Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Pagi itu antrean di klinik cukup panjang, tetapi semua orang menunggu dengan sabar. - That morning the queue at the clinic is quite long, but everyone waits patiently.

When itu comes after a time word (pagi itu, hari itu, malam itu), it usually refers to a specific time in the past, already known from the context, like in a story or a narrative:

Pagi itu kami berangkat sangat awal. = That morning we left very early.

So pagi itu feels like storytelling: “on that particular morning (that we’re talking about).”

What’s the difference between pagi itu, pagi ini, and just pagi?

pagi itu = that morning
- A specific morning in the past / in a story.
pagi ini = this morning
- The current morning (today).
pagi (by itself) = (in the) morning / mornings / morning time in general.
- E.g. Saya suka bangun pagi. = I like waking up early (in the morning).

So:

Telling a story about a past event: Pagi itu…
Talking about today: Pagi ini…
Talking about mornings in general: pagi.

In antrean di klinik cukup panjang, what is the subject, and how is the sentence structured?

The structure is:

Subject: antrean di klinik (the queue at the clinic)
Predicate (adjective phrase): cukup panjang (quite long)

Literally: “That morning, the queue at the clinic was quite long…”

Indonesian often uses [noun phrase] + [adjective] as a complete sentence where English would use “[noun] is [adjective]”:

Antrean di klinik cukup panjang.
(= The queue at the clinic (was) quite long.)

There is no word for “was” here; the adjective itself works as the predicate.

What is the difference between antre, antrean, antri, and antrian?

They’re all related to the idea of queuing / a queue.

antre (standard) = to queue / to line up (verb)
- Kami harus antre lama. = We had to queue for a long time.
antrean (standard) = queue / line (noun)
- Antrean di klinik panjang. = The queue at the clinic is long.
antri and antrian are very common in speech and informal writing, but KBBI (official dictionary) recommends antre / antrean as the standard spellings.

So in your sentence, antrean is a noun: “the queue”.

Could we say Pagi itu antre di klinik cukup panjang instead of Pagi itu antrean di klinik cukup panjang?

No, that would be wrong or at least very odd.

antre = verb: to queue
antrean = noun: a queue

In “antrean di klinik cukup panjang”, you need a noun as the subject: the queue at the clinic.

If you wanted to use the verb antre, you’d need a different structure, e.g.:

Pagi itu, orang-orang antre cukup panjang di klinik.
(Even this sounds a bit unnatural; Indonesians would more likely keep antrean there.)

So the original antrean di klinik cukup panjang is the natural form.

Does cukup here mean “enough” or “quite”? How does cukup work with adjectives?

In this sentence, cukup means “quite / fairly / rather”, not “enough”.

cukup + adjective often = quite + adjective:
- cukup panjang = quite long / fairly long
- cukup besar = quite big
- cukup mahal = quite expensive

cukup can mean “enough” in other structures, especially with nouns:

Uangnya cukup. = The money is enough.
Saya cukup tidur. = I’ve slept enough.

Here, with panjang (an adjective describing the queue), the natural translation is “quite long” or “fairly long”.

What is the difference between tetapi, tapi, and namun?

All relate to “but / however”, but they differ in formality and position:

tetapi = but, neutral–formal
- Can be used at the start of a clause:
  …cukup panjang, tetapi semua orang menunggu…
tapi = but, informal / conversational
- Common in speech and casual writing:
  …cukup panjang, tapi semua orang menunggu…
namun = however / nevertheless, more formal and often sentence-initial
- Antrean… cukup panjang. Namun, semua orang menunggu…

In your sentence, tetapi is a natural, neutral choice. In casual speech, people very often say tapi.

Why is menunggu used, and how is it different from tunggu by itself?

tunggu is the base form; it’s often used:
- as an imperative:
  Tunggu sebentar! = Wait a moment!
- in fixed phrases.
menunggu is the active verb form (with prefix meN-) meaning “to wait”:
- Saya menunggu dia. = I am waiting for him/her.
- Mereka menunggu dengan sabar. = They waited patiently.

In normal statements with a clear subject, menunggu is the standard form:

Semua orang menunggu dengan sabar. = Everyone waited patiently.

Using tunggu there would sound like an order (“everyone, wait patiently!”), not a description.

How does dengan sabar work grammatically? Is it like an adverb?

Yes, dengan sabar functions like “patiently” (an adverb) in English.

sabar = patient (adjective)
dengan = with

Indonesian often turns an adjective into an adverbial phrase with dengan:

dengan sabar = patiently
dengan pelan = slowly
dengan hati-hati = carefully

So:

menunggu dengan sabar = to wait patiently

You can sometimes drop dengan in less formal styles (dia berjalan pelan), but dengan sabar is very natural and clear here.

Why is it semua orang, not orang-orang? How do plurals work here?

Indonesian plural marking is flexible.

orang can mean “person” or “people”, depending on context.
Reduplication (orang-orang) is one way to show plural: people.
semua = all.

With semua, you don’t need reduplication:

semua orang = everyone / all (the) people

Using semua orang-orang is generally incorrect or at least feels wrong/redundant.

So:

orang-orang menunggu = People waited.
semua orang menunggu = Everyone waited / All the people waited.

In this sentence, semua orang emphasizes “everyone (without exception)”.

Can the word order be changed, like Pagi itu di klinik antrean cukup panjang? Does that sound natural?

Pagi itu di klinik antrean cukup panjang is understandable but sounds a bit awkward; Indonesians don’t usually place di klinik before antrean like that.

More natural options:

Pagi itu antrean di klinik cukup panjang. ✅ (original)
Pagi itu, antrean di klinik itu cukup panjang. ✅ (adding itu for “that clinic”)

In general, keeping “antrean di klinik” together as a noun phrase is the smoothest:

[antrean di klinik] [cukup panjang]
= [queue at the clinic] [quite long]

What exactly does klinik refer to? Is it the same as a hospital (rumah sakit)?

klinik is more like “clinic” in English:

Usually smaller than a hospital.
Can be private, specialized (dental clinic, skin clinic, etc.), or a general outpatient clinic.
Often for non-emergency, outpatient treatment.

rumah sakit = hospital, usually larger, with in-patient wards, emergency department, surgery, etc.

So antrean di klinik suggests a queue at a clinic, not a full hospital.