Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Kalau saja orang tua saya bisa datang ke auditorium, mereka pasti bangga melihat toga saya. - If only my parents could come to the auditorium, they would surely be proud to see my gown.

kalau on its own usually means “if / when” and can be:
- real/possible: Kalau orang tua saya bisa datang, saya senang. – If my parents can come, I’m happy.
kalau saja adds an emotional nuance of wish / regret, like:
- If only my parents could come… (but they didn’t / can’t).

So kalau saja often implies an unreal or missed situation, similar to English “if only” or “I wish that…”.

How do we know this is a hypothetical / unreal situation if Indonesian doesn’t use past tense forms?

Indonesian doesn’t change verb forms for tense, so we rely on context and certain words:

kalau saja suggests a wish about something that didn’t happen.
The whole idea of “they would definitely be proud” logically refers to a situation that is imagined, not real.
In English we show this with “could have come” / “would be proud”; in Indonesian the verbs stay simple:
bisa datang, pasti bangga.

So even without past tense, native speakers understand from kalau saja and the situation that this is an unreal, regretful condition.

Is there an Indonesian word for “would” here? Why don’t we see it?

There is no exact word that always equals English “would”.

Often, Indonesian just uses the plain verb for hypothetical results:
- mereka bangga – they would be proud (from context).
Sometimes akan can mark future or hypothetical actions:
- mereka akan bangga – they would / will be proud.
In this sentence, pasti (“definitely”) is used instead of akan:
- mereka pasti bangga – literally they definitely proud
  → understood as they would definitely be proud in that situation.

So “would” is usually understood from context, not translated word‑for‑word.

What exactly does pasti do in mereka pasti bangga?

pasti is an adverb meaning “definitely, certainly, surely”.

mereka bangga – they are proud / they would be proud
mereka pasti bangga – they would definitely / surely be proud.

In conditionals like this, pasti shows the speaker’s strong confidence about the imagined result, similar to English “would definitely”.

Why does orang tua saya mean “my parents” and not “my old person”?

Literally, orang tua is “old person”, but as a fixed phrase it commonly means “parent(s)”:

orang tua saya → my parents (typically both)
orangtuaku / orang tua kami → our parents, etc.

Context usually tells you whether it’s “old person” or “parent(s)”, but:

When you see orang tua with a possessive (my/your/our), it almost always means parent(s).
When referring to random elderly people, you’ll more often see something like orang tua itu – that old person.

So in this sentence, orang tua saya is naturally understood as “my parents”.

If orang tua saya means “my parents”, why do we also need mereka?

mereka (“they”) is a pronoun referring back to “my parents”.

First clause: orang tua saya – introduces the subject (my parents).
Second clause: mereka pasti bangga – uses mereka to avoid repeating orang tua saya.

This is similar to English:

If my parents could come to the auditorium, *they would definitely be proud…*

Using mereka is natural and avoids repetition. You could repeat orang tua saya instead of mereka, but that would sound heavier and less smooth.

Could we write orangtua saya as one word instead of orang tua saya? Is there any difference?

You will see both:

orang tua saya – two words
orangtua saya – one word

In practice, both are widely used to mean “my parents”. Many style guides recommend orang tua as separate words, but orangtua has become very common in writing when the meaning is specifically “parent(s)”.

Semantically in this sentence, there is no difference.

What does bisa add in bisa datang ke auditorium? Is it different from dapat?

bisa and dapat both can mean “can / be able to”, but:

bisa is more colloquial and common in everyday speech.
dapat is a bit more formal / written, and can also mean “get / obtain” in other contexts.

Here:

bisa datang ke auditorium – could come to the auditorium
dapat datang ke auditorium – also correct, a little more formal.

The main function of bisa here is to express ability / possibility (they were able to come).

What is auditorium here? Is it an Indonesian word or a loanword? Could we say aula instead?

auditorium is a loanword (same spelling as in English) and is commonly used in Indonesian, especially in academic or formal settings.

You can often use:

auditorium – an auditorium, lecture hall, performance hall
aula – hall, often used for school gatherings, ceremonies, etc.

In many graduation contexts, auditorium and aula could both work, depending on the actual name of the place. So:

datang ke auditorium – come to the auditorium
datang ke aula – come to the hall

Both are natural; the sentence just happens to use the loanword auditorium.

Why is it melihat toga saya and not something like melihat saya memakai toga?

Both are possible, but they focus slightly differently:

melihat toga saya – to see my toga / see my graduation gown
- Focus is on the gown itself (as a symbol of graduation).
melihat saya memakai toga – see me wearing my gown
- Focus is more on me, wearing it.

In graduation contexts, toga strongly symbolizes the achievement, so saying bangga melihat toga saya naturally implies proud to see me in my gown without having to spell out saya memakai.

Grammatically, melihat is just “to see”, taking toga saya as its direct object.

What does toga mean in Indonesian? Is it the same as in English?

In Indonesian, toga specifically refers to a graduation gown / robe (the special clothing worn at a graduation ceremony).

It’s commonly associated with wisuda (graduation):
toga wisuda – graduation gown.
Another, more descriptive phrase is jubah wisuda, but toga alone is already widely understood.

So toga saya in this sentence very naturally means “my graduation gown / my graduation robe.”

Could we say Kalau orang tua saya bisa datang… without saja? What difference does it make?

Yes, you can say Kalau orang tua saya bisa datang ke auditorium, mereka pasti bangga…, but the nuance changes:

Kalau orang tua saya bisa datang…
- More neutral: “If my parents can/could come…”
- Could describe a real possibility or a general condition.
Kalau saja orang tua saya bisa datang…
- Adds a feeling of wish / regret.
- More like: If only my parents could have come… (but they didn’t / can’t).

So saja here strengthens the idea that this is a sad or wistful hypothetical, not just a neutral if‑clause.

Could we replace kalau saja with seandainya or andai saja? Would the meaning change?

Yes, and the overall meaning stays very similar:

Seandainya orang tua saya bisa datang ke auditorium, mereka pasti bangga…
Andai saja orang tua saya bisa datang ke auditorium, mereka pasti bangga…

All three (kalau saja, seandainya, andai saja) can express an unreal / wishful condition.

Nuance:

seandainya – a bit more formal / literary, clearly hypothetical.
andai saja – quite emotional, often wistful / regretful.
kalau saja – neutral everyday word kalau
- saja, still emotional but very common in speech.

In this sentence, any of them would be understood as “if only my parents could have come…”.