Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Kakak saya mengedit portofolio saya, lalu memberi saran apa yang perlu ditambah. - My older sibling edits my portfolio, then gives suggestions on what needs to be added.

kakak saya
- Literally: my older sibling
- Very common, neutral, and fits smoothly in sentences.
- Used exactly like my brother/sister in English:
  - Kakak saya bekerja di Jakarta. = My older sibling works in Jakarta.
saya punya kakak
- Literally: I have an older sibling.
- Used when you want to state the existence or fact of having an older sibling.
- For example:
  - Saya punya kakak dua. = I have two older siblings.

In your sentence, kakak saya mengedit portofolio saya is the natural choice.

Why is saya repeated in kakak saya mengedit portofolio saya? Could we drop the second saya?

The sentence has:

kakak saya = my older sibling (subject)
portofolio saya = my portfolio (object)

Repeating saya is normal and clear. It makes explicit that:

The portfolio belongs to me, not to kakak saya or someone else.

However, if the context is clear, Indonesians might say:

Kakak saya mengedit portofolio. (My older sibling edited the portfolio.)

Here, we understand from context whose portfolio it is.
But kakak saya mengedit portofolio saya sounds more precise and natural if you want to be clear it’s my portfolio.

Why is there no pronoun like dia in the second clause: lalu memberi saran? Who is the subject?

The subject is still kakak saya, carried over from the first clause.

Indonesian often omits the subject in the second (or later) clause when:

It is the same as in the previous clause, and
The meaning is clear from context.

So:

Kakak saya mengedit portofolio saya, lalu memberi saran …
= My older sibling edited my portfolio, then (he/she) gave suggestions …

You could say lalu dia memberi saran or lalu kakak saya memberi saran for emphasis or clarity, but it’s not necessary here.

What does mengedit tell us about the verb, and why is it not just edit?

Mengedit is formed from:

meN- prefix (a common verb-forming prefix)
edit (a loanword from English).

The prefix meN- turns edit into an active transitive verb:

edit (root/loan) → mengedit (to edit [something])

So:

Kakak saya mengedit portofolio saya.
= My older sibling edited my portfolio.

Other examples:

mengubah (to change) from ubah
menonton (to watch) from tonton

You usually use the meN- form in standard Indonesian sentences when the subject is doing the action.

Is portofolio just the Indonesian spelling of “portfolio”? Does it mean exactly the same thing?

Yes, portofolio is the Indonesian adaptation of English portfolio.

Meaning: A collection of works, samples, or documents showing someone’s skills or achievements (e.g. for job applications, art, design, writing, etc.)
Spelling: Indonesian standard spelling is portofolio (with fo, not folio as in English).

So portofolio saya = my portfolio, in the same sense as in English.

What does lalu mean here, and how is it different from kemudian or terus?

In this sentence, lalu means then / and then / afterward.

You can think of it as linking two actions in sequence:

Kakak saya mengedit portofolio saya, lalu memberi saran …
= My older sibling edited my portfolio, then gave suggestions…

Rough comparison:

lalu – neutral, common in both spoken and written Indonesian.
kemudian – a bit more formal or narrative; often used in writing, stories, or explanations.
terus – very conversational / informal, widely used in speech.

You could also say:

… mengedit portofolio saya, kemudian memberi saran … (slightly more formal)
… mengedit portofolio saya, terus memberi saran … (more casual)

What exactly does memberi saran mean? Is it like “to suggest” or “to advise”?

Memberi saran literally means to give suggestions or to give advice.

memberi = to give
saran = suggestion, advice

So memberi saran ≈ to give advice / to make suggestions.

Compare with:

menyarankan = to suggest / to recommend (verb derived from saran)

Examples:

Dia memberi saya saran. = He/She gave me advice.
Dia menyarankan saya menambah pengalaman kerja di portofolio.
= He/She suggested that I add work experience in the portfolio.

In your sentence, memberi saran apa yang perlu ditambah = gave suggestions about what needs to be added.

The phrase apa yang perlu ditambah looks like a question (“what …?”). Why isn’t there a question mark? Is this a question or something else?

Here, apa yang perlu ditambah is not a direct question. It’s an indirect question / noun clause, meaning what needs to be added.

Structure:

apa = what
yang = linker to form a clause (like “that/which” in English)
perlu = need to / necessary
ditambah = to be added (passive)

So:

apa yang perlu ditambah = what needs to be added

Because it functions as the content of the suggestion, not as a question, there is no question mark:

… memberi saran apa yang perlu ditambah.
= (literally) gave suggestions [about] what needs to be added.

Compare:

Direct question: Apa yang perlu ditambah? = What needs to be added? (with ?)
Indirect: Dia menjelaskan apa yang perlu ditambah. = He/She explained what needs to be added.

What is the role of perlu in apa yang perlu ditambah? Does it always mean “need to”?

Yes, perlu generally means need to / necessary / need.

In apa yang perlu ditambah:

perlu ditambah = need(s) to be added / is necessary to add

Some patterns:

Saya perlu tidur. = I need to sleep.
Ini perlu diperbaiki. = This needs to be fixed.
Apa yang perlu ditambah? = What needs to be added?

So here, perlu expresses necessity or something that should be done.

What is the difference between ditambah and ditambahkan? Could we say apa yang perlu ditambahkan instead?

Both ditambah and ditambahkan are passive forms, but -kan can add nuance.

ditambah
- Basic passive: to be added
- Focus on the result of adding.
ditambahkan
- Often implies adding something to something else, slightly more explicit or “causative”.
- Focus can be more on the action/event of adding.

In everyday usage, especially in a sentence like this, both are possible:

… memberi saran apa yang perlu ditambah.
… memberi saran apa yang perlu ditambahkan.

Many speakers would not feel a big difference here. Ditambah is a bit shorter and very natural in casual and neutral contexts.

There is no past tense marker in the sentence. How do we know it’s talking about the past?

Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense. Time is understood from:

Time words like kemarin (yesterday), tadi (earlier), besok (tomorrow), etc.
Context of the conversation.
Words like lalu that can suggest sequence.

In your sentence:

lalu = then / afterward
This often implies a sequence of actions that have already happened, especially in a narrative context.

So Kakak saya mengedit portofolio saya, lalu memberi saran … is naturally understood as:

My older sibling edited my portfolio and then gave suggestions (about what needed to be added).

If you need to make past time explicit, you can add:

Kemarin kakak saya mengedit portofolio saya, lalu memberi saran …
= Yesterday my older sibling edited my portfolio, then gave suggestions …