Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Perpustakaan memberi saya ketenangan yang tidak saya dapat di rumah karena kebisingan jalan. - The library gives me a calmness that I do not get at home because of the noise of the street.

Perpustakaan – Subject: the library
memberi – Verb: gives
saya – Indirect object: me
ketenangan – Direct object: peace / tranquility
yang tidak saya dapat di rumah – Relative clause describing ketenangan: that I don’t get at home
karena kebisingan jalan – Reason clause: because of street noise

Why is memberi used instead of memberikan here?

Both memberi and memberikan come from the base verb beri (to give), but they are used slightly differently.

memberi [someone] [something]
- Perpustakaan memberi saya ketenangan.
- Literally: The library gives me peace.
- Pattern: subject – memberi – recipient – thing given
memberikan [something] kepada [someone]
- Perpustakaan memberikan ketenangan kepada saya.
- Literally: The library gives peace to me.
- Pattern: subject – memberikan – thing given – kepada – recipient

In everyday speech, memberi saya ketenangan is shorter and very natural.
Memberikan ketenangan kepada saya sounds a little more formal or written.

So both are grammatically correct; the sentence just chooses the simpler memberi pattern.

What is the difference between tenang and ketenangan?

tenang is an adjective: calm.
- Saya tenang. – I am calm.
ketenangan is a noun formed from tenang using the prefix ke- and suffix -an.
It means calmness, peace, tranquility (the abstract thing).

In the sentence, you need a thing that can be given:

✗ Perpustakaan memberi saya tenang. – incorrect (trying to “give” an adjective)
✓ Perpustakaan memberi saya ketenangan. – correct (gives me peace as a noun)

So ketenangan is the appropriate form because it is the noun for peace / calmness.

What does yang do in ketenangan yang tidak saya dapat di rumah?

yang introduces a relative clause, similar to that / which in English.

ketenangan – the peace
yang tidak saya dapat di rumah – that I don’t get at home

So:

ketenangan yang tidak saya dapat di rumah
= the peace that I don’t get at home

Structure:

yang links ketenangan (the noun) to a clause describing it.
The whole phrase is one noun phrase: ketenangan (yang …)

Why is it tidak saya dapat and not saya tidak dapat or tidak dapat saya?

In Indonesian, word order inside relative clauses can be quite flexible. All of these are possible:

ketenangan yang tidak saya dapat di rumah
ketenangan yang saya tidak dapat di rumah
ketenangan yang tidak dapat saya dapat di rumah (if you add dapat as modal can, this gets messy)

More natural, common options in modern speech/writing would be:

ketenangan yang tidak bisa saya dapat di rumah
ketenangan yang tidak bisa saya dapatkan di rumah
ketenangan yang saya tidak bisa dapatkan di rumah

Your original sentence tidak saya dapat is grammatically possible and understandable, but many native speakers would slightly prefer:

… yang tidak bisa saya dapatkan di rumah.
(… that I cannot get at home.)

The key points:

tidak negates the verb (dapat / mendapatkan / bisa dapat).
saya is the subject of that verb.
The exact order can vary, but placing tidak before saya is a bit more formal or literary-sounding.

What exactly does dapat mean here? Is it can or get?

dapat can mean both can / be able to and get / obtain, depending on context.

In this sentence:

ketenangan yang tidak saya dapat di rumah
is interpreted as
the peace that I do not get (cannot get) at home

More natural modern phrasing often makes this clearer by using:

tidak bisa saya dapatkan → cannot obtain / cannot get
tidak bisa saya rasakan → cannot feel / experience

So dapat here is closer to get / obtain, but the sense is very similar to can’t get in English.

Why is it di rumah and not just rumah?

di is a preposition meaning in / at / on (location).

rumah – house / home (noun)
di rumah – at home / in the house

In this sentence:

di rumah tells you where you don’t get that peace: at home.

If you said only rumah, it would sound like a bare noun and not clearly express the location in the same way.

What does karena kebisingan jalan literally mean?

Breakdown:

karena – because / because of
kebisingan – noise, noisiness, formed from the adjective bising (noisy) with ke- -an
jalan – road / street

So kebisingan jalan literally is the noise of the street.
Putting it together:

karena kebisingan jalan – because of the noise of the street
→ more naturally: because of street noise.

Could you also say kebisingan dari jalan or kebisingan di jalan? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can:

kebisingan jalan – street noise / the noise of the street
- Compact noun–noun construction. Very natural.
kebisingan dari jalan – noise from the street
- Uses dari (from) to show the source more explicitly. Also natural.
kebisingan di jalan – noise on the street / noise in the street
- Emphasizes the location of the noise more than its source.

All are understandable. In this context, kebisingan jalan or kebisingan dari jalan are the most idiomatic for street noise that affects your home.

When should I use saya instead of aku here?

Both saya and aku mean I / me, but differ in formality and setting:

saya – neutral / polite, works in almost all contexts (formal and informal).
aku – more informal, used with close friends, family, or in casual speech.

In a neutral sentence like this (could be written, said to a teacher, etc.), saya is the safest choice:

Perpustakaan memberi saya ketenangan … – polite, standard.

In a very casual context, you might say:

Perpustakaan ngasih aku ketenangan … (colloquial: ngasih from memberi)

But for learning and general use, saya is better to stick with.

Can I rephrase the sentence in a simpler way and still keep the same meaning?

Yes. Here are some simpler but natural alternatives:

Perpustakaan membuat saya tenang, tidak seperti di rumah yang bising karena jalan.
– The library makes me calm, unlike at home which is noisy because of the street.
Di perpustakaan saya merasa tenang, tapi di rumah tidak karena kebisingan jalan.
– In the library I feel calm, but at home I don’t because of street noise.
Perpustakaan memberi saya ketenangan yang tidak bisa saya rasakan di rumah karena kebisingan jalan.
– Slightly expanded, but more natural modern Indonesian.

All of these keep the core meaning while changing structure and vocabulary a bit.