Breakdown of Guru bahasa kami memberi tes singkat di akhir pelajaran.
Questions & Answers about Guru bahasa kami memberi tes singkat di akhir pelajaran.
Word by word:
- guru = teacher
- bahasa = language
- kami = we / us (exclusive – not including the listener)
- guru bahasa kami = our language teacher
- memberi = to give
- tes = test
- singkat = short, brief
- tes singkat = a short test
- di = at / in / on (location or time)
- akhir = end
- pelajaran = lesson, class (also “instruction/study” depending on context)
- di akhir pelajaran = at the end of the lesson
So the overall literal sense is: Our language teacher gives/gave a short test at the end of the lesson.
In Indonesian, possessive pronouns normally come after the noun phrase, not before as in English.
- English: our language teacher
- Indonesian: guru bahasa kami
- guru bahasa = language teacher
- kami = we / us → here it works like “our”
Other examples:
- buku saya = my book
- rumah mereka = their house
- teman kita = our friend (including the listener)
So the structure is: [noun + description] + possessor → guru bahasa + kami.
Both mean we / us, but:
- kami = we (exclusive) → not including the person being spoken to
- kita = we (inclusive) → including the person being spoken to
Guru bahasa kami suggests:
- The group that owns this teacher does not necessarily include the listener.
- For example, students from Class A talking to someone not in their class.
If you said guru bahasa kita, it would mean our language teacher (yours and mine), assuming both speaker and listener share the same teacher.
In many textbooks, guru bahasa kami is the safer neutral example, because it doesn’t force inclusion of the listener.
On its own:
- bahasa = language (in general)
So guru bahasa kami literally is our language teacher. It can mean:
- Our language teacher (subject “Language” in school, often assumed to be Indonesian in an Indonesian context), or
- Our [some specific] language teacher, depending on wider context.
If you want to be explicit:
- guru bahasa Indonesia kami = our Indonesian language teacher
- guru bahasa Inggris kami = our English language teacher
- guru bahasa Jepang kami = our Japanese language teacher
In everyday Indonesian, if the context is an Indonesian school and you just say guru bahasa, people usually understand language teacher for the relevant subject (often Indonesian language).
Indonesian verbs normally don’t change form for tense. Memberi can mean:
- gives
- is giving
- gave
- will give
The exact time is usually clear from context (surrounding sentences, time expressions, or situation). If the English translation given to you is “gave”, that’s a teacher’s choice based on context.
To make the past time explicit, speakers often add time words:
Guru bahasa kami sudah memberi tes singkat di akhir pelajaran.
→ Our language teacher already gave a short test at the end of the lesson.Tadi guru bahasa kami memberi tes singkat di akhir pelajaran.
→ Earlier / just now our language teacher gave a short test at the end of the lesson.
But the original sentence is grammatically fine without any tense marker.
All can be connected with “giving,” but they’re used slightly differently.
memberi (meN- + beri)
- Basic, neutral to give.
- Pattern: memberi + direct object
- Guru bahasa kami memberi tes singkat.
memberikan (meN- + ber(i) + -kan)
- Often used when you want to emphasize the thing being given, or when followed by a longer object phrase.
- Pattern: memberikan + something (often more explicit or longer)
- In this sentence you can say:
- Guru bahasa kami memberikan tes singkat di akhir pelajaran.
- Meaning is practically the same; it sounds slightly more formal or careful.
kasih (colloquial)
- In many regions (especially Jakarta-style Indonesian), kasih is informally used for to give.
- More spoken/colloquial:
- Guru bahasa kami kasih tes singkat di akhir pelajaran.
- Not ideal for very formal writing.
In standard written Indonesian for learners, memberi (or memberikan) is the safest choice.
In Indonesian, adjectives usually come after the noun they describe.
- tes singkat = short test
- pelajaran sulit = difficult lesson
- buku baru = new book
- guru baik = kind teacher
Putting singkat before tes (singkat tes) is ungrammatical in standard Indonesian.
So the pattern is: noun + adjective → tes singkat, not singkat tes.
They are related but not identical:
tes singkat
- Literally short test, often something small or quick: a quiz, a short check.
- Flexible, could be informal or formal.
ujian
- General word for exam, often more formal/important (midterm, final exam, official test).
ulangan
- Literally re-test / repetition, but commonly used in schools for tests (e.g. chapter tests, small exams).
- ulangan harian = daily quiz/test
- ulangan semester = semester test
In your sentence, tes singkat suggests a brief test or quiz, not a big formal exam.
The phrase breaks down as:
- di = at / in / on (preposition for place or time)
- akhir = end (a noun here)
- pelajaran = lesson
So di akhir pelajaran literally = at the end of the lesson.
Structure:
- di + [noun phrase]
- di + akhir pelajaran → “at the end (of the lesson)”
You could also see:
- pada akhir pelajaran → also “at the end of the lesson,” a bit more formal.
- di akhir kelas → at the end of the class.
Di akhir dari pelajaran is possible but sounds wordy; di akhir pelajaran is more natural.
Yes, you can adjust the noun phrase:
Remove kami:
- Guru bahasa memberi tes singkat di akhir pelajaran.
- Meaning: The language teacher gave a short test at the end of the lesson.
- Now, there is no our; it’s just “the language teacher”.
Remove bahasa:
- Guru kami memberi tes singkat di akhir pelajaran.
- Meaning: Our teacher gave a short test at the end of the lesson.
- The subject is just “our teacher” (no mention of language as the subject they teach).
Keep only guru:
- Guru memberi tes singkat di akhir pelajaran.
- Meaning: The teacher gave a short test at the end of the lesson.
- More generic: which teacher is understood from earlier context.
All are grammatically correct; you choose depending on how specific you want to be.
tes
- Pronounced almost like English “tess” (short e as in “bed”, not “taste”).
- One syllable: tes.
pelajaran
- Syllables: pe-la-jar-an
- Rough guide:
- pe like “peh”
- la like “la” in “lava”
- jar like “jar” (but with a softer r)
- an like “un” in “button” (quick, not a full “ahn”)
- Stress is often on -jar-: pe-LA-jar-an or pe-la-JAR-an (both are heard; regional variation exists, but foreign learners are understood either way if vowels and consonants are clear).
They are from the same root and are closely related:
- ajar = base root meaning teach / instruction / lesson
belajar (be- + ajar) = to study, to learn
- Saya belajar bahasa Indonesia. = I study Indonesian.
mengajar (meN- + ajar) = to teach
- Dia mengajar matematika. = He/She teaches math.
pelajaran (pe- + ajar + -an)
- Can mean lesson, subject, or instruction.
- In your sentence: di akhir pelajaran = at the end of the lesson/class.
So pelajaran is the lesson itself; mengajar is teaching, and belajar is learning/studying.
Yes, that sentence is also correct:
- Guru bahasa kami memberikan tes singkat di akhir pelajaran.
Compared with memberi:
- memberi and memberikan here are both acceptable and mean to give.
- memberikan often sounds a bit more formal or slightly more “complete” stylistically, especially when followed by a longer or more explicit object phrase.
In everyday use, most native speakers would not feel a strong difference in meaning in this sentence. For learners, you can treat both as valid, with memberi being a bit more basic, and memberikan a bit more formal.