Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Sepanjang pagi, hujan deras, tetapi kami tetap bekerja. - Throughout the morning, heavy rain falls, but we keep working.

Indonesian allows clauses without an explicit “be” verb, and weather expressions are often verb-less. Hujan can function as a noun (“rain”) or as an intransitive verb (“to rain”). So hujan deras is a perfectly natural clause meaning “It rained heavily” or “There was heavy rain.” If you want an explicit verb, you can say:

Sepanjang pagi, turun hujan deras.
Sepanjang pagi, hujan turun deras.
Sepanjang pagi, ada hujan deras.

Do I need the commas here, especially before tetapi?

Yes in formal writing. Use a comma after the fronted time phrase and before tetapi when it links two independent clauses:

Sepanjang pagi, hujan deras, tetapi kami tetap bekerja. In casual texting people often drop commas, but the above punctuation is the standard.

Can I replace tetapi with other contrast words like tapi, namun, meskipun/walaupun?

tapi: informal equivalent of tetapi. Example: …, tapi kami tetap bekerja.
namun: more formal, works like “however.” You can write: Sepanjang pagi, hujan deras, namun kami tetap bekerja. Many writers prefer a period: Sepanjang pagi, hujan deras. Namun, kami tetap bekerja.
meskipun/walaupun: concessive subordinators (“even though”), so the structure changes:
- Meskipun hujan deras sepanjang pagi, kami tetap bekerja.
- Walaupun hujan deras sepanjang pagi, kami tetap bekerja.
  Short forms meski/walau are also common.

What’s the nuance of tetap versus masih and terus?

tetap = “keep/continue despite something,” emphasizes persistence in the face of an obstacle or contrast: kami tetap bekerja (we kept working despite the heavy rain).
masih = “still (up to now/then),” emphasizes continuity in time: kami masih bekerja (we are/were still working).
terus = “keep on/continuously,” emphasizes ongoing action, sometimes repeatedly: kami terus bekerja (we kept on working). You can combine with negation differently: masih belum bekerja (still not working) vs tetap tidak bekerja (persist in not working).

Why kami and not kita?

Both mean “we,” but:

kami excludes the listener (“we, not including you”),
kita includes the listener (“you and I/we all”). Using kami signals the speaker’s group worked, but the person being spoken to was not part of that group.

Is sepanjang the same as selama?

Both can mean “during/for,” but:

sepanjang often pairs with named time spans and emphasizes “throughout the whole stretch”: sepanjang pagi, sepanjang hari, sepanjang musim hujan.
selama is more general and used with durations or events: selama tiga jam, selama liburan.
With “morning,” sepanjang pagi (ini) is more idiomatic than selama pagi. If you specify a particular morning, selama pagi ini can work, but sepanjang pagi ini is more natural.

Is the sentence past or present? How do I make that clear?

Indonesian has no tense inflections; time is shown by context or time words. You can specify:

Past (earlier today): Sepanjang pagi tadi, hujan deras, tetapi kami tetap bekerja.
Today (this morning): Sepanjang pagi ini, hujan deras, tetapi kami tetap bekerja.
Yesterday morning: Kemarin pagi, hujan deras, tetapi kami tetap bekerja.

Can I move sepanjang pagi to the middle? Does word order change the meaning?

Yes, you can say:

Hujan deras sepanjang pagi, tetapi kami tetap bekerja. Meaning stays the same; putting sepanjang pagi at the front adds emphasis to the time frame.

Why bekerja and not just kerja?

The root is kerja (“work”). The verb is bekerja (“to work”). In informal speech, many people use kerja as a verb: kami tetap kerja. In standard/formal writing, bekerja is preferred.

Is deras the best word here? What about lebat?

Both are common with rain:

hujan deras = heavy, forceful rain (often evokes intensity/flow).
hujan lebat = heavy pouring rain (very common collocation).
Both are natural: Sepanjang pagi, hujan lebat, tetapi kami tetap bekerja.
Milder rain: hujan rintik-rintik (drizzle), gerimis (drizzle).

If I remove tetap, does it still sound like “we still worked”?

Without tetap, the contrast weakens: …, tetapi kami bekerja is merely “but we worked.” To keep the concessive force (“nevertheless”), use tetap or restructure with meskipun/walaupun:

…, tetapi kami tetap bekerja.
Walaupun hujan deras sepanjang pagi, kami tetap bekerja.

Could I say pagi-pagi or pagi hari instead of sepanjang pagi?

They’re different:

sepanjang pagi = throughout the morning (the whole stretch).
pagi-pagi = early in the morning (very early).
pagi hari = in the morning (general, not necessarily the entire morning).
Choose based on the nuance you want.

Is it okay to drop the commas entirely in casual writing?

People often do in chats: Sepanjang pagi hujan deras tapi kami tetap bekerja. It’s understandable, but for clear, standard writing keep the commas: after the fronted time phrase and before tetapi.

Any quick pronunciation tips?

Sepanjang: se-PAN-jang (j as in “jump,” ng as in “sing”).
hujan: HU-jan (u like “oo” in “book”).
deras: de-RAS (e is a schwa in many accents).
tetapi: te-TA-pi (plain t, not aspirated).
bekerja: be-KER-ja (the first e is a schwa; r is lightly tapped).