Breakdown of Teman saya mengikuti les biola setiap Sabtu pagi.
pagi
the morning
teman
the friend
setiap
every
saya
my
Questions & Answers about Teman saya mengikuti les biola setiap Sabtu pagi.
Why is it Teman saya and not saya teman for my friend?
In Indonesian, the typical pattern for possession is:
- Noun + possessor
So:
- teman saya = my friend (literally: friend I)
- saya teman sounds wrong; Indonesian doesn’t reverse the order like that.
Other correct alternatives:
- temanku = my friend (colloquial, using the suffix -ku)
- teman aku = also possible in casual speech, but teman saya is more neutral/standard.
Does teman saya clearly mean one friend, or could it also mean my friends (plural)?
Indonesian usually does not mark singular vs plural on nouns. So:
- teman saya can mean my friend or my friends, depending on context.
If you really want to be explicit:
- seorang teman saya = one of my friends / a (single) friend of mine
- teman-teman saya = my friends (clearly plural, by reduplicating teman)
What exactly does mengikuti mean here? Why not just ikut?