Setelah kelas selesai, kami duduk sebentar di luar studio untuk relaksasi.

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Questions & Answers about Setelah kelas selesai, kami duduk sebentar di luar studio untuk relaksasi.

Why is it Setelah kelas selesai and not Setelah selesai kelas?

In Indonesian, the normal pattern is Subject + Predicate, even when the predicate is an adjective like selesai.

  • kelas = the subject (the class)
  • selesai = the predicate (finished)

So kelas selesai literally means “the class is finished” or “the class has ended.”

Putting selesai before kelas (selesai kelas) is not natural here. You might sometimes see selesai kelasnya in certain constructions, but in this time-clause pattern, Setelah kelas selesai is the standard and most natural word order.


In English we say “after the class has finished”. Why doesn’t Indonesian use sudah in Setelah kelas selesai?

You can say Setelah kelas sudah selesai, but sudah is not required.

  • kelas selesai already implies a completed state: “the class is (already) finished.”
  • Indonesian often omits sudah when the context (like setelah, “after”) already clearly shows that the action is completed.

So:

  • Setelah kelas selesai
  • Setelah kelas sudah selesai

Both are grammatically correct. The version without sudah is shorter and very common.


What is the difference between setelah, sesudah, and habis?

All three can relate to “after”, but with different styles and usage:

  • setelah

    • Standard and neutral.
    • Common in both spoken and written Indonesian.
    • Example: Setelah makan, saya tidur.
  • sesudah

    • Very similar meaning to setelah.
    • Slightly more formal or bookish in some contexts, but still used in speech.
    • Example: Sesudah makan, saya tidur.
  • habis

    • Literally means “finished / used up”.
    • In colloquial speech, it can function like “after”:
      • Habis kelas, kami duduk sebentar. (More casual)

In your sentence, Setelah kelas selesai is perfectly natural. You could also say Sesudah kelas selesai or, in more casual Indonesian, Habis kelas, kami duduk sebentar…


Why is there a comma after Setelah kelas selesai?

Setelah kelas selesai is a dependent time clause (“After the class is finished”) that comes before the main clause kami duduk….

In Indonesian writing, it is normal (and recommended) to put a comma after a clause that comes first and modifies the main clause:

  • Setelah kelas selesai, kami duduk sebentar …

If the time expression comes at the end, you usually don’t put a comma:

  • Kami duduk sebentar di luar studio untuk relaksasi setelah kelas selesai.

So the comma helps clarity when the setelah-clause comes first.


Why is kami used instead of kita?

Both kami and kita mean “we / us”, but:

  • kami = we (not including the person being spoken to)
  • kita = we (including the person being spoken to)

In your sentence, kami duduk sebentar… implies that the speaker is talking about “we” as a group that probably does not include the listener (or it doesn’t matter whether it includes them).

If the speaker wants to include the listener (for example, talking to a classmate who was also there), they might say:

  • Setelah kelas selesai, kita duduk sebentar di luar studio untuk relaksasi.

So the choice between kami and kita depends on whether the listener is part of the group.


What does duduk sebentar literally mean, and why is sebentar after duduk?
  • duduk = sit
  • sebentar = for a short time / briefly / a moment

So duduk sebentar literally means “to sit for a moment” or “sit for a short while.”

In Indonesian, adverbs of duration like sebentar often come after the verb:

  • menunggu sebentar (wait a moment)
  • tinggal sebentar (stay for a short time)
  • duduk sebentar (sit briefly)

You can sometimes move sebentar for emphasis (e.g., Sebentar, saya duduk dulu = “Wait, I’ll just sit for a moment”), but in a simple verb phrase, verb + sebentar is the normal pattern.


What’s the difference between sebentar and sejenak here?

Both can mean “for a short while / briefly”, and in this sentence they are largely interchangeable:

  • kami duduk sebentar
  • kami duduk sejenak

Nuance:

  • sebentar

    • Very common in everyday speech.
    • Neutral, casual, widely used.
  • sejenak

    • Sounds a bit more literary or slightly more formal.
    • Often used in written or poetic contexts, or when you want a softer tone.

In normal conversation, sebentar is the default choice and sounds fully natural.


Why is it di luar studio and not di luar dari studio?

In Indonesian, when you say “outside [place]”, you normally use:

  • di luar + noun

So:

  • di luar studio = outside the studio
  • di luar rumah = outside the house
  • di luar kota = out of town / outside the city

Adding dari (di luar dari studio) is usually unnecessary and sounds unnatural or overly wordy in standard Indonesian. Keep it as di luar studio.


There is no word for “the” in studio. How do we know it’s “outside the studio” and not “outside a studio”?

Indonesian does not have articles like “a / an / the”. The specificity usually comes from:

  • context
  • possessives (e.g., studionya, studio kami)
  • or being mentioned earlier in the conversation

Here, studio likely refers to a specific, known studio (for example, the dance or yoga studio where the class was held), so in natural English translation it becomes “outside the studio.”

If you really wanted to mark it as specific in Indonesian, you could say:

  • di luar studio itu = outside that studio
  • di luar studio kami = outside our studio

But in many cases, plain studio is enough, and context tells you it’s “the studio.”


Is untuk relaksasi the only way to say “to relax”? Are there more natural alternatives?

untuk relaksasi is grammatically correct and understandable. It literally means “for relaxation” (using the noun relaksasi).

However, in everyday speech, Indonesians often use more verb-like expressions:

  • untuk bersantai = to relax / to chill
  • untuk istirahat = to rest
  • untuk rileks = to relax (colloquial, from English “relax”)

So you might often hear:

  • …di luar studio untuk bersantai.
  • …di luar studio untuk istirahat sebentar.
  • …di luar studio untuk rileks sebentar.

relaksasi can sound a bit more formal or technical (like in contexts of therapy, yoga, or wellness programs), though it is still acceptable in this sentence.


Could we say the same sentence with the time clause at the end, like in English?

Yes. You can move the setelah-clause to the end, and it’s still grammatical:

  • Kami duduk sebentar di luar studio untuk relaksasi setelah kelas selesai.

Both orders are fine:

  1. Setelah kelas selesai, kami duduk sebentar di luar studio untuk relaksasi.
  2. Kami duduk sebentar di luar studio untuk relaksasi setelah kelas selesai.

Putting the time clause first (version 1) slightly emphasizes the time sequence (“After the class finished…”), while putting it last (version 2) sounds a bit more like neutral narration. Both are natural.