Pelajari sejarah Indonesia di perpustakaan.

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Breakdown of Pelajari sejarah Indonesia di perpustakaan.

• Indonesia: Indonesian
• perpustakaan: the library
• sejarah: the history

Questions & Answers about Pelajari sejarah Indonesia di perpustakaan.

Why is there no subject (like “you”) in Pelajari sejarah Indonesia di perpustakaan?

In Indonesian, it’s very common to drop the subject when giving a command or instruction.

Pelajari sejarah Indonesia di perpustakaan is an imperative sentence. The subject “you” is understood from context, so it doesn’t need to be said.

In English you must say “(You) Study Indonesian history at the library.”
In Indonesian, just using the verb pelajari already implies “you study…” as a command.

Is pelajari definitely a command? Could this sentence mean “He/She studies Indonesian history at the library”?

With the form pelajari at the beginning of the sentence and no subject, native speakers will read it as a command / instruction almost 100% of the time.

To say a normal statement like “He/She studies Indonesian history at the library”, Indonesians would normally say:

• Ia/Saya mempelajari sejarah Indonesia di perpustakaan.
  or
• Ia/Saya belajar sejarah Indonesia di perpustakaan.

So:

• pelajari … → imperative (“Study …!”)
• mempelajari … / belajar … → statement (“studies / is studying …”)

What’s the difference between pelajari, belajar, and mempelajari?