman singular or plural in this sentence? How can I make it explicit?

Indonesian doesn’t require plural marking, so halaman can mean page or pages.

To be explicit:

a page (of the report): satu halaman laporan itu / salah satu halaman laporan itu
several pages: beberapa halaman laporan
many pages: banyak halaman laporan
all the pages: semua or seluruh halaman laporan

Reduplication (halaman-halaman) is possible but quantifiers are more common.

Why rapat dimulai instead of rapat mulai?

Both are correct; the choice is about style.

rapat mulai: intransitive, neutral, a bit more casual.
rapat dimulai: passive, slightly more formal, common in announcements (e.g., Rapat dimulai pukul 10).

When no agent is mentioned, Indonesian often uses the passive di- form to present the event as simply happening.

Can I say sebelum rapat mulai instead of sebelum rapat dimulai?

Yes. Both are natural.

More formal: sebelum rapat dimulai
Neutral/casual: sebelum rapat mulai

Other variants:

sebelum rapatnya dimulai
sebelum rapat dimulai pukul 10

Where can the sebelum clause go? Do I need a comma?

Two common orders:

Main clause first: Saya memeriksa … sebelum rapat dimulai. (no comma)
Time clause first: Sebelum rapat dimulai, saya memeriksa …. (comma after the time clause)

Is this past, present, or future? Indonesian doesn’t show tense—how do I make it clear?

It’s tenseless by default; context decides. Add markers if needed:

Past/completed: Saya sudah memeriksa … sebelum rapat dimulai. / Tadi saya memeriksa …
Very recent: Saya barusan memeriksa …
Future: Saya akan memeriksa … sebelum rapat dimulai.
Habitual: Saya biasanya memeriksa … sebelum rapat dimulai.

What’s the nuance difference between memeriksa, mengecek, meninjau, and menelaah?

memeriksa: examine/check carefully for errors or compliance; neutral/formal.
mengecek: check/verify; casual and common in speech (also Saya cek in very casual style).
meninjau: review/overview; broader, less detailed.
menelaah: study/analyze in depth; formal/academic.

Your sentence fits memeriksa well; mengecek makes it more casual.

Do I have to keep Saya, or can I drop the subject?

You can drop it if context makes the subject clear:

With subject: Saya memeriksa …
Dropped: Memeriksa … sebelum rapat dimulai.

Spoken Indonesian often keeps saya/aku to avoid ambiguity.

saya = neutral/formal
aku = informal/intimate

How do I say I checked all/several/only a few pages of the report?

All: Saya memeriksa semua/seluruh halaman laporan sebelum …
Several: Saya memeriksa beberapa halaman laporan sebelum …
Only a few: Saya hanya memeriksa beberapa halaman laporan sebelum …
Only the first/last page: Saya hanya memeriksa halaman pertama/terakhir laporan sebelum …

How do I make it clear I mean a specific report?

Use itu or -nya:

Saya memeriksa halaman laporan itu …
Saya memeriksa halaman laporannya …

Both indicate a specific, known report. Place -nya on the noun it refers to: halaman laporannya (not halamannya laporan).

What are the word-formation patterns in memeriksa and dimulai?

memeriksa = meN- + periksa. With meN-, initial p of the root drops and the prefix surfaces as mem-: memeriksa (not meperiksa).
dimulai = di- + mulai. This is the passive counterpart of active memulai (to start something). There’s also intransitive mulai (to start).

Related patterns:

memulai rapat
rapat dimulai
rapat mulai

Is there a difference between rapat and pertemuan?

rapat: formal/official meeting (work, committee, organization).
pertemuan: any meeting/encounter, broader and can be informal.

In workplace contexts, rapat is the default.

Is sebelum a preposition or a conjunction? Can it be used with just a noun?

It can introduce:

a clause: sebelum rapat dimulai
a noun phrase: sebelum rapat

Both are fine. With a clause, you can add details like time; with a noun phrase, it’s shorter. Near-synonyms: menjelang (as something is approaching), sebelumnya (earlier/before that).

Any pronunciation tips for this sentence?

Saya: SA-ya
memeriksa: me-me-RIK-sa (ks as in books)
halaman: ha-LA-man
laporan: la-PO-ran
sebelum: sə-BƏ-lum (e = schwa)
rapat: RA-pat (final t unreleased)
dimulai: di-mu-LAI (ai like eye)

Stress is light and usually near the penultimate syllable; rhythm is fairly even.