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Saya menonton konser di televisi tadi malam.

Saya menonton konser di televisi tadi malam.
I watched a concert on television last night.
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Questions & Answers about Saya menonton konser di televisi tadi malam.

Why do we need Saya? Can it be left out like in some other languages?

Indonesian often can drop the subject when it’s clear from context, especially in casual speech or in a continuing conversation.

  • Saya menonton konser di televisi tadi malam.
    = I watched a concert on TV last night. (full, neutral)

In conversation, if it’s already clear that you’re talking about yourself, people might just say:

  • Menonton konser di televisi tadi malam.
    (literally: “Watched a concert on TV last night.” – subject implied)

However:

  • In writing, teaching materials, or when starting a new topic, keeping Saya is more natural and clearer.
  • Dropping Saya can sound very informal or fragment-like if there’s no context.

So Saya is not grammatically required, but it’s perfectly natural and safe to keep it.

What’s the difference between menonton and nonton?

Menonton is the standard / formal form.
Nonton is the colloquial / spoken shortened form.

  • Saya menonton konser di televisi tadi malam.
    → standard, neutral (good for writing, formal speech)

  • Aku nonton konser di TV tadi malam.
    → informal, everyday spoken Indonesian

They mean the same thing (to watch, usually for shows, films, concerts, TV). For learners, it’s good to:

  • Use menonton in writing and formal situations.
  • Expect to hear nonton very frequently in speech.
How is the past tense shown? There is no verb change like “watch” → “watched”.

Indonesian verbs do not change for tense. Menonton can mean “watch / watched / am watching” depending on context.

In this sentence, tadi malam (“last night”) gives the past time information:

  • Saya menonton konser di televisi tadi malam.
    → The action clearly happened in the past.

You can optionally add words like:

  • sudah (already)
  • tadi (earlier)
  • kemarin (yesterday)
  • dulu (back then)

For example:

  • Saya sudah menonton konser itu di televisi tadi malam.
    → I already watched that concert on TV last night.

But the basic idea: no verb conjugation; time words show the tense.

Can tadi malam go at the beginning of the sentence?

Yes. Time expressions are flexible in Indonesian. Both are correct:

  • Saya menonton konser di televisi tadi malam.
  • Tadi malam saya menonton konser di televisi.

Placing tadi malam at the beginning can slightly emphasize the time (“As for last night, I watched…”), but there’s no big change in meaning. Both are natural.

Common positions:

  1. At the end (very common):
    Saya menonton konser di televisi tadi malam.
  2. At the beginning (also common):
    Tadi malam saya menonton konser di televisi.
Why is it di televisi for “on TV”? In English we say “on”, not “in” or “at”.

Indonesian uses the preposition di in many situations where English uses in, at, or on. It broadly marks location / place.

For media, Indonesian usually says:

  • di televisi = on TV
  • di radio = on the radio
  • di koran = in the newspaper
  • di internet = on the internet

So di televisi literally is “at/in/on television”, but it’s the standard way to say on TV.
You cannot replace di here with another preposition like pada to mean “on TV”; pada televisi sounds unnatural in this context.

Could I say di TV instead of di televisi? Is there any difference?

Yes, di TV is extremely common in speech and informal writing.

  • Saya menonton konser di TV tadi malam.
    → perfectly natural, everyday Indonesian

Nuance:

  • di televisi feels a bit more standard / formal.
  • di TV feels more colloquial and is very frequent in real conversations.

Both are correct; choose based on formality and style.

Where does di televisi go in the sentence? Can I put it before konser?

The natural order is:

Subject – Verb – Object – Place – Time
Saya – menonton – konser – di televisi – tadi malam.

So:

  • ✅ Saya menonton konser di televisi tadi malam.
  • ✅ Tadi malam saya menonton konser di televisi.

But:

  • ❌ Saya menonton di televisi konser tadi malam. (sounds wrong/unnatural)

In Indonesian, the direct object (konser) normally comes immediately after the verb (menonton). Location phrases like di televisi usually come after the object.

Is konser just the English word “concert” borrowed into Indonesian?

Yes. Konser is a loanword from English concert, and it’s fully accepted and common in Indonesian.

You might see:

  • sebuah konser = a concert (using the classifier sebuah)
  • konser musik = a music concert
  • konser rock = a rock concert

In everyday sentences, you can often omit the classifier:

  • Saya menonton konser di televisi tadi malam.
    is natural, even without sebuah.

So, you can treat konser almost like you treat concert in English, but remember that Indonesian doesn’t require an article (“a/the”), and classifiers like sebuah are optional.

Would I use a different verb if I actually went to the concert in person?

If you physically went to the venue, you have two main options:

  1. Still use menonton (very common):

    • Saya menonton konser tadi malam.
      → I watched a concert last night. (implies you were there)

  2. Use menghadiri (“to attend”), which focuses on attending rather than visually watching:

    • Saya menghadiri konser tadi malam.

In your original sentence, di televisi makes it clear you watched it on TV, so menonton is the appropriate verb.
If you remove di televisi, context would decide whether it means “watched on TV” or “watched live at the venue”.

What’s the difference between Saya and Aku here?

Both mean I / me, but they differ in formality and relationship:

  • Saya

    • Polite, neutral, or formal
    • Used with strangers, in professional situations, in writing, etc.
    • Fits your sentence well:
      Saya menonton konser di televisi tadi malam.

  • Aku

    • Informal, intimate
    • Used with close friends, family, or in very relaxed situations
    • Common in spoken Indonesian:
      Aku nonton konser di TV tadi malam.

Grammar is the same; you just choose based on social context.

Is tadi malam exactly the same as “last night”, or is there a nuance?

Tadi malam is usually translated as “last night”, but literally it’s more like “earlier tonight/yesterday night”.

Nuance:

  • tadi refers to something earlier (today or very recently).
  • malam = night.

So tadi malam is the night that has just passed (the most recent night).
It’s not used for nights long ago. For example, you wouldn’t normally say tadi malam for something that happened two weeks ago; you’d specify the date or use a larger time expression.

But in normal conversation, tadi malam = last night (the night that just passed).

How would this sentence look in very casual, everyday speech among friends?

A very natural casual version might be:

  • Aku nonton konser di TV tadi malam.

Possible further reductions in real speech:

  • Aku nonton konser di TV semalem. (semalem = tadi malam, colloquial)
  • Dropping aku if it’s obvious you’re talking about yourself:
    Nonton konser di TV tadi malam.

But for learning and for clear, neutral Indonesian, your original sentence:

  • Saya menonton konser di televisi tadi malam.

is an excellent model.