Breakdown of Teman saya bekerja di bidang keuangan.
teman
the friend
bekerja
to work
saya
my
keuangan
the finance
Questions & Answers about Teman saya bekerja di bidang keuangan.
Why does saya come after teman? Is teman saya really my friend?
Yes. In Indonesian, possession is usually noun + possessor, the reverse of English.
- teman = friend
- saya = I / me
- teman saya = my friend (literally: friend I)
Some more examples:
- rumah saya = my house
- mobil dia = his / her car
- guru kami = our teacher
So you don’t say saya teman for my friend; it must be teman saya.
Is teman saya singular or plural? Does it mean my friend or my friends?
By itself, teman saya is number-neutral. It can mean:
- my friend (singular), or
- my friends (plural), depending on context.
If you really want to make it clearly plural, you can say:
- teman-teman saya = my friends (definitely plural)
- para teman saya (more formal) = my friends
For clearly singular, people often rely on context or add something like:
- satu teman saya = one friend of mine
- seorang teman saya = a (certain) friend of mine
Why is there no word like or in ?