Asisten dosen yang saya temui di laboratorium komputer menjelaskan teori statistik dengan sabar.

The teaching assistant whom I met in the computer lab explained statistical theory patiently.

Breakdown of Asisten dosen yang saya temui di laboratorium komputer menjelaskan teori statistik dengan sabar.

• saya: I
• di: in
• dengan: with
• sabar: patient
• menjelaskan: to explain
• temui: to meet
• laboratorium: the laboratory
• yang: whom
• teori: the theory
• asisten dosen: the teaching assistant
• komputer: computer
• statistik: statistical

Questions & Answers about Asisten dosen yang saya temui di laboratorium komputer menjelaskan teori statistik dengan sabar.

What is the role of yang in this sentence?

Yang introduces a relative clause that gives extra information about a noun.

Here, yang comes after asisten dosen, so it means something like who / that in English:

• asisten dosen yang saya temui di laboratorium komputer
  ≈ the teaching assistant who I met in the computer lab

Everything after yang up to menjelaskan (saya temui di laboratorium komputer) is a clause describing asisten dosen.

In the phrase asisten dosen yang saya temui di laboratorium komputer, which part is the relative clause and what does it modify?

The relative clause is:

• yang saya temui di laboratorium komputer

It modifies the noun phrase asisten dosen.

So the structure is:

• asisten dosen = head noun
• yang saya temui di laboratorium komputer = relative clause describing which assistant

Overall meaning: the assistant lecturer / teaching assistant whom I met in the computer lab.

Why is it saya temui and not saya menemui in this sentence?

Indonesian often drops the meN- prefix when the object of a meN- verb has been moved in front of the verb (as happens in relative clauses or certain focus structures).

Base pattern:

• Saya menemui asisten dosen itu.
  = I met the teaching assistant.

When asisten dosen becomes the head of a relative clause (asisten dosen yang ...), the verb usually appears without meN-:

• asisten dosen yang saya temui
  literally: assistant lecturer that I meet-I

So:

• menemui → temui once the object (asisten dosen) is taken out and placed before yang.
• Saying yang saya menemui is not natural in standard Indonesian; yang saya temui is the normal pattern.

This pattern also appears in other verbs:

• Saya membaca buku itu. → buku yang saya baca
• Saya menonton film itu. → film yang saya tonton

Could the sentence use yang saya temukan instead of yang saya temui?

Not with the same meaning.

• temui (from menemui) = to meet (a person)
• temukan (from menemukan) = to find (something/someone you were looking for or happened upon)

Yang saya temui = whom I met
Yang saya temukan = whom/what I found

In context, you normally meet a teaching assistant in the computer lab, not find them as an object. So yang saya temui is the natural choice here.

What does dengan sabar literally mean, and why is dengan used here?

Literally:

• dengan = with
• sabar = patient

So dengan sabar literally is with patience, but functionally it means patiently (an adverb).

In Indonesian, a common way to form an adverb (English -ly) from an adjective is:

• dengan + adjective

Examples:

• dengan cepat = quickly
• dengan hati-hati = carefully
• dengan sabar = patiently

So menjelaskan teori statistik dengan sabar = explained the theory of statistics patiently.

Is there a difference between saying dengan sabar and just sabar after the verb?

Yes, there is a nuance difference.

• menjelaskan teori statistik dengan sabar
  → clearly adverbial, focuses on how the explaining was done (patiently).

• menjelaskan teori statistik sabar
  → this sounds odd or ungrammatical in standard Indonesian; sabar is not normally used directly after the verb like this.

If you drop dengan, you usually have to change the structure, for example:

• Ia sangat sabar ketika menjelaskan teori statistik.
  = He/She is very patient when explaining statistical theory.

So to modify the verb directly (like an adverb), dengan sabar is the natural and correct form here.

How is menjelaskan teori statistik structured grammatically? Do we ever need tentang here?

Structure:

• menjelaskan = to explain (from jelas = clear)
• teori statistik = statistical theory (noun phrase)

So menjelaskan teori statistik = to explain statistical theory.

You do not need tentang here. Menjelaskan already takes a direct object:

• menjelaskan sesuatu = to explain something

If you add tentang, it often sounds redundant or slightly off:

• menjelaskan tentang teori statistik
  is used by some speakers, but many prefer just menjelaskan teori statistik.

As a rule, with menjelaskan, use the thing explained directly as its object, without tentang.

What exactly does asisten dosen mean, and would dosen asisten be possible?

Asisten dosen is a compound noun:

• asisten = assistant
• dosen = lecturer (usually at a university, not a schoolteacher)

Together:

• asisten dosen ≈ teaching assistant / lecturer’s assistant

In Indonesian, the pattern is usually:

• head noun + modifying noun

Here, asisten is the main role, and dosen specifies assistant to whom.

Dosen asisten is not a normal expression; it would be confusing or interpreted strangely. The natural, standard form is asisten dosen.

Where does di laboratorium komputer belong in the structure? Could it be moved to another position?

In this sentence, di laboratorium komputer is part of the relative clause:

• asisten dosen [yang saya temui di laboratorium komputer] …

So it tells us where you met the assistant, not where the explaining happened.

You can sometimes move di laboratorium komputer for focus or style, but you must keep the structure clear:

1. Asisten dosen yang saya temui di laboratorium komputer menjelaskan teori statistik dengan sabar.
   → Standard, natural. The place clearly modifies temui (met).

2. Asisten dosen di laboratorium komputer yang saya temui menjelaskan teori statistik dengan sabar.
   → Now di laboratorium komputer can be read as modifying asisten dosen (the assistant who belongs to/works in the computer lab), and yang saya temui stands alone. The nuance shifts.

If you put di laboratorium komputer at the very end:

3. Asisten dosen yang saya temui menjelaskan teori statistik dengan sabar di laboratorium komputer.
   → Now it tends to sound like the explaining happened in the lab, not the meeting.

So the original sentence is the clearest way to say the assistant whom I met in the computer lab.

How can we tell what tense this sentence is in, since there are no tense markers?

Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense. The form menjelaskan, temui etc. do not mark past, present, or future.

The tense is understood from:

• Time words (like kemarin = yesterday, sudah = already, akan = will)
• Context (what has been said before)
• World knowledge

Your sentence could be translated as:

• … explained … (past)
• … explains … (present, habitual)
• … is explaining … (present progressive)

If you want to make it clearly past, you can add markers:

• Asisten dosen yang saya temui di laboratorium komputer tadi menjelaskan teori statistik dengan sabar.
• Asisten dosen yang saya temui di laboratorium komputer sudah menjelaskan teori statistik dengan sabar.

Why are there no words like the or a before asisten dosen and teori statistik?

Indonesian normally does not use separate words equivalent to English a / an / the.

• asisten dosen can mean a teaching assistant or the teaching assistant, depending on context.
• teori statistik can mean statistical theory, a statistical theory, or the statistical theory, again depending on context.

Definiteness is usually inferred from:

• Context (has this noun been mentioned before?)
• Modifiers (e.g. itu = that / the, ini = this)
• Possessives (saya, Anda, etc.)

If you really need to emphasize definiteness, you can add itu:

• Asisten dosen itu menjelaskan teori statistik dengan sabar.
  = That / the teaching assistant explained statistical theory patiently.

Is this sentence formal, informal, or neutral? Where could it be used?

The sentence is neutral to slightly formal:

• Uses saya (neutral I) instead of very informal aku.
• Vocabulary like asisten dosen, laboratorium komputer, teori statistik is academic.
• Structure is clear and standard, with a relative clause using yang.

You can comfortably use this sentence in:

• Academic writing (reports about a class or lab)
• Formal or semi-formal emails
• Narratives describing events at a university
• Spoken Indonesian in a polite or neutral context (e.g. talking to a lecturer or classmates)