Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Nenek memberi saya selendang tipis untuk dipakai di ruang kelas yang dingin. - Grandmother gives me a thin shawl to wear in the cold classroom.

In Indonesian, kinship terms like nenek (grandmother), ibu (mother), ayah (father), kakak (older sibling), etc. are often used without a possessive word when the possessor is obvious from context.

So in this sentence, Nenek is naturally understood as my grandmother, because the speaker is talking about receiving something from her.

To be more explicit or to express other meanings, you can say:

nenek saya = my grandmother
nenekmu = your grandmother
neneknya = his/her/their grandmother
seorang nenek = a (certain / one) grandmother / an old lady
nenek itu = that grandmother / the grandmother (already known in context)

So:

Nenek memberi saya selendang tipis...
≈ My grandmother gave me a thin scarf...

If you really meant just any random grandmother:

Seorang nenek memberi saya selendang tipis...
= A grandmother (an old lady) gave me a thin scarf...

What’s the difference between memberi and memberikan here? Could I say Nenek memberikan saya selendang tipis?

Both memberi and memberikan come from the root beri (to give).

memberi = to give (neutral, common)
memberikan = to give/provide something (slightly more formal, focuses on the thing given)

However, they behave a bit differently with objects:

With memberi, a double-object pattern is natural:
- Nenek memberi saya selendang tipis.
  = Grandma gave me a thin scarf.
  (verb + recipient + thing)
- Nenek memberi selendang tipis kepada saya.
  = Grandma gave a thin scarf to me.
  (verb + thing + kepada
  - recipient)
Both are fine.
With memberikan, you usually put the thing directly after the verb, and the recipient with kepada:
- Nenek memberikan selendang tipis kepada saya. ✅
- Nenek memberikan saya selendang tipis. ❌ sounds wrong/unnatural

That last sentence can be misinterpreted as “Grandma gave me (away)” because saya looks like the thing being given.

So for this sentence, use either:

Nenek memberi saya selendang tipis... (as given), or
Nenek memberikan selendang tipis kepada saya... (more formal).

Why is it memberi saya selendang tipis (verb + me + scarf) and not memberi selendang tipis saya or only memberi selendang tipis kepada saya?

The pattern memberi + recipient + thing is very natural in everyday Indonesian, similar to English “gave me a scarf”:

Nenek memberi saya selendang tipis.
S + V + indirect object (recipient) + direct object (thing)

If you change the order, the meaning changes:

memberi selendang tipis saya
This is understood as:
- selendang tipis saya = my thin scarf (possessive)
So Nenek memberi selendang tipis saya (kepada orang lain).
would mean: “Grandma gave my thin scarf (to someone).”
It’s not the same as “gave me a thin scarf”.
memberi selendang tipis kepada saya
- Nenek memberi selendang tipis kepada saya.
This is completely correct and means the same as the original; it’s just slightly more explicit because of kepada. Both word orders are fine:
- Nenek memberi saya selendang tipis.
- Nenek memberi selendang tipis kepada saya.
The first feels a bit more conversational, the second a bit more formal/explicit.

There is no word for a before selendang tipis. How do I know it means a thin scarf, not the thin scarf or thin scarves?

Indonesian does not have articles like a/an or the, and it usually does not mark plural on the noun. So selendang tipis by itself is flexible:

a thin scarf
the thin scarf
(some) thin scarves

The exact English translation depends on context. In this sentence:

Nenek memberi saya selendang tipis...

we naturally interpret it as “a thin scarf”, because it’s a new item being introduced, and only one is implied.

If you want to be more explicit, you can add words:

sebuah selendang tipis / satu selendang tipis = one thin scarf
beberapa selendang tipis = several thin scarves
selendang-selendang tipis = thin scarves (plural marked with reduplication)
selendang tipis itu = that thin scarf / the thin scarf (already known)

But in normal conversation, selendang tipis alone is enough, and context does the rest.

Why is it selendang tipis and not tipis selendang? Does the adjective always come after the noun in Indonesian?

The normal pattern in Indonesian is:

noun + adjective

So you say:

selendang tipis = thin scarf
baju baru = new clothes/shirt
rumah besar = big house
ruang kelas yang dingin = the classroom that is cold

Putting the adjective before the noun (tipis selendang) is wrong in this case.

There are some words that usually come before the noun (they are not really “adjectives” in the same way), for example:

mantan pacar = ex-boyfriend/girlfriend
bekas kantor = former office / second-hand office
para siswa = the students (plural marker)
sang raja = the king (honorific)

But for ordinary descriptive adjectives like tipis, besar, panas, dingin, panjang, etc., use noun + adjective.

How does untuk dipakai work grammatically? Why is it passive (dipakai) instead of active (memakai)?

Break it down:

untuk = for / in order to / to (expresses purpose)
pakai = to wear, to use
dipakai = to be worn / to be used (passive form)

In this structure:

selendang tipis untuk dipakai ...
≈ a thin scarf to be worn ...

The scarf is the thing being worn, so it naturally appears as the subject/patient of a passive verb in Indonesian. This pattern is very common when describing the function of things:

buku untuk dibaca = a book to be read
air untuk diminum = water to be drunk
baju untuk dipakai ke pesta = clothes to be worn to the party

If you used the active form memakai:

selendang tipis untuk memakai ... ❌

that would sound like “a thin scarf for wearing (something)”, which is wrong, because the scarf is what gets worn, not the wearer.

Could I also say ... selendang tipis untuk saya pakai di ruang kelas yang dingin? Is there any difference in meaning?

Yes, you can say that:

Nenek memberi saya selendang tipis untuk saya pakai di ruang kelas yang dingin.

This is grammatical and natural. The meaning is very close, but there’s a nuance:

untuk dipakai
- passive, subject not mentioned
- focuses on the function of the scarf in general: “a scarf to be worn in the cold classroom”
untuk saya pakai
- active, with explicit subject saya
- emphasizes that I am the one who will wear it: “a scarf for me to wear in the cold classroom”

Both are fine; the original untuk dipakai is a bit more neutral and compact.

What is the nuance of di ruang kelas instead of just di kelas?

ruang kelas literally = classroom (the physical room)
kelas can mean:
- class (as in “English class”, “Math class”)
- classroom (in some contexts)
- grade/level (e.g. kelas 10 = 10th grade)

In practice:

di kelas
often means “in class / during class” or “in the classroom” in a general way.
di ruang kelas
points more clearly to the room as a physical space.

So:

untuk dipakai di ruang kelas yang dingin
highlights that the room itself is cold.

You could also say:

untuk dipakai di kelas yang dingin

which would usually be understood the same way, though ruang kelas makes the idea of a cold room slightly more explicit.

What exactly does yang do in ruang kelas yang dingin? Could I just say ruang kelas dingin?

yang is a marker that introduces a phrase or clause which modifies a noun. In ruang kelas yang dingin:

ruang kelas = classroom
yang dingin = that is cold / which is cold

So ruang kelas yang dingin ≈ the classroom that is cold / the cold classroom.

About dropping yang:

ruang kelas dingin can be understood as “a cold classroom”, especially in casual speech, but it is less clearly marked as a single noun phrase.
yang makes it unambiguously a modifier of the noun.

Compare:

Ruang kelas dingin.
Could be understood as a short sentence: “(The) classroom is cold.”
Ruang kelas yang dingin itu kecil.
“That classroom which is cold is small.”
Here yang clearly links dingin to ruang kelas as a description.

For learners, it’s safer to use yang when you have a noun + descriptive phrase inside a larger structure, as in this sentence.

How do I know that yang dingin describes the classroom, not the scarf?

Look at the grouping of the sentence:

Nenek memberi saya selendang tipis
= Grandma gave me a thin scarf
untuk dipakai
= to be worn
di ruang kelas yang dingin
= in the classroom that is cold

Inside di ruang kelas yang dingin:

ruang kelas is the noun
yang dingin directly follows it and modifies it

selendang tipis is in a different phrase, before untuk dipakai. The structure is:

[selendang tipis] [untuk dipakai [di [ruang kelas yang dingin]]]

So yang dingin can only attach to ruang kelas, not to selendang tipis.

If you wanted dingin to describe the scarf, you would move yang dingin right after selendang tipis:

Nenek memberi saya selendang tipis yang dingin untuk dipakai di ruang kelas.
= Grandma gave me a thin scarf that was cold to wear in the classroom.

Now yang dingin clearly modifies selendang tipis.

Why is the preposition di used in di ruang kelas, and not pada?

In modern Indonesian:

di is the normal preposition for location:
- di rumah = at home
- di sekolah = at school
- di ruang kelas = in the classroom
pada is used more for:
- time (pada hari Senin = on Monday)
- abstract objects (pada kesempatan ini = on this occasion)
- some very formal styles

Using pada ruang kelas would sound overly formal or unnatural in everyday language. For a physical place, choose di:

di ruang kelas yang dingin ✅
pada ruang kelas yang dingin ❌ (odd in normal conversation)

Why is saya used here instead of aku? Could I leave it out?

saya vs aku

Both mean I / me, but:

saya
- neutral, polite, safe in almost any situation
- used in formal or semi-formal speech, or when you’re not very close to the listener
aku
- more informal, intimate
- used with friends, family, close peers, in casual conversation

In this sentence, saya is a safe default. If you’re telling this to a close friend informally, you could say:

Nenek memberi aku selendang tipis...

and it would be fine in that context.

Can you omit saya?

If you remove saya, the meaning changes:

Nenek memberi selendang tipis untuk dipakai di ruang kelas yang dingin.

Now we no longer know who received the scarf. It just says “Grandma gave a thin scarf to be worn in the cold classroom.” Maybe to me, maybe to someone else, maybe to students in general.

So:

If you specifically mean gave me, you should keep saya.
You only omit it if the recipient is clear from prior context or you don’t care who it is.