Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Di sekolah, kami bisa memilih les piano atau les biola setelah jam pelajaran. - At school, we can choose piano lessons or violin lessons after class hours.

You would not use something like pada sekolah here; pada is more for time or abstract objects (e.g. pada hari Senin = on Monday, pada kesempatan ini = on this occasion), not for concrete physical locations in everyday speech.

Why is it kami and not kita? What’s the difference?

Indonesian has two common words for we:

kami = we (but not you) – exclusive of the listener
kita = we (including you) – inclusive of the listener

In the sentence:

Di sekolah, kami bisa memilih les piano atau les biola setelah jam pelajaran.

kami means the group being talked about does not include the person being spoken to. For example, a student talking to their parents:

At school, we (students) can choose piano or violin lessons (but you, Mom/Dad, are not part of that group).

If the speaker wants to include the listener as part of the group, they should use kita:

Di sekolah, kita bisa memilih les piano atau les biola setelah jam pelajaran.
= At school, we (you and I / all of us) can choose piano or violin lessons.

So choosing between kami and kita depends on whether the listener is part of the group or not.

What does bisa add here? Could we use dapat or leave it out?

In the sentence, bisa means can / are able to / are allowed to.

kami bisa memilih = we can choose / we are able to choose / we are allowed to choose

You have a few options:

bisa – very common, neutral:
- Kami bisa memilih les piano atau les biola.
  = We can choose piano or violin lessons.
dapat – similar meaning, sometimes a bit more formal or written:
- Kami dapat memilih les piano atau les biola.
(no modal) – sometimes you can omit bisa/dapat if context is clear, but the nuance changes:
- Kami memilih les piano atau les biola.
  = We choose piano or violin lessons (this feels more like a statement of what we do, not about permission/possibility).

In this context (explaining an option offered by school), bisa or dapat are the most natural, because the point is having the option/possibility.

Why is it memilih and not just pilih?

pilih is the root verb meaning choose.
memilih is the active verb form with the me- prefix:

pilih (root) → memilih (active verb form)

In standard Indonesian:

Subject + memilih + object is the normal structure:
- Kami memilih les piano. = We choose piano lessons.
- Kami bisa memilih les piano atau les biola. = We can choose piano or violin lessons.

In casual spoken Indonesian, people often use the root without the prefix:

Kita bisa pilih les piano atau les biola. (informal but very common)

So:

memilih = more standard/neutral, good for writing or clear, proper speech
pilih = shorter, informal/casual spoken style when used directly with a subject

Both are understood; this sentence simply uses the standard form.

What exactly does les mean? Is it the same as “class” or “course”?

les means a lesson or tutoring session, usually:

private or small-group
outside regular school class hours
focused on a specific skill or subject

Examples:

les piano = piano lessons
les biola = violin lessons
les bahasa Inggris = English tutoring / English lessons
les matematika = math tutoring

It’s not exactly the same as:

kelas = class (as in classroom group or class level)
kursus = a course, often more organized or longer-term (e.g. kursus komputer = computer course)
pelajaran = lesson / subject in school (e.g. pelajaran matematika = math subject/lesson in school)

In everyday Indonesian, les strongly suggests extra lessons outside the regular curriculum, often paid and sometimes with a private teacher.

Why is it les piano and les biola (noun + noun) instead of something like “pelajaran piano”?

In Indonesian, it’s very common to form a phrase [type] + [subject]:

les piano = piano lessons
les biola = violin lessons
les renang = swimming lessons
les menyanyi = singing lessons

Here:

les is the main noun (lesson)
piano / biola describe what kind of lesson

This order is similar to English piano lesson, violin lesson (head noun last in English, but the logical relationship is the same: a lesson of piano).

You can say:

pelajaran piano = a piano lesson / piano teaching

…but les piano is more natural when talking about extra-curricular/private lessons. pelajaran piano could sound more like the content (the lesson itself), while les piano strongly evokes the idea of going to a piano teacher for lessons.

Does atau here mean “one or the other” (exclusive), or could it mean both?

atau on its own is just or and is neutral between:

exclusive or: A or B but not both
inclusive or: A or B or both

So:

Kami bisa memilih les piano atau les biola…

By itself doesn’t strictly say if you can take only one or both.
However, in real-life context:

In many school settings, choosing between piano or violin usually means you pick one.
Listeners will often assume you choose only one unless context says otherwise.

To clearly say only one, you can say:

Kami bisa memilih salah satu, les piano atau les biola.
= We can choose one of them, piano lessons or violin lessons.
Kami hanya boleh memilih satu les: piano atau biola.
= We’re only allowed to choose one lesson: piano or violin.

To clearly allow both, you might say:

Kami bisa mengikuti les piano dan les biola.
= We can take piano and violin lessons.
Kami boleh ikut les piano, les biola, atau keduanya.
= We may join piano lessons, violin lessons, or both.

What does setelah jam pelajaran mean exactly? Why jam pelajaran and not just pelajaran?

Breakdown:

setelah = after
jam = hour / o’clock / time slot
pelajaran = lesson / subject / teaching

In many schools, jam pelajaran means a class period or teaching hours (regular class time). So:

setelah jam pelajaran ≈ after class hours / after the scheduled lessons

Why not just setelah pelajaran?

setelah pelajaran could mean after the lesson (more singular or specific).
setelah jam pelajaran suggests a block of time, the school’s official lesson hours for the day.

Indonesian often uses a singular noun to refer to a general plural idea, so:

jam pelajaran here can mean all the class periods for that day.

You can also say (with similar meaning):

setelah pelajaran selesai = after the lessons are finished
sesudah jam pelajaran = synonym, sesudah ≈ setelah
habis jam pelajaran / abis jam pelajaran (more informal) = after class hours

Is the word order of place and time fixed? Could we move di sekolah or setelah jam pelajaran to other positions?

Indonesian word order for place and time information is quite flexible. Your sentence:

Di sekolah, kami bisa memilih les piano atau les biola setelah jam pelajaran.

Other natural variations:

Kami bisa memilih les piano atau les biola di sekolah setelah jam pelajaran.
Kami bisa memilih, setelah jam pelajaran, les piano atau les biola di sekolah. (a bit heavier, more written)
Setelah jam pelajaran, kami bisa memilih les piano atau les biola di sekolah.

General tendencies:

Many sentences start with a time or place phrase to set context:
- Di sekolah, ...
- Setelah jam pelajaran, ...
Place/time phrases can also appear after the main clause.

There is no strict rule that di sekolah must be first. Moving them slightly can change emphasis or style, but the basic meaning stays the same.

How do we know the tense? Does this sentence mean “can choose now” or “will be able to choose”?

Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense (past/present/future).
Tense is understood from context or from time words.

The bare sentence:

Di sekolah, kami bisa memilih les piano atau les biola setelah jam pelajaran.

can mean:

At school, we can choose piano or violin lessons after class (generally true / repeated habit).
At school, we will be able to choose piano or violin lessons after class (future, e.g. explaining a schedule).

To make the future sense more explicit, you can add words like:

nanti (later):
- Di sekolah, nanti kami bisa memilih les piano atau les biola setelah jam pelajaran.
akan (will):
- Di sekolah, kami akan bisa memilih les piano atau les biola setelah jam pelajaran.

But often Indonesians don’t add anything, because time is clear from context (for example, when you’re explaining a regular school program).

Is this sentence formal, informal, or neutral? How might it sound in casual speech?

The sentence as given is neutral, standard Indonesian:

Di sekolah, kami bisa memilih les piano atau les biola setelah jam pelajaran.

It’s fine for:

speaking politely to adults (teachers, parents)
writing in school information, brochures, etc.
everyday conversation in a slightly careful style

In casual speech, people often:

use kita instead of kami (especially among peers)
drop the me- prefix: milih instead of memilih
use shorter forms for setelah like habis or abis

Possible casual version:

Di sekolah, kita bisa milih les piano atau les biola abis jam pelajaran.

Even more relaxed:

Di sekolah, kita bisa milih les piano atau biola abis jam pelajaran.

All of these keep the same core meaning but change the register from standard to casual.

Why do we repeat les in les piano atau les biola? Can we just say les piano atau biola?

Both are possible:

les piano atau les biola (with les repeated)
les piano atau biola (with les only once)

Differences:

Repeating les:
- Feels a bit clearer and more balanced: two parallel choices
- Sounds good in careful speech or writing
Not repeating les:
- Shorter, more informal, but still natural
- Common in spoken Indonesian

So you can say:

Kami bisa memilih les piano atau les biola. (slightly more formal/clear)
Kami bisa memilih les piano atau biola. (a bit more relaxed)

The meaning is essentially the same: the choice is between piano lessons and violin lessons.