Saya makan es krim di sore hari.

I eat ice cream in the afternoon.

Breakdown of Saya makan es krim di sore hari.

• saya: I
• makan: to eat
• di: in
• sore hari: the afternoon
• es krim: the ice cream

Questions & Answers about Saya makan es krim di sore hari.

What is the nuance of saya here? Could I use aku instead?

Saya is a neutral, polite way to say I. It’s safe in almost all situations: with strangers, in formal writing, with teachers, etc.

You can say aku instead:

• Aku makan es krim di sore hari.

Aku is more informal/intimate and is usually used:

• with friends
• with family
• in casual contexts
• in some song lyrics, social media, etc.

In a textbook or with people you don’t know well, saya is the safer choice.

Does makan mean “eat”, “am eating”, or “ate”? Where is the tense?

Indonesian verbs like makan do not change form for tense. Makan by itself can mean:

• I eat ice cream in the afternoon. (habitual)
• I am eating ice cream in the afternoon. (right now, if context shows that)
• I ate ice cream in the afternoon. (past, if context/time words show that)

To be more explicit, Indonesians add time or aspect words:

• Past:

  • Saya tadi sore makan es krim. (I ate ice cream this afternoon.)
  • Saya sudah makan es krim di sore hari. (I have already eaten ice cream in the afternoon.)

• Present / in progress:

  • Saya sedang makan es krim di sore hari. (I am eating ice cream in the afternoon.)

• Future:

  • Saya akan makan es krim di sore hari. (I will eat ice cream in the afternoon.)

If I want to say “I am currently eating ice cream in the afternoon,” how can I change the sentence?

The most common way is to add sedang:

• Saya sedang makan es krim di sore hari.

Sedang marks an ongoing action (similar to English -ing in “am eating”).
Without sedang, Saya makan es krim di sore hari is more like a general statement or habit, unless context makes it clearly “right now.”

What exactly does es krim mean, and is it singular or plural?

Es krim is Indonesian for ice cream. It’s a loan phrase from Dutch/English-style words:

• es = ice
• krim = cream
  Together: es krim = ice cream.

About singular vs plural:

• Indonesian usually does not change the noun to mark plural.
  
  • Saya makan es krim. can mean I eat ice cream or I eat ice creams (depending on context).

To be more specific:

• Saya makan satu es krim. – I eat one ice cream.
• Saya makan tiga es krim. – I eat three ice creams.
• Saya makan banyak es krim. – I eat a lot of ice cream.

Reduplication (es krim-es krim) is grammatically possible but sounds odd here; numbers and quantifiers are preferred.

Is di sore hari the same as pada sore hari or just sore hari?

They are very close in meaning; the differences are in style and nuance:

• di sore hari – very common, natural, neutral. Literally “in/at the afternoon (time).”
• pada sore hari – a bit more formal; often appears in writing, speeches, or formal explanations.
• sore hari (without di/pada) – also possible, especially after the verb as a time adverb:
  • Saya makan es krim sore hari.

All three can usually be understood as “in the afternoon.” In everyday speech, di sore hari or simply sore hari is most typical.

Can I drop hari and just say di sore?

You can say di sore hari or just sore; but di sore alone is much less common and can sound incomplete.

More natural options:

• Saya makan es krim sore.
• Saya makan es krim di sore hari.
• Saya makan es krim pada sore hari. (more formal)

So instead of di sore, it’s better to say sore by itself or di sore hari as in the original sentence.

Can I move di sore hari to the beginning or middle of the sentence?

Yes. Time expressions are flexible in Indonesian. All of these are grammatically fine:

• Saya makan es krim di sore hari. (original)
• Di sore hari, saya makan es krim.
• Saya di sore hari makan es krim. (possible, but less common in everyday speech)

Most natural in conversation:

• Saya makan es krim di sore hari.
• Di sore hari saya makan es krim. (comma optional in writing)

What time of day does sore refer to?

Sore refers to late afternoon to early evening, roughly:

• From around 3–4 p.m.
• Until sunset or just after (around 6–7 p.m., depending on the place/season).

Related words:

• pagi – morning
• siang – midday/early afternoon (around 11–3)
• sore – late afternoon / early evening (roughly 3–6/7)
• malam – night

So di sore hari is “in the (late) afternoon / early evening.”

How do I make the sentence negative? Where does tidak go?

Use tidak before the verb:

• Saya tidak makan es krim di sore hari.
  = I do not eat ice cream in the afternoon. / I don’t eat ice cream in the afternoon.

Tidak is used to negate verbs, adjectives, and some adverbs. The word order is:

• Subject – tidak – Verb – Object – Time/Place
  → Saya tidak makan es krim di sore hari.

What would a more informal or casual version of this sentence look like?

In casual spoken Indonesian (especially among young people or in Jakarta), you might hear:

• Aku makan es krim sore-sore.
  (reduplication sore-sore gives a casual, “in the evenings/afternoons like this” feel)

Or with a very informal pronoun:

• Gue makan es krim sore-sore. (Jakarta slang)

But for learners and neutral contexts, the original:

• Saya makan es krim di sore hari.

is perfectly good and natural.