Banjir kecil tadi malam membuat halaman belakang penuh sampah.

A small flood last night made the backyard full of trash.

Breakdown of Banjir kecil tadi malam membuat halaman belakang penuh sampah.

• kecil: small
• tadi malam: last night
• membuat: to make
• halaman belakang: the backyard
• penuh: full
• banjir: the flood
• sampah: the trash

Questions & Answers about Banjir kecil tadi malam membuat halaman belakang penuh sampah.

Why does kecil come after banjir instead of before it, like in English?

In Indonesian, descriptive adjectives usually come after the noun they modify.

• banjir kecil = small flood (literally: flood small)
  This is the normal word order: noun + adjective.
  So you say rumah besar (big house), mobil baru (new car), banjir kecil (small flood), etc. You generally do not say kecil banjir.

What exactly does tadi malam mean? Is it the same as last night?

tadi malam means last night / earlier tonight, referring to the most recent night before now.
It combines:

• tadi = earlier (usually earlier today)
• malam = night
  Together, it means the night that is still close in time to now, usually the night that has just passed. In context, it is normally translated as last night.

Where does tadi malam attach? Does it modify banjir or the verb membuat?

In Banjir kecil tadi malam membuat…, tadi malam most naturally modifies banjir kecil:

• banjir kecil tadi malam ≈ the small flood (that happened) last night.
  However, Indonesian word order is flexible, and in meaning it marks the time of the event. You could also move it:
• Tadi malam, banjir kecil membuat… (Last night, a small flood made…)
  The time phrase still applies to the whole event, not only to the flood as an object.

Why is there no word for a or the in banjir kecil? How do I know if it means a small flood or the small flood?

Indonesian does not have articles like a/an or the.

• banjir kecil can mean a small flood or the small flood, depending on context.
  If the speaker assumes you already know which flood they mean, you would translate it as the small flood. If it is new information, you might translate it as a small flood. Indonesian relies on context instead of articles.

What does membuat do in this sentence? Is it literally to make, or more like to cause?

Literally, membuat comes from buat (to make), so it means to make / to create.
In sentences like this, it often has a causative meaning: to cause / to make something become X.
Structure here:

• Subject: Banjir kecil tadi malam
• Verb: membuat
• Object: halaman belakang
• Result/complement: penuh sampah
  So the whole phrase means The small flood last night caused the backyard to be full of trash.

Why is there no di before halaman belakang? Why not membuat di halaman belakang penuh sampah?

In this sentence, halaman belakang is the direct object of membuat, not a place phrase.
The pattern is:

• membuat + object + complement
  
  • membuat halaman belakang penuh sampah
    If you write membuat di halaman belakang penuh sampah, di halaman belakang becomes a location phrase after the verb, and the structure becomes awkward or ungrammatical in this meaning. You would only use di halaman belakang if you were talking about where something is done, not what is made full.

Is penuh a verb or an adjective here? How does penuh sampah work?

penuh is an adjective meaning full.
In penuh sampah, the pattern is similar to English full of trash, but Indonesian often drops the preposition of:

• penuh sampah ≈ full of trash
  You can also say penuh dengan sampah, which is more explicit, but penuh sampah is natural and common. Here, penuh sampah functions as a result/complement describing the state of halaman belakang.

Could I say halaman belakang penuh dengan sampah instead of penuh sampah? Is there a difference?

Yes, halaman belakang penuh dengan sampah is also correct and natural.

• penuh sampah is slightly shorter and more direct.
• penuh dengan sampah is a bit more explicit and sometimes a little more formal.
  In everyday speech and writing, both are used, and the meaning is essentially the same: the backyard is full of trash.

Is sampah singular or plural? Does it mean trash or a piece of trash?

Indonesian nouns usually do not mark singular/plural.

• sampah can mean trash, garbage, rubbish in a general, uncountable sense.
  If you need to express countable items, you would add a classifier or another word, for example:
• sepotong sampah (a piece of trash)
• tumpukan sampah (a pile of trash)
  In this sentence, penuh sampah naturally means full of trash/garbage (uncountable).

What is the structure and meaning of halaman belakang? Is it like backyard?

Yes, halaman belakang corresponds to backyard / back garden.

• halaman = yard, yard area around a house, courtyard
• belakang = back, behind
  Together, halaman belakang literally means back yard, the area behind a house. It is a noun + modifier structure, where the head noun (halaman) comes first.

Why is there no past tense marker like sudah or telah in this sentence?

Indonesian verbs usually do not change form for tense. Past time is indicated mainly by time expressions such as tadi malam, kemarin, tahun lalu, etc.
Here, tadi malam clearly shows that the event happened in the past, so adding sudah or telah is not necessary. You could say Banjir kecil tadi malam sudah membuat… for emphasis, but the basic sentence is already fully grammatical and clearly past.

Is tadi malam the same as malam tadi? Can I switch the order?

Both tadi malam and malam tadi are used and both can be understood as last night.

• tadi malam is more common and feels more fixed as a phrase.
• malam tadi is also correct, slightly more like saying tonight earlier in literal order.
  In this sentence, Banjir kecil tadi malam… sounds more natural than Banjir kecil malam tadi…, but both are understandable.