Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Pertandingan debat malam ini seru sekali. - Tonight’s debate match is really exciting.

Pertandingan is a noun meaning match / contest / competition / game. It comes from the root tanding (to compete) plus the prefix–suffix per- -an, which turns it into a noun.

pertandingan debat = a debate competition / debate match
debat alone = a debate (the activity, discussion, or event)

If you say:

Pertandingan debat malam ini seru sekali.
→ Tonight’s debate competition was very exciting.

If you drop pertandingan:

Debat malam ini seru sekali.
→ Tonight’s debate was very exciting. (more general, may or may not feel like a formal “match”)

Both are grammatical; pertandingan just makes it clear you are talking about a formal competition/match.

In the phrase pertandingan debat, which word is the main noun? Is this like “debate competition” or “competitive debate”?

In Indonesian noun–noun phrases, the main noun is usually the first word, and the following words describe or narrow it.

So:

pertandingan = main noun (competition / match)
debat = modifier (of debate)

pertandingan debat literally feels like competition of debate, which in natural English is debate competition.

It is not “competitive debate” in the English adjective sense where competitive modifies debate. The structure is closer to:

pertandingan sepak bola → football match
pertandingan bulu tangkis → badminton match
pertandingan debat → debate match / debate competition

Why is there no word for “is/was” in Pertandingan debat malam ini seru sekali?

Indonesian normally does not use a separate verb like “to be” (is/was/are) before an adjective.

The structure is:

Subject: Pertandingan debat malam ini
Predicate (adjective phrase): seru sekali

So literally it is:

“The debate competition tonight very exciting.”

In natural English we must add “is/was”, but Indonesian doesn’t:

Dia pintar. → He/She is smart.
Makanannya enak. → The food is delicious.
Pertandingan debat malam ini seru sekali. → The debate competition tonight is/was very exciting.

Tense (is vs was) is understood from context and time expressions like malam ini, tadi, nanti, not from a verb like “to be”.

What exactly does seru mean? Is it just “exciting”?

Seru is often translated as exciting, but its nuance is a bit broader:

lively, full of energy
fun, enjoyable
intense in a good/interesting way
sometimes heated (for arguments or debates) but still appealing to watch or join

Examples:

Pertandingannya seru. → The match is exciting/fun to watch.
Diskusinya seru. → The discussion is lively and interesting.
Film itu seru banget. → That movie is really exciting/fun.

Seru is usually used for events, activities, conversations, games, experiences, rather than describing a person’s personality directly (for that, Indonesians more often use asik, rame, seru dia orangnya, etc. with extra wording).

Does sekali here mean “very” or “once”? How do I know the difference?

In this sentence, sekali means very (an intensifier), not once.

As an intensifier (very):
- Comes after an adjective or descriptive word.
- seru sekali → very exciting
- bagus sekali → very good
- mahal sekali → very expensive
As “once / one time”:
- Usually appears in a different context, often with verbs or numbers.
- satu kali → one time
- Saya sudah ke sana sekali. → I have been there once.
- Coba sekali lagi. → Try one more time.

Key hint:
If sekali is right after an adjective (seru, bagus, mahal, lucu, capek, etc.), it almost always means “very”.

What’s the difference between seru sekali, sangat seru, and seru banget?

All three mean roughly “very exciting”, but they differ in style and formality:

seru sekali
- Neutral and quite standard.
- Fine in everyday speech and also okay in semi-formal writing.
- Good “safe” choice.
sangat seru
- Also means very exciting.
- Slightly more formal / written in feel.
- Common in news, articles, or more careful speech.
seru banget
- Very casual / colloquial.
- Strong emphasis: really / super exciting.
- Common in informal speech, chats, social media.
- banget is more typical of Jakarta / colloquial Indonesian.

So you could say:

Pertandingan debat malam ini seru sekali. (neutral)
Pertandingan debat malam ini sangat seru. (a bit more formal)
Pertandingan debat malam ini seru banget. (informal, chatty)

Can malam ini go at the beginning? For example, Malam ini pertandingan debat seru sekali?

Yes, you can say:

Malam ini pertandingan debat seru sekali.

Both:

Pertandingan debat malam ini seru sekali.
Malam ini pertandingan debat seru sekali.

are grammatical and natural.

The difference is mostly emphasis and flow:

Pertandingan debat malam ini seru sekali.
→ Slightly more neutral; starts with the event; time comes right after the noun.
Malam ini pertandingan debat seru sekali.
→ Puts malam ini (tonight) at the front, so it sounds like you’re emphasizing the time: As for tonight, the debate competition was very exciting.

Indonesian allows quite flexible word order for elements like time expressions (malam ini, kemarin, besok), especially at the beginning or after the subject.

Why is it malam ini and not tadi malam or nanti malam? What’s the nuance?

All three are time expressions related to “tonight/last night”, but with different viewpoints:

malam ini = this night / tonight
- Can refer to later tonight (if you say it before the event).
- Can also refer to earlier tonight (if you’re still on the same night).
- Very flexible as long as it’s still the same calendar evening/night.
tadi malam = last night / earlier tonight (already passed)
- Focuses on the fact it has already happened and is in the past.
- If you say it the next morning, you would normally use tadi malam.
nanti malam = tonight (later; upcoming)
- Looking forward to later this evening.
- Used before the night has come or before the event.

So:

Before the debate, during the day:
- Pertandingan debat malam ini pasti seru. → The debate competition tonight will surely be exciting.
After the debate, but still that same night:
- Pertandingan debat malam ini seru sekali. → The debate competition tonight was very exciting.
Next day (e.g., next morning):
- Pertandingan debat tadi malam seru sekali. → The debate competition last night was very exciting.

Can I drop pertandingan and just say Debat malam ini seru sekali? Is that still natural?

Yes, you can say:

Debat malam ini seru sekali.

That is grammatical and natural.

Nuance differences:

Pertandingan debat malam ini seru sekali.
- Emphasizes it as a competition/match (formal debating contest, scored, with teams, etc.).
Debat malam ini seru sekali.
- More general: the debate tonight.
- Could be a formal competition, a panel discussion, a classroom debate, etc.
- Slightly less formal-sounding and a bit shorter.

Context will usually make it clear whether it was a formal match or just a debate activity.

What is the basic grammatical structure (subject and predicate) of Pertandingan debat malam ini seru sekali?

The sentence has a simple Subject–Predicate structure:

Subject: Pertandingan debat malam ini
→ The debate competition tonight
Predicate: seru sekali
→ very exciting

So the pattern is:

[Noun Phrase] + [Adjective Phrase]
[Subject] + [Adjective as Predicate]

This is very common in Indonesian:

Film itu bagus sekali. → That movie is very good.
Makanannya enak banget. → The food is really delicious.
Kelas hari ini membosankan. → Today’s class is boring.
Pertandingan debat malam ini seru sekali. → Tonight’s debate competition is/was very exciting.

How would I make this sentence negative, like “Tonight’s debate competition was not exciting at all”?

To negate an adjective predicate, you use tidak before the adjective, and you can use sama sekali to mean “at all”.

Starting from:

Pertandingan debat malam ini seru sekali.
→ Tonight’s debate competition was very exciting.

Negative version:

Pertandingan debat malam ini tidak seru sama sekali.
→ Tonight’s debate competition was not exciting at all.

Pattern:

Subject + tidak + adjective (+ sama sekali)

Examples:

Film itu tidak bagus sama sekali. → That movie was not good at all.
Makanannya tidak enak sama sekali. → The food was not tasty at all.
Pertandingan debat malam ini tidak seru sama sekali. → Tonight’s debate competition was not exciting at all.