Guru kami sangat cermat saat menilai tugas.

Our teacher is very thorough when grading assignments.

Breakdown of Guru kami sangat cermat saat menilai tugas.

• adalah: to be
• sangat: very
• guru: the teacher
• tugas: the assignment
• saat: when
• kami: our
• cermat: careful
• menilai: to grade

Questions & Answers about Guru kami sangat cermat saat menilai tugas.

Why is it guru kami and not kami guru? How does the word order work?

In Indonesian, the typical order is noun + possessor, so:

• guru kami = our teacher
  
  • guru = teacher (noun)
  • kami = we/us (exclusive), functioning like our

If you say kami guru, it means we (are) teachers (plural subject + predicate noun), not our teacher.

So:

• guru kami → our teacher (one or more teachers who belong to us)
• kami guru → we are teachers (describing who “we” are)

Why do we use kami instead of kita here? What’s the difference?

Both kami and kita can translate as we / us / our, but:

• kami = we (excluding the person you’re talking to)
• kita = we (including the person you’re talking to)

In Guru kami sangat cermat saat menilai tugas, it assumes the listener is not part of the group of students with this teacher.

If the listener is also one of the students, you would naturally say:

• Guru kita sangat cermat saat menilai tugas.
  (Our teacher is very thorough when grading assignments (and you’re one of us).)

How is the idea of present tense shown here? There’s no word like “is” or tense marker.

Indonesian usually doesn’t mark tense explicitly. It relies on context and time expressions.

• Guru kami sangat cermat saat menilai tugas.
  Literally: Our teacher very careful when evaluating assignments.

It can mean:

• Our teacher is very thorough when grading assignments. (habitual/present)
• Our teacher was very thorough when grading assignments. (past, if the context is past)

The linking verb “is/was” is simply not expressed. You only add time words if you need clarity:

• Dulu, guru kami sangat cermat saat menilai tugas.
  (In the past, our teacher was very thorough…)
• Sekarang, guru kami sangat cermat saat menilai tugas.
  (Now, our teacher is very thorough…)

What exactly does cermat mean? Is it the same as “careful” or “thorough”?

cermat means:

• careful
• meticulous
• thorough
• accurate/precise (in doing an evaluation, calculation, etc.)

It emphasizes attention to detail and accuracy, not just being cautious.

Common near-synonyms:

• teliti – very close to cermat, also “meticulous, painstaking”
• hati-hati – more “careful” in the sense of cautious or avoiding danger

In this sentence:

• Guru kami sangat cermat saat menilai tugas.
  suggests the teacher reads the assignments carefully, checks the details, and grades fairly/accurately.

You could also say:

• Guru kami sangat teliti saat menilai tugas. (very similar meaning)

What does sangat do here? Can I replace it with sekali?

sangat is an intensifier meaning very.

• sangat cermat = very thorough / very meticulous

Its usual position is before adjectives:

• sangat baik (very good)
• sangat penting (very important)
• sangat cermat (very thorough)

You can usually replace sangat with sekali, but sekali goes after the adjective:

• cermat sekali = very thorough

So:

• Guru kami sangat cermat saat menilai tugas.
• Guru kami cermat sekali saat menilai tugas.

Both are natural. sangat feels a bit more formal/neutral; sekali is also very common in spoken language.

What does saat mean here? Can I use ketika or waktu instead?

In this sentence, saat means when or at the time (that).

• saat menilai tugas = when (he/she is) grading assignments

You can usually replace saat with ketika or waktu:

• Guru kami sangat cermat ketika menilai tugas.
• Guru kami sangat cermat waktu menilai tugas.

Nuances:

• saat – fairly neutral and common in both spoken and written Indonesian
• ketika – also very common, slightly more “standard”/formal
• waktu – literally “time”, often used as “when” in spoken Indonesian

All three work well in this context.

Why is it menilai tugas and not something like mengevaluasi tugas or memeriksa tugas? What does menilai specifically mean?

menilai comes from the root nilai (value, mark, score, worth).

menilai means:

• to assess
• to evaluate
• to grade / give a score

So menilai tugas is very natural in an academic context:

• menilai tugas = to grade/evaluate assignments

Other verbs you might hear:

• memeriksa tugas – to check assignments (for errors, completeness)
• mengoreksi tugas – to correct assignments
• mengevaluasi tugas – to evaluate assignments (more formal/technical)

menilai specifically implies the teacher gives a value/score, not just checks.

Is tugas only “homework”? What does it cover?

tugas is broader than just “homework.” It can mean:

• assignment
• task
• duty
• piece of homework
• project or written work given by a teacher

In a school/university context:

• tugas = assignments/homework in general
• pekerjaan rumah (PR) = specifically “homework” (literally house work; PR is an acronym widely used, pronounced pe-er)

So menilai tugas can be grading:

• written assignments
• homework
• projects
• other tasks the teacher assigns

Could the sentence also be Kami punya guru yang sangat cermat saat menilai tugas? Does it mean the same thing?

Yes, you can say:

• Kami punya guru yang sangat cermat saat menilai tugas.

This literally means:

• We have a teacher who is very thorough when grading assignments.

The meaning is close, but there’s a nuance:

• Guru kami sangat cermat saat menilai tugas.
  Focuses on describing our teacher; it assumes the listener already knows who this teacher is.

• Kami punya guru yang sangat cermat saat menilai tugas.
  Sounds more like you’re introducing this fact: We have this teacher, and this teacher is very thorough.

Both are grammatically correct and natural; the original is a bit more direct as a description.

Can I drop kami and just say Guru sangat cermat saat menilai tugas?

You can say:

• Guru sangat cermat saat menilai tugas.

It’s grammatically correct, but:

• Guru kami… = Our teacher… (specifically your group’s teacher)
• Guru… = The teacher / A teacher… (more general or context-dependent)

In a conversation where it’s already clear whose teacher you mean, people might drop kami:

• Guru sangat cermat saat menilai tugas, ya?
  (The teacher is very thorough when grading, right?)

But if you want to explicitly say our teacher, keep kami.

What’s the structure of menilai? What’s the root, and are there related words?

menilai is a verb formed from:

• root: nilai (value, score, worth)
• prefix: meN- → menilai (to assess, to evaluate, to grade)

Related words:

• nilai – value, mark, score, grade
  
  • nilai ujian – exam score
  • nilai tugas – assignment grade
• penilaian – assessment, evaluation
  
  • penilaian guru – teacher’s assessment
• dinilai – passive form: to be evaluated/graded
  
  • Tugas kami dinilai dengan cermat.
    (Our assignments are graded carefully.)

This kind of meN- + root pattern is very common for forming active verbs.

Is the sentence formal, informal, or neutral? Would it change if I used dosen instead of guru?

The sentence is neutral and fits both spoken and written Indonesian.

• guru – usually used for school teachers (elementary to high school), and sometimes for tutors or informal “teachers.”
• dosen – specifically a university/college lecturer.

If you’re talking about a college lecturer, you’d say:

• Dosen kami sangat cermat saat menilai tugas.
  (Our lecturer is very thorough when grading assignments.)

The level of politeness/register stays about the same; only the type of teacher changes.