Questions & Answers about Dia berani bertanya di kelas.
Dia is a gender‑neutral third‑person singular pronoun. It can mean he, she, or even they (when referring to one person) depending on context.
Indonesian usually doesn’t mark gender in pronouns, so you only know whether dia is a boy or a girl from the wider context, not from the word itself.
Both dia and ia can mean he/she, but:
- Dia is more common in everyday spoken Indonesian.
- Ia is more common in written and formal Indonesian (stories, news articles, essays).
They aren’t always interchangeable position‑wise:
- Dia can appear at the start of a sentence:
- Dia berani bertanya di kelas.
- Ia is more often used after a subject has already been introduced, or in the middle of sentences:
- Siswa itu sangat rajin. Ia selalu datang tepat waktu.
(That student is very diligent. He/She always comes on time.)
- Siswa itu sangat rajin. Ia selalu datang tepat waktu.
In spoken Indonesian, learners can safely use dia almost all the time.
Berani means brave, courageous, or to dare (to do something).
In this sentence, Dia berani bertanya di kelas, the nuance is:
- “He/She dares to ask questions in class.”
- Or: “He/She has the courage to ask in class.”
You can use berani in similar patterns:
- Dia berani mencoba. – He/She dares to try.
- Saya tidak berani melompat. – I don’t dare to jump.
- Mereka berani menghadapi risiko. – They are brave enough to face the risk.
It can describe a general character trait (brave) or a specific decision (dare to do X), depending on context.
Both are possible, but they differ in style:
- Berani bertanya – very natural, simple, and common.
- Berani untuk bertanya – also correct, but slightly more formal or explicit.
In Indonesian, it’s very common to put a verb directly after berani without untuk:
- Dia berani pergi sendiri.
- Saya tidak berani bicara.
You only really need untuk when you want to sound more formal or emphasize the purpose:
- Kita harus berani untuk berubah. – We must be brave enough to change.
What is the role of the ber- prefix in bertanya?
[ANSWERANSWER] The base word is tanya (question / to ask). The prefix ber- often turns a noun or root into an intransitive verb (an action that doesn’t directly take an object).
So:
- tanya – question / to ask (bare root)
- bertanya – to ask (intransitive; usually followed by a preposition like kepada or tentang)
Compare:
- Dia bertanya. – He/She asks / asked.
- Dia bertanya kepada guru. – He/She asks the teacher.
- Dia menanyakan soal itu kepada guru. – He/She asks about that problem to the teacher.
So bertanya is “to ask (a question)” in a general sense, without a direct object.
Bertanya is typically intransitive. It does not take a direct object the way “ask” does in English.
Instead, it usually appears with prepositions:
- bertanya kepada/ke (to someone)
- bertanya tentang (about something)
Examples:
- Dia bertanya kepada gurunya. – He/She asked his/her teacher.
- Dia bertanya tentang ujian. – He/She asked about the exam.
If you want a verb that more clearly takes an “object” (what is being asked), Indonesian often uses menanyakan:
- Dia menanyakan ujian itu kepada guru. – He/She asked the teacher about that exam.
Di is the usual preposition for physical location: in / at / on.
- di kelas – in class / in the classroom
- di rumah – at home
- di kantor – at the office
Pada is more abstract or formal, often used with:
- time expressions: pada hari Senin (on Monday)
- people or things in a more formal style: pada guru, pada kesempatan ini
For a simple location like “in class” or “in the classroom”, di kelas is the natural choice. Pada kelas would sound odd in this context.
Di kelas can mean both, depending on context:
Physical place – “in the classroom”
- Dia sudah duduk di kelas. – He/She is already sitting in the classroom.
Occasion / situation – “during class”
- Dia berani bertanya di kelas. – He/She dares to ask questions during class.
Indonesian often uses location phrases like di kelas to cover both the literal place and the situation happening there, and context clarifies which one is meant.
Yes. Indonesian word order is flexible for adverbial phrases (time, place, manner).
All of these are correct:
- Dia berani bertanya di kelas.
- Di kelas, dia berani bertanya.
Putting di kelas at the front can slightly emphasize the setting (“In class, he/she dares to ask”), but the basic meaning stays the same.
Yes, absolutely.
- Dia berani bertanya. – He/She dares to ask (in general).
Adding di kelas just specifies where or in what situation the bravery applies:
- Dia berani bertanya di kelas. – He/She dares to ask in class, which may imply that asking in class is usually scary or unusual.
Yes, it adds detail:
Dia berani bertanya di kelas.
Focus: He/She dares to ask in class (maybe to the teacher, maybe to classmates, not specified).Dia berani bertanya kepada guru di kelas.
Focus: He/She dares to ask the teacher in class.
Here:- kepada guru specifies who is being asked.
- di kelas is still the setting (in class / during class).
It’s neutral and works in most contexts:
- Natural in everyday speech.
- Perfectly acceptable in written Indonesian (essays, stories, reports).
To make it more informal, people might drop dia if it’s obvious from context, or use a name/nickname instead:
- Berani juga dia bertanya di kelas.
- Rina berani bertanya di kelas.
To make it more formal, you might adjust the subject or add context:
- Siswa itu berani bertanya di kelas. – That student dares to ask in class.