Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Teman saya menyortir file skripsi ke dalam beberapa folder, sehingga dia bisa menemukan dokumen penting tanpa harus mencari lama. - My friend sorts his/her thesis files into several folders, so he/she can find important documents without having to search for long.

teman saya = my friend (literally: friend my)
saya teman is ungrammatical.
sahabat saya also means my friend, but sahabat implies a closer, more intimate friendship than teman.

So teman saya is the neutral, everyday way to say my friend.

What does menyortir mean exactly, and how is it formed?

Menyortir means to sort (e.g., organizing items into categories).

It comes from the base word sortir (from English/French sortir / sort), plus the prefix meN-:

meN- + sortir → menyortir

Functionally, menyortir ≈ to sort in English, especially for files, documents, data, etc.

Could I use mengurutkan or mengelompokkan instead of menyortir? Are they different?

They’re related but not identical:

menyortir: to sort, a general word for arranging or organizing items into groups or appropriate places.
mengurutkan: to order/sequence things, usually by some order (alphabetical, numerical, chronological).
mengelompokkan: to group things, focusing more on putting similar items into the same group.

In the context of organizing thesis files into folders, menyortir is natural and general.
You could say:

Teman saya mengelompokkan file skripsi ke dalam beberapa folder…
(emphasizes grouping similar files)

but menyortir is the most straightforward translation of sort.

What exactly is skripsi? Is it just any “thesis”?

Skripsi is a specific academic term in Indonesia:

skripsi: an undergraduate thesis (usually for a bachelor’s degree).
tesis: a master’s thesis.
disertasi: a PhD dissertation.

So file skripsi are the files related to someone’s undergraduate thesis (chapters, references, data, etc.), not just any random document.

Why is it file skripsi and not file-file skripsi if it’s talking about several files?

Indonesian usually doesn’t have to mark plural nouns. Context often shows plurality:

file skripsi ke dalam beberapa folder
The use of beberapa folder (several folders) strongly implies multiple files.

You can say file-file skripsi to emphasize “many” or “various files,” but it’s not necessary:

file skripsi = file(s) of the thesis (singular or plural from context)
file-file skripsi = clearly plural, and a bit more emphatic

What’s the function of ke dalam here? Could I say just ke beberapa folder or dalam beberapa folder?

Ke dalam literally combines:

ke = to / towards (direction)
dalam = inside / in

Together, ke dalam = into (movement from outside to inside).

Nuances:

ke dalam beberapa folder = into several folders (movement + inside)
ke beberapa folder = to several folders (still okay, slightly less explicit about going “inside”)
dalam beberapa folder = in several folders (focus on location, not movement)

In this sentence, ke dalam beberapa folder is very natural because you’re moving files into folders.

What’s the difference between sehingga and jadi here?

Both connect cause and result, but they have different feels:

sehingga ≈ so that / as a result, more neutral/formal, emphasizes result.
jadi ≈ so, more conversational, often used to start a conclusion.

In your sentence:

…, sehingga dia bisa menemukan…
sounds natural and slightly more formal/written.

You could say:

…, jadi dia bisa menemukan dokumen penting…

That’s fine in spoken or informal writing, but sehingga fits well in a sentence that mentions skripsi, which is an academic context.

Why is it dia and not ia or beliau?

All three refer to a third person, but with different usage:

dia: neutral, very common for he/she in everyday language (spoken and written).
ia: slightly more formal/literary, common in written narratives, often as subject.
beliau: respectful form for superiors/elders (teachers, officials, etc.), like he/she (honorable).

Here, Teman saya … sehingga dia bisa… is natural because we’re talking about my friend, on an equal level, so dia is the normal choice.

Why do we say bisa menemukan instead of just menemukan?

Bisa means can / be able to, so:

dia menemukan dokumen penting = he/she founds / finds the important documents (statement of fact)
dia bisa menemukan dokumen penting = he/she can find the important documents (ability/possibility)

The original sentence describes the benefit of sorting files: it enables him/her to find things easily. That’s why bisa is used: sorting makes it possible for him/her to find the important documents without searching for a long time.

Could I replace bisa with dapat here? Is there any difference?

Yes, you can:

dia bisa menemukan dokumen penting…
dia dapat menemukan dokumen penting…

Both are correct and very close in meaning. Subtle nuance:

bisa: slightly more informal and very common in speech.
dapat: a bit more formal/written, also means to obtain/get in other contexts.

In this sentence, bisa sounds perfectly natural; dapat would be a bit more formal but still fine.

How does tanpa harus mencari lama work grammatically? Why is lama at the end?

Breakdown:

tanpa = without
harus = having to / must
mencari = to search
lama = long (in terms of time)

So tanpa harus mencari lama literally is:

without having to search long

In Indonesian, adverbs like lama often come after the verb:

mencari lama = to search for a long time
menunggu lama = to wait a long time
belajar keras = to study hard

You could also say tanpa perlu mencari lama (without needing to search for long), which is very natural too.
Harus here emphasizes the idea of being forced/obliged to spend a long time searching.

Why is it dokumen penting, not penting dokumen?

In Indonesian, the usual order is:

noun + adjective

So:

dokumen penting = important documents
penting dokumen is incorrect.

Other examples:

buku baru = new book
mobil merah = red car
makanan enak = delicious food

This is the opposite of English, where the adjective usually goes before the noun.

How do we know if this sentence is talking about the past, present, or future? There’s no tense marker.

Indonesian doesn’t mark tense on the verb like English does. Menyortir doesn’t change form for past, present, or future. Time is understood from context or from time words:

kemarin = yesterday
tadi = earlier
nanti = later
akan = will (future marker)

Your sentence could mean:

My friend sorted the thesis files into several folders… (past)
My friend is sorting the thesis files into several folders… (present)
My friend sorts thesis files into several folders… (habitual)

If you want to be explicit:

Kemarin teman saya menyortir file skripsi… = Yesterday my friend sorted…
Sekarang teman saya sedang menyortir file skripsi… = Now my friend is sorting…
Besok teman saya akan menyortir file skripsi… = Tomorrow my friend will sort…