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Setelah prosesi wisuda selesai, keluarga memberi tepuk tangan panjang.

Setelah prosesi wisuda selesai, keluarga memberi tepuk tangan panjang.
After the graduation procession is finished, the family gives long applause.
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Questions & Answers about Setelah prosesi wisuda selesai, keluarga memberi tepuk tangan panjang.

What does setelah mean here, and can I replace it with sesudah?

Setelah means after.

In this sentence:

  • Setelah prosesi wisuda selesai = After the graduation ceremony finished/ended

You can almost always replace setelah with sesudah without changing the meaning:

  • Setelah prosesi wisuda selesai, ...
  • Sesudah prosesi wisuda selesai, ...

Both are correct and natural.

  • Setelah is slightly more common in everyday speech and writing.
  • Sesudah feels a bit more formal or old‑fashioned in some contexts, but it’s still very normal.

They are interchangeable here.

Why is there a comma, and can I put the main clause first instead?

The comma separates a time clause from the main clause:

  • Setelah prosesi wisuda selesai, = time/background clause
  • keluarga memberi tepuk tangan panjang. = main clause

You can absolutely reverse the order:

  • Keluarga memberi tepuk tangan panjang setelah prosesi wisuda selesai.

In Indonesian:

  • If the dependent clause (starting with setelah, karena, walaupun, etc.) comes first, a comma is normally used.
  • If it comes after the main clause, the comma is usually omitted.

So both are correct and natural:

  1. Setelah prosesi wisuda selesai, keluarga memberi tepuk tangan panjang.
  2. Keluarga memberi tepuk tangan panjang setelah prosesi wisuda selesai.
What exactly does prosesi wisuda mean, and could we just say wisuda?
  • wisuda = graduation (the ceremony where degrees are officially conferred)
  • prosesi = procession / process / sequence of ceremonial acts

prosesi wisuda literally: graduation procession/ceremony. Native speakers often use it to emphasize the formal, ceremonial aspect (walking on stage, receiving diplomas, academic robes, etc.).

You can say:

  • Setelah wisuda selesai, keluarga memberi tepuk tangan panjang.

That is also natural and may even be more common in casual speech. Using prosesi wisuda is just a bit more explicit/formal, highlighting that it’s the ceremonial part of graduation that has finished.

Is selesai a verb or an adjective here? Could I say sudah selesai or telah selesai?

selesai is a stative verb/adjective meaning finished / completed / over. In Indonesian, stative words like this blur the line between verbs and adjectives.

In prosesi wisuda selesai:

  • It literally means the graduation ceremony is finished.
  • There is no separate “to be” verb: prosesi wisuda (subject) + selesai (stative).

You can absolutely say:

  • Setelah prosesi wisuda sudah selesai, ...
  • Setelah prosesi wisuda telah selesai, ...

sudah and telah both add a sense of already / has (been), so there’s a slightly stronger emphasis that the finishing is completed.

  • sudah is very common in spoken language.
  • telah is more formal/written.

Base sentence without them is still perfectly normal:

  • Setelah prosesi wisuda selesai, ...
Why is it just keluarga and not keluarga saya/kami (my/our family)?

In Indonesian, context often makes possession clear, so speakers omit my/our/their when it’s obvious.

keluarga by itself can mean:

  • the family (in context: usually their family, our family, or the family being talked about).

If you want to be explicit, you can say:

  • keluarga saya = my family
  • keluarga kami = our family (excluding the listener)
  • keluarga kita = our family (including the listener)
  • keluarga mereka = their family

The original sentence is neutral. It just states that the family (the people related to the graduate) applauded, without focusing on whose family from the speaker’s viewpoint.

Is memberi tepuk tangan the usual way to say “applaud”? What about bertepuk tangan?

Both are used, but they have slightly different flavors.

  • memberi tepuk tangan

    • Literally: to give applause / give clapping
    • Structure: memberi (to give) + object (tepuk tangan)
    • Often used in somewhat formal or narrative style.
    • Example: Keluarga memberi tepuk tangan panjang.

  • bertepuk tangan

    • Literally: to clap (hands)
    • Intransitive verb: no direct object.
    • Very common in everyday speech.
    • Example: Keluarga bertepuk tangan panjang.

Both are grammatical and natural here:

  • Keluarga memberi tepuk tangan panjang.
  • Keluarga bertepuk tangan panjang.

You’ll also hear set phrases like:

  • Mari kita berikan tepuk tangan untuk… = Let’s give a round of applause for…

So, to say “applaud”, you can safely use either memberi tepuk tangan or bertepuk tangan, depending on whether you want a “give X” or “do X” structure.

Is tepuk tangan a noun or a verb? And why is it two words?
  • tepuk = clap
  • tangan = hand

Together, tepuk tangan is a noun phrase meaning applause / clapping (of hands).

In the sentence:

  • tepuk tangan is the object of memberi:
    • keluarga memberi [tepuk tangan panjang]
    • the family gave [long applause]

It is written as two words, because Indonesian usually writes compound nouns separately (except for some fixed combinations). Both parts still retain their meaning: “clap” + “hand” → hand-clapping.

As a verb, you use:

  • bertepuk tangan = to clap hands / to applaud

So:

  • Noun: tepuk tangan = applause
  • Verb: bertepuk tangan = to applaud
Why is panjang after tepuk tangan? Do I need yang, like tepuk tangan yang panjang?

In Indonesian, adjectives usually come after the noun:

  • tepuk tangan panjang = long applause
    • tepuk tangan = applause (noun)
    • panjang = long (adjective)

You do not need yang here.

  • yang is typically used to introduce relative clauses or to focus/emphasize, not for a simple one-word adjective.

Compare:

  • tepuk tangan panjang = long applause (simple noun + adjective)
  • tepuk tangan yang panjang
    • Literally “applause that is long” – also grammatical, but often used when you want to emphasize or contrast, or when the description is longer, like:
    • tepuk tangan yang sangat panjang dari para tamu = the very long applause from the guests.

In everyday speech, tepuk tangan panjang is short, natural, and enough.

How do we know this sentence is in the past if there’s no past tense marking?

Indonesian usually does not mark tense with verb changes. Context words show time.

In this sentence, setelah (after) and selesai (finished) imply a past sequence:

  • First: the graduation ceremony finishes.
  • Then: the family applauds.

So it is interpreted as:

  • After the graduation ceremony had finished, the family gave long applause.

If you want to make the past even clearer, you can add tadi, barusan, or time expressions:

  • Tadi setelah prosesi wisuda selesai, keluarga memberi tepuk tangan panjang.
    • Earlier, after the graduation ceremony finished, …

But in normal Indonesian, the base sentence is perfectly clear as a past event because of the logic of after X is finished.

Are there more natural alternatives for “long applause” like tepuk tangan panjang?

tepuk tangan panjang is correct and understandable, but there are other very natural options that you’ll hear a lot:

  • tepuk tangan meriah = enthusiastic / lively applause
  • tepuk tangan riuh = loud, roaring applause
  • tepuk tangan yang panjang = long applause (with extra emphasis)
  • tepuk tangan yang meriah dan panjang = long and enthusiastic applause

So you could also say, for example:

  • Setelah prosesi wisuda selesai, keluarga memberi tepuk tangan meriah.
  • Setelah prosesi wisuda selesai, keluarga bertepuk tangan riuh.

The original sentence is fine; these alternatives just show slightly different nuances (length vs loudness vs enthusiasm).