Breakdown of Anjing saya bermain di belakang rumah.
Questions & Answers about Anjing saya bermain di belakang rumah.
In Indonesian, possessive pronouns usually come after the noun they possess.
- anjing saya = my dog
- anjing = dog
- saya = I / me (here: my)
So the pattern is:
- noun + pronoun → my X / your X / his X
- buku saya = my book
- rumah kamu = your house
Saying saya anjing would sound like “I am a dog”, not “my dog”.
Indonesian doesn’t use articles like a, an, or the.
anjing by itself can mean:
- a dog
- the dog
Which one is correct depends on context.
In Anjing saya bermain di belakang rumah, because we have saya (my), it clearly means my dog (a specific dog). If you just say anjing bermain di belakang rumah, it could mean a dog or the dog, depending on what has been mentioned before.
Indonesian usually does not use a verb like to be (is/am/are) before verbs.
- English: My dog is playing behind the house.
- Indonesian: Anjing saya bermain di belakang rumah.
Indonesian goes directly:
- subject + verb + extra information
You only use adalah (similar to is/are) in specific situations, usually for equating things (noun = noun), not before ordinary verbs:
- Dia adalah dokter. = He/She is a doctor.
- But: Dia bekerja di rumah sakit. (not dia adalah bekerja)
bermain means to play.
It’s made from:
- ber- (a common verb prefix)
- main (root meaning play; also used for game, to play in casual speech)
So:
- main (informal spoken) = play
- bermain (more standard/formal) = to play / is playing
In many situations, people say Anjing saya main di belakang rumah in casual conversation.
In writing or more careful speech, bermain is preferred.
bermain itself is not marked for tense. It just means play in a general sense.
The tense (time) comes from context or additional time words:
- Anjing saya bermain di belakang rumah.
- could be: My dog plays behind the house (habit)
- or: My dog is playing behind the house (right now)
To show time more clearly:
- Kemarin anjing saya bermain di belakang rumah.
= Yesterday my dog played behind the house. - Besok anjing saya akan bermain di belakang rumah.
= Tomorrow my dog will play behind the house.
Breakdown:
- di = at / in / on (location preposition)
- belakang = back / behind
- rumah = house / home
So di belakang rumah literally = at the back of the house or behind the house.
Yes, but the meaning changes slightly:
- di belakang rumah = behind the house (as a full prepositional phrase; usually used as part of a sentence)
- belakang rumah = the back of the house / the area behind the house (works more like a noun phrase)
Examples:
Anjing saya bermain di belakang rumah.
= My dog is playing behind the house.Belakang rumah saya luas.
= The back of my house is spacious.
Indonesian is often less explicit about possession when it’s obvious from context.
In Anjing saya bermain di belakang rumah, the house is very likely understood as my house because:
- We are already talking about my dog.
- It’s natural to assume the dog is behind the speaker’s own house.
You can say:
- Anjing saya bermain di belakang rumah saya.
or more natural: …di belakang rumah saya.
This is correct and clear, but in everyday speech people often leave out saya if it’s understood.
Both mean I / me, and when used after a noun they mean my.
saya
- more formal, polite, neutral
- can be used in almost any situation
aku
- more informal/intimate
- used with friends, family, people your age or younger
So you could say:
- Anjing saya bermain di belakang rumah. (neutral/polite)
- Anjing aku bermain di belakang rumah. (more casual, intimate)
In writing for learners, saya is usually taught first because it’s safe in most contexts.
Yes. Indonesian has clitic possessive endings that attach to the noun:
- -ku = my
- -mu = your (informal)
- -nya = his / her / its / their (and sometimes “the”)
So:
- anjing saya = anjingku (my dog)
- anjing kamu = anjingmu (your dog)
- anjing dia = anjingnya (his/her dog)
All are correct; anjing saya and anjingku mean the same thing, but anjingku is a bit more casual and intimate.
No, that would be incorrect and confusing.
The standard order in this sentence is:
- Subject (Anjing saya)
- Verb (bermain)
- Place (di belakang rumah)
- Verb (bermain)
Changing to Saya anjing bermain… sounds like “I dog play…” and breaks both the subject and the possessive structure.
Correct variations:
- Anjing saya bermain di belakang rumah.
- Anjingku bermain di belakang rumah.
Both keep anjing as the subject and the possessive after/attached to it.
Indonesian often doesn’t need explicit plural marking, but you have options:
Just rely on context (most common):
- Anjing saya bermain di belakang rumah.
Context could make it my dog or my dogs.
- Anjing saya bermain di belakang rumah.
Show plural more clearly:
- Anjing-anjing saya bermain di belakang rumah.
(reduplication to show plural: anjing-anjing = dogs) - Semua anjing saya bermain di belakang rumah.
= All my dogs are playing behind the house.
- Anjing-anjing saya bermain di belakang rumah.
All are grammatical; the choice depends on how clear you need the plural to be.
rumah can mean both house and home, depending on context.
Saya di rumah.
= I am at home.Rumah itu besar.
= That house is big.
In di belakang rumah, it can be understood as behind the house or behind the home; English usually chooses house here, but the Indonesian word is the same.