Setelah pakaian kering, saya menggunakan setrika di meja kecil di kamar.

After the clothes are dry, I use the iron on the small table in the room.

Breakdown of Setelah pakaian kering, saya menggunakan setrika di meja kecil di kamar.

• adalah: to be
• saya: I
• di: in
• kecil: small
• kamar: the room
• di: on
• setelah: after
• pakaian: the clothes
• kering: dry
• menggunakan: to use
• meja: the table
• setrika: the iron

Questions & Answers about Setelah pakaian kering, saya menggunakan setrika di meja kecil di kamar.

What is the function of setelah pakaian kering here? Is kering acting like a verb or an adjective?

Setelah pakaian kering literally means after (the) clothes dry / after (the) clothes are dry.

• pakaian = clothes (noun)
• kering = dry (adjective)

In Indonesian, an adjective can function as the predicate without a to be verb. So:

• pakaian kering = the clothes are dry

The whole phrase setelah pakaian kering is a time clause:

• setelah = after
• pakaian kering = the clothes are dry

So it works like English after the clothes are dry, even though there is no verb to be. kering is still an adjective, but it functions as the main part of the predicate in that clause.

Could I say sesudah pakaian kering instead of setelah pakaian kering? Is there any difference?

Yes, you can say sesudah pakaian kering. It means the same thing.

• setelah and sesudah are near-synonyms = after
• Both are correct and commonly used.
• In everyday speech, setelah is slightly more common and can feel a bit more neutral; sesudah is also fine.

In this sentence, setelah pakaian kering and sesudah pakaian kering are interchangeable.

Why is there no word like sudah before kering, as in setelah pakaian sudah kering?

You can say setelah pakaian sudah kering, and it is also correct. The nuance:

• setelah pakaian kering
  – neutral: after the clothes are dry

• setelah pakaian sudah kering
  – adds a slight emphasis on completion: after the clothes have (already) become dry

In many contexts, Indonesians drop sudah when the sequence of events is clear from setelah. So setelah pakaian kering is natural and fully correct.

What exactly does pakaian mean? Is it singular or plural? Why is there no word for the?

pakaian means clothes or clothing.

• It does not mark singular or plural by itself; Indonesian normally does not.
• Context tells you whether it is the clothes, my clothes, some clothes, etc.

There is no direct equivalent to English the / a / an. So:

• pakaian could mean clothes / the clothes / some clothes
• If you really need to be specific, you can add words:
  • pakaian itu = those clothes / the clothes (already known)
  • pakaian saya = my clothes

In this sentence, pakaian is understood as the clothes from context.

What does setrika mean here? Is it a noun (iron) or a verb (to iron)?

In this sentence, setrika is a noun.

• setrika = an iron (the device)
• menggunakan = to use

So menggunakan setrika = to use an iron.

As a verb, the more common form is menyetrika:

• Saya menyetrika pakaian. = I iron the clothes.

You could rewrite the sentence more simply as:

• Setelah pakaian kering, saya menyetrika di meja kecil di kamar.

Both are correct; the original focuses slightly more on the tool (using an iron), while menyetrika focuses on the action (ironing).

Why is it menggunakan setrika and not memakai setrika? What is the difference between menggunakan and memakai?

Both menggunakan and memakai can mean to use, but there is a nuance:

• memakai

  • more basic, everyday to wear / to use
  • common for clothes, simple tools, etc.
  • memakai baju = wear clothes
  • memakai pensil = use a pencil

• menggunakan

  • slightly more formal or neutral to use / to utilize
  • common in written language and in explanations or instructions

In speech, Saya memakai setrika would be understood and not wrong, but menggunakan setrika sounds a bit more neutral and natural in a descriptive sentence like this.

Why is meja kecil and not kecil meja? Where do adjectives go in Indonesian?

In Indonesian, adjectives usually come after the noun they describe.

• meja = table
• kecil = small

So:

• meja kecil = small table
• kamar kecil = small room
• mobil merah = red car

Putting the adjective before the noun (kecil meja) is incorrect in standard Indonesian.

Why is di repeated: di meja kecil di kamar? Could I just say di meja kecil kamar?

You need to repeat di because these are two separate location phrases:

• di meja kecil = at/on the small table
• di kamar = in the room

Together: di meja kecil di kamar = on the small table in the room.

Without the second di, meja kecil kamar would look like a long noun phrase (the small room table) and become unclear or unnatural. Repeating di keeps the structure clear:

• menggunakan setrika [di meja kecil] [di kamar]

In English we say on the small table, but here it is di meja kecil. Why not di atas meja kecil?

Indonesian often uses di alone where English would use in / on / at. The exact preposition is decided by context.

• di meja kecil can mean on the small table (understood from experience: an iron is placed on a table).

You can say di atas meja kecil:

• di atas = on top of
• di atas meja kecil = on top of the small table

Both are correct. di atas is more explicit; di meja kecil is shorter and very common in casual speech when the meaning is obvious.

What does kamar mean here? Is it always bedroom?

kamar means room, but in everyday speech it often implies bedroom, unless specified otherwise.

Common patterns:

• kamar alone
  
  • often interpreted as bedroom in a house context
• kamar tidur = bedroom (more explicit)
• kamar mandi = bathroom
• kamar hotel = hotel room

In this sentence, di kamar probably means in the bedroom, but could also just be in the room, depending on context.

Is the subject saya necessary, or can I drop it?

You can drop saya if context makes the subject clear:

• Setelah pakaian kering, menggunakan setrika di meja kecil di kamar.

This would be understood as (I) use an iron on the small table in the room. However:

• Without saya, the sentence is more like a general instruction or description (like a note in a procedure).
• With saya, it is clearly a personal statement.

In normal conversation, keeping saya is perfectly natural and clear.

Why is there no past tense marker? How do we know this happened in the past?

Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense. Time is usually shown by:

• Time words: kemarin (yesterday), tadi (earlier), besok (tomorrow), etc.
• Context and sequence markers: setelah (after), sebelum (before), etc.

In Setelah pakaian kering, saya menggunakan setrika di meja kecil di kamar, setelah already tells you the order of events. Depending on context, this could be translated as:

• After the clothes are dry, I use an iron… (habit)
• After the clothes dried, I used an iron… (past event)

The Indonesian sentence itself is neutral; tense comes from context.

Could I change the order to Saya menggunakan setrika di meja kecil di kamar setelah pakaian kering?

Yes, that is grammatically correct:

• Saya menggunakan setrika di meja kecil di kamar setelah pakaian kering.

Both orders are fine:

1. Setelah pakaian kering, saya menggunakan setrika…
2. Saya menggunakan setrika… setelah pakaian kering.

Putting the setelah clause at the beginning (version 1) slightly emphasizes the time condition. Both sound natural. The original version is very common in narrative or explanation.