Kami melakukan penelitian kecil di kelas tentang pengaruh musik pada stres.

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Questions & Answers about Kami melakukan penelitian kecil di kelas tentang pengaruh musik pada stres.

Why is it kami and not kita in this sentence?

In Indonesian, both kami and kita mean we, but:

  • kami = we (not including the listener)
  • kita = we (including the listener)

In the sentence Kami melakukan penelitian kecil di kelas..., the research was done by the speaker’s group only, not including the person being spoken to. That’s why kami is used.

If the listener was part of the same class project, you would say Kita melakukan penelitian kecil di kelas... instead.


What is the function of melakukan here, and why not just use a verb like meneliti?

Melakukan literally means to do / to carry out.

The phrase melakukan penelitian means to conduct research or to carry out a study, which sounds very natural and common in Indonesian.

You could say Kami meneliti pengaruh musik pada stres, and it is grammatically correct. The nuance:

  • melakukan penelitian = emphasizes the activity of carrying out a study (more neutral/common)
  • meneliti = emphasizes the act of researching/investigating (slightly more formal / academic-feeling)

Both are fine; the original is slightly more conversational and “school-project” sounding.


Why is it penelitian kecil and not kecil penelitian?

In Indonesian, the usual order is:

  • Noun + Adjective

So:

  • penelitian kecil = small research / a small study
  • kelas besar = big class
  • rumah baru = new house

Putting the adjective before the noun (kecil penelitian) is incorrect in standard Indonesian.


Does melakukan mean past tense here? How do we know it’s “did” and not “do / are doing”?

Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense. Melakukan itself is tenseless; it just means to do / doing.

The time reference (past, present, future) is normally understood from:

  • context, or
  • time words like kemarin (yesterday), tadi (earlier), nanti (later), etc.

In English, we translate it as “We did a small study…” because that is the most natural interpretation in context, but grammatically it could also mean “We do / are doing a small study…” if the surrounding context supports that.


What’s the difference between di kelas and di dalam kelas? Could we use di dalam kelas here?

Both are possible, but there is a nuance:

  • di kelas can mean:
    • in the classroom (location), or
    • during class (time/occasion), depending on context.
  • di dalam kelas focuses more clearly on the physical location inside the classroom.

In this sentence, di kelas is natural because it can suggest “as a class activity” or “during class.”
You could say di dalam kelas if you want to emphasize the physical place, but it’s not necessary.


What does tentang do in this sentence, and can it be replaced with mengenai?

Tentang means about / regarding / on the topic of.

In penelitian kecil di kelas tentang pengaruh musik pada stres, it links the research to its topic: a small study in class about the effect of music on stress.

You can usually replace tentang with mengenai:

  • penelitian ... mengenai pengaruh musik pada stres

Both are correct. Tentang is very common and neutral; mengenai can sound slightly more formal, but the difference is small.


What does pengaruh mean exactly, and is it similar to efek?

Pengaruh means influence / effect / impact. In this context, it’s very close to “effect” in English.

Efek also exists in Indonesian and is borrowed from English. The nuance:

  • pengaruh musik pada stres = more natural in everyday Indonesian, very common collocation.
  • efek musik pada stres = also understandable, but sounds more technical or direct translation from English.

Both can be used, but pengaruh is usually preferred in this type of sentence.


Why is it pengaruh musik pada stres and not pengaruh musik terhadap stres? What’s the difference between pada and terhadap here?

Both pada and terhadap can mean on / toward in this type of phrase:

  • pengaruh musik pada stres
  • pengaruh musik terhadap stres

They are both grammatically correct. Nuance:

  • pada is more general and widely used with abstract nouns.
  • terhadap often appears in more formal or academic contexts and emphasizes “toward/against.”

In many cases, they can be used interchangeably. A research title might more often use terhadap, but pada is perfectly fine in regular sentences.


Why is stres spelled like that and not stress as in English?

Indonesian adapts many foreign words to its own spelling system.

The English stress becomes stres in standard Indonesian:

  • stres = stress (as a noun or state), e.g. tingkat stres = stress level

You will sometimes see stress in informal writing, but stres is the correct, standardized form.


Could we say Kami melakukan riset kecil di kelas... instead of penelitian kecil?

Yes, riset (from research) is also used in Indonesian, especially in academic and technical contexts.

Nuances:

  • penelitian = the standard, more neutral Indonesian word for research / study; common in school/university contexts and official writing.
  • riset = also research, but often sounds more technical or formal, and is more common in certain fields (science, market research, etc.).

For a class project, penelitian kecil sounds very natural and slightly more neutral than riset kecil.


Why do we say melakukan penelitian, not membuat penelitian or mengerjakan penelitian?

In Indonesian, some verb–noun combinations are fixed collocations.

  • melakukan penelitian = to conduct research (natural)
  • membuat penelitian = literally “to make research” (not natural in standard Indonesian)
  • mengerjakan penelitian = literally “to work on research”; can be understood, but is not the usual expression.

So melakukan penelitian is the idiomatic and most accepted phrase.


What’s the difference between musik and lagu? Could we say pengaruh lagu pada stres?
  • musik = music in general (a broader concept)
  • lagu = a song (a specific piece of music with melody, usually with lyrics)

Pengaruh musik pada stres talks about music in general and its effect on stress.

If the study was specifically about particular songs, you could say pengaruh lagu-lagu tertentu pada stres, but that has a narrower meaning. For a general idea like music’s impact on stress, musik is the right choice.


Is di kelas more like “in class” (time) or “in the classroom” (place) in this sentence?

Di kelas is flexible and can mean both, depending on context.

In this sentence, it most naturally suggests:

  • “as a class activity / during a class”, and at the same time
  • implies the physical setting is the class / classroom.

If you really wanted to emphasize the time aspect, you could say saat di kelas or waktu pelajaran; if you wanted to emphasize place, di dalam kelas or di ruang kelas. But di kelas alone is usually enough and very natural.