Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Anak muda itu suka belajar di perpustakaan. - That young person likes to study in the library.

So Anak muda itu suka belajar di perpustakaan is more naturally understood as “That young person likes studying in the library” or “That young person / that youth likes to study at the library.”

Is anak muda itu singular “that young person” or plural “those young people”?

By itself, anak muda itu can be either singular or plural, depending on context:

Singular: that specific young person / that young man/woman
Plural: those young people / the youth

Indonesian usually does not mark plural on nouns. Some ways to show plural more clearly:

para anak muda itu = those young people
anak-anak muda itu or anak muda-anak muda itu (reduplication) = those young people
orang-orang muda itu = those young people (literally: those young people/persons)

In everyday conversation, anak muda itu alone is often understood as singular unless the context clearly implies a group.

What exactly does itu do here, and why is it after the noun instead of before like English “that”?

Itu is a demonstrative. It roughly corresponds to “that” or “the” in English, and it normally comes after the noun:

anak itu = that child / the child
buku itu = that book / the book

So:

anak muda itu = that young person / the young person

Depending on context, itu can feel more like:

“that” (pointing out or contrasting)
or “the” (a specific, known one)

Indonesian demonstratives:

ini = this (near the speaker)
itu = that (further away, or already known/mentioned)

Both are placed after the noun: anak ini, orang itu, etc.

Could we drop itu and just say Anak muda suka belajar di perpustakaan? Would the meaning change?

Yes, you can drop itu, and the meaning becomes more general / indefinite.

Anak muda itu suka belajar di perpustakaan.
→ That particular young person (or those particular young people) like(s) studying in the library.
Anak muda suka belajar di perpustakaan.
→ Young people (in general) like studying in the library.
→ A young person likes studying in the library. (non-specific)

So itu makes it specific, almost like adding “that” or “the” in English.

Can suka be used before another verb like belajar? I thought suka was only “to like” + nouns.

Yes, suka can be used with nouns and verbs.

Patterns:

suka + noun
- Saya suka kopi. = I like coffee.
- Dia suka musik. = He/She likes music.
suka + verb
- Saya suka membaca. = I like reading.
- Dia suka menulis. = He/She likes writing.
- Anak muda itu suka belajar di perpustakaan.
  = That young person likes to study in the library.

So suka belajar is perfectly natural and very common: it means “likes to study / likes studying.”

What’s the difference between suka, senang, gemar, and hobi in this kind of sentence?

All relate to liking something, but with different nuances:

suka – the most general, neutral “like”
- Anak muda itu suka belajar. = That young person likes to study.
senang – literally “happy / pleased”; more about how you feel
- Dia senang belajar. = He/She is happy (when) studying; enjoys studying.
- Sounds a bit more emotional than suka.
gemar – “to be fond of / to be keen on”, slightly more formal
- Dia gemar belajar di perpustakaan. = He/She is fond of studying in the library.
- Often used in written or formal speech, or to sound a bit “polite/educated.”
hobi – “hobby” (noun)
- Hobi saya membaca. = My hobby is reading.
- You don’t say “saya hobi belajar” in the same pattern as a verb; you treat hobi as a noun: Hobi saya adalah belajar bahasa.

In everyday conversation, suka is the safest, most common choice.

Does belajar mean “to learn” or “to study”? Does it need an object?

Belajar can mean both “to learn” and “to study”, depending on context.

Intransitive (no object) – just the activity of studying/learning
- Dia belajar di perpustakaan. = He/She studies / is studying in the library.
- Anak muda itu suka belajar di perpustakaan. = That young person likes studying in the library.
Transitive (with an object) – what is being studied/learned
- Dia belajar bahasa Indonesia. = He/She studies / is learning Indonesian.
- Saya belajar matematika. = I study / I’m learning math.

Indonesian doesn’t use a “to” word before verbs, so belajar by itself already covers “to study / to learn.”

How do you show tense here? How do I say “liked” or “will like” instead of “likes”?

Indonesian verbs, including suka and belajar, do not change form for tense. Tense is shown by time words or markers, or just context.

Base sentence (timeless):

Anak muda itu suka belajar di perpustakaan.
= That young person likes to study in the library.

To show different times:

Past (liked / used to like)
- Dulu, anak muda itu suka belajar di perpustakaan.
  = In the past, that young person liked / used to like studying in the library.
- Tadi / kemarin anak muda itu suka belajar di perpustakaan.
  (with a time word like earlier / yesterday)
Completed aspect
- Anak muda itu sudah suka belajar di perpustakaan sejak kecil.
  = That young person has liked studying in the library since childhood.
Future (will like)
- Besok, anak muda itu akan suka belajar di perpustakaan.
  = Tomorrow, that young person will like studying in the library.
  (a bit odd in meaning, but grammar-wise it’s fine)

So suka itself never changes; you add time expressions or words like sudah (already), akan (will), dulu (used to), etc.

What is the function of di in di perpustakaan, and how is it different from ke and dari?

Here, di is a preposition of location, roughly “in / at / on” in English.

di perpustakaan = in the library / at the library
di rumah = at home
di sekolah = at school

Common trio:

di = in, at, on (location)
ke = to / toward (movement to a place)
dari = from (origin)

Examples:

Dia belajar di perpustakaan. = He/She studies in the library.
Dia pergi ke perpustakaan. = He/She goes to the library.
Dia pulang dari perpustakaan. = He/She returns from the library.

So in Anak muda itu suka belajar di perpustakaan, di tells you where the studying happens.

Why is di written separately from perpustakaan? I’ve also seen di- stuck onto verbs.

There are two different “di” in Indonesian:

Preposition di (location) – always written separately
- di perpustakaan, di rumah, di sekolah
- Meaning: at / in / on
Prefix di- (passive verb prefix) – always written attached to the verb
- ditulis (written), dibaca (read), dibuat (made)
- Example: Buku itu dibaca anak muda itu. = That book is read by that young person.

In di perpustakaan, it’s clearly the preposition, so it must be separate: di perpustakaan (not diperpustakaan).

Could we say di dalam perpustakaan instead of di perpustakaan? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say di dalam perpustakaan. The difference is just in emphasis:

di perpustakaan = at/in the library (neutral, general)
di dalam perpustakaan = inside the library (emphasizes being inside the building, not just at the premises)

In most contexts, di perpustakaan is enough and more common. You use di dalam if you really want to contrast inside vs outside:

Dia menunggu di luar perpustakaan, sedangkan temannya belajar di dalam perpustakaan.
= He/She waits outside the library, while his/her friend studies inside the library.

What does perpustakaan literally mean? Is there a word for “book” inside it?

Yes, perpustakaan is built from a root plus an affix:

Root pustaka = book, writing, sometimes “scripture” (a bit formal/literary now)
Circumfix per- … -an often forms a place or institution related to the root

So:

pustaka → per-pustaka-an (perpustakaan)
≈ “place of books” → library

In daily life, the common word for book is buku, not pustaka, but pustaka survives in words like:

perpustakaan = library
pustakawan = librarian

Is the word order fixed as Anak muda itu suka belajar di perpustakaan, or can I move parts around?

The default word order is Subject – Verb – (Object) – Adverbial, so:

Anak muda itu (subject)
suka belajar (verb phrase)
di perpustakaan (place adverbial)

This is the most natural order.

You can move the place phrase to the front for emphasis or style:

Di perpustakaan, anak muda itu suka belajar.
= In the library, that young person likes to study.

But you normally do not split suka and belajar with di perpustakaan:

✗ Anak muda itu suka di perpustakaan belajar. (unnatural)

So acceptable patterns:

Anak muda itu suka belajar di perpustakaan. (neutral)
Di perpustakaan, anak muda itu suka belajar. (emphasis on location)

The original order is the simplest and most common.