Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Keputusan sang manajer jelas: sesi kedua dimulai tepat waktu. - The manager’s decision is clear: the second session starts on time.

sang manajer ≈ “the manager” (with a sense of respect / importance, a bit literary)
manajer alone can also mean “the manager” from context, without any article
si manajer sounds more informal/colloquial and can feel more casual or even slightly teasing, depending on tone

So:

Keputusan sang manajer jelas = “The manager’s decision is clear” (slightly elevated, written style)
Keputusan manajer jelas = same meaning, more neutral
Keputusan si manajer jelas = can sound like you’re talking about “that manager” in a more casual, story-telling way.

Why is there no word meaning “is” between Keputusan sang manajer and jelas?

Indonesian usually does not use a verb like “to be” (is/are/am) between a noun and an adjective or noun. The pattern is simply:

[Subject] + [Adjective]

So:

Keputusan sang manajer jelas = The manager’s decision *is clear*

You could add:

Keputusan sang manajer itu jelas
Keputusan sang manajer adalah keputusan yang jelas

But itu and adalah are not exact equivalents of “is”; they add emphasis or a slightly more formal/explanatory feel. The basic, natural sentence does not need any “is”.

Could I say Keputusan dari manajer jelas to mean “The manager’s decision is clear”? Is dari correct for possession?

Keputusan dari manajer is understandable, but it sounds less natural here. Native speakers usually express this kind of “possessive” relationship without dari:

Keputusan manajer jelas
Keputusan sang manajer jelas
Keputusan manajer itu jelas

dari (“from/of”) is used in some possessive-like expressions, but it’s more natural in phrases like:

hadiah dari ibu – a present from mother
masukan dari guru – input/feedback from the teacher

For something like “the manager’s decision,” just Keputusan manajer (with or without sang/itu) is more idiomatic.

What’s the difference between dimulai and mulai in sesi kedua dimulai tepat waktu?

mulai and dimulai are related but not identical:

mulai = “to start/begin” (intransitive or sometimes transitive)
- Sesi kedua mulai jam dua. – The second session starts at 2.
dimulai = passive form, “to be started / is started”
- Sesi kedua dimulai jam dua. – The second session is started at 2.

In your sentence:

sesi kedua dimulai tepat waktu
Literally: “the second session was started / is started on time”
→ Very natural way to say “the second session started on time,” focusing on the event, not on who started it.

If you explicitly mention the agent:

Panitia memulai sesi kedua tepat waktu. – The committee started the second session on time.

So dimulai fits well when you’re just describing what happened to the session itself, without naming who started it.

Does tepat waktu mean exactly the same as “on time”? Are there other common ways to say this?

Yes, tepat waktu is the standard, neutral way to say “on time / punctual(ly)”.

Other common expressions:

Tidak terlambat / tidak telat – “not late”
Informal: nggak telat, nggak terlambat
Slightly more colloquial: pas waktunya (“right at the time”)

But in a sentence like:

Sesi kedua dimulai tepat waktu.

tepat waktu is the most natural and neutral choice, especially in written or semi-formal Indonesian.

Does this sentence describe the past, the present, or the future? There are no tense markers—how do I know?

Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense (past/present/future). Time is usually understood from context or from time words like tadi, sudah, akan, nanti, etc.

Your sentence:

Keputusan sang manajer jelas: sesi kedua dimulai tepat waktu.

could mean:

Past: “The manager’s decision was clear: the second session started on time.”
Present/future (e.g., in an announcement): “The manager’s decision is clear: the second session will start on time.”

If you wanted to make it explicitly future, you could say:

…: sesi kedua akan dimulai tepat waktu.
If explicitly past, you might add:
…: sesi kedua tadi dimulai tepat waktu.

Without such markers, the tense is inferred from the situation.

What’s the difference between sesi kedua, sesi ke-2, and sesi yang kedua?

All three can mean “the second session,” but with different styles:

sesi kedua
- Very common and natural.
- Neutral style, good for speech and writing.
sesi ke-2
- Uses the ordinal prefix ke- with a numeral.
- Often seen in writing, schedules, slides, or tables.
- Slightly more “technical” or list-like.
sesi yang kedua
- Literally “the session that is second.”
- Can sound a bit more descriptive or contrastive, e.g., when distinguishing between several sessions.

In most contexts, sesi kedua is the smoothest, most idiomatic choice.

Is the colon (:) in jelas: sesi kedua dimulai tepat waktu used the same way as in English?

Yes, very similarly. The colon here introduces the result, explanation, or content of the clear decision:

Keputusan sang manajer jelas:
→ now we explain what that decision is
sesi kedua dimulai tepat waktu.

You could also write:

Keputusan sang manajer jelas; sesi kedua dimulai tepat waktu.
Keputusan sang manajer jelas. Sesi kedua dimulai tepat waktu.

But using the colon is a neat and natural way to show that the second part directly expresses the content of the “clear decision.”

What is the structure and basic meaning of keputusan?

Keputusan comes from the root putus, which means “to break off, to decide, to end,” plus the nominalizing prefix-suffix ke- … -an.

putus → to be broken off / to be decided
ke
- putus
  - an → keputusan

Meaning: “decision” (also “verdict,” “ruling,” depending on context).

So:

Keputusan sang manajer = “the manager’s decision”
Related words:
- memutuskan – to decide (transitive verb)
- putusan – decision/ruling (often legal context)

Is the overall sentence formal, neutral, or informal?

The sentence is neutral-to-formal:

Keputusan, manajer, sesi, dimulai, tepat waktu – all are neutral/common words.
sang manajer adds a slightly literary or elevated tone.
The use of a colon also feels somewhat written/formal.

You might see this kind of wording in reports, meeting minutes, or written summaries, more than in very casual conversation. In casual speech, someone might instead say, for example:

Pokoknya, manajernya udah jelas: sesi kedua mulai tepat waktu.