Dia memukul bola di lapangan.

he/she

Breakdown of Dia memukul bola di lapangan.

• di: on
• lapangan: the field
• bola: the ball

Questions & Answers about Dia memukul bola di lapangan.

Does dia mean he or she here? How do I know the gender?

Dia can mean he or she; it does not show gender. Indonesian third‑person pronouns are generally gender‑neutral.

You find out the gender only from context (who you are talking about) or from extra words, for example dia laki‑laki (he, literally “male person”) or dia perempuan (she, literally “female person”).

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Why doesn’t the verb show tense? How do I know if memukul means hit, hits, or is hitting?

The verb memukul itself has no tense. Indonesian verbs usually don’t change form for past, present, or future.

The time is understood from:

• Context, or
• Time expressions, for example:
  
  • Dia memukul bola di lapangan kemarin. → He/She hit the ball on the field yesterday.
  • Sekarang dia memukul bola di lapangan. → Now he/she is hitting the ball on the field.
  • Besok dia akan memukul bola di lapangan. → Tomorrow he/she will hit the ball on the field.

So dia memukul bola di lapangan can be translated as he hits / is hitting / hit the ball on the field, depending on context.

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What’s the difference between pukul and memukul?