Teman saya duduk jauh di belakang.

the friend

Breakdown of Teman saya duduk jauh di belakang.

• duduk: to sit
• saya: my
• di belakang: in the back

Questions & Answers about Teman saya duduk jauh di belakang.

Why is it teman saya and not saya teman, even though in English we say my friend?

In Indonesian, possessive pronouns normally come after the noun they modify:

• teman saya = my friend
• buku saya = my book
• rumah saya = my house

So the natural order is noun + possessor, not possessor + noun as in English.
Saya teman is not correct for “my friend.”

Can teman saya also mean my friends, or is it only singular?

Teman saya is ambiguous by itself. It can mean:

• my friend (singular), or
• my friends (plural)

Indonesian usually does not mark plural on nouns. Context normally tells you whether it’s one friend or more.

If you really want to emphasize plural, people often say:

• teman-teman saya = my friends (definitely plural)
• para teman saya (more formal) = my friends

Could I say temanku instead of teman saya? What’s the difference?