Latihan basket dimulai pukul delapan pagi.

Basketball practice starts at eight in the morning.

Breakdown of Latihan basket dimulai pukul delapan pagi.

• pagi: the morning
• dimulai: to start
• pukul: at
• delapan: eight
• latihan basket: the basketball practice

Questions & Answers about Latihan basket dimulai pukul delapan pagi.

What does latihan mean here? Is it a noun or a verb?

In this sentence, latihan means practice / training and functions as a noun.

• Root: latih = to train (verb)
• Derivation: latihan = training / practice (noun, and sometimes a verbal noun: “the act of training”)

So latihan basket literally means basketball practice/training, where latihan is the head noun and basket describes what kind of practice it is.

Why is it latihan basket and not basket latihan?

Indonesian noun phrases generally follow this pattern:

Head noun + modifier

So:

• latihan (practice) = head noun
• basket (basketball) = modifier

latihan basket = “practice (of) basketball” → basketball practice

If you said basket latihan, it would sound odd and ungrammatical, like saying “practice basketball” as a noun in English. The natural order is latihan basket.

What exactly does basket mean? Why not bola basket?

In Indonesian sports context:

• bola basket = basketball (literally: ball + basket)
• basket = common short form for the sport “basketball”

So:

• latihan bola basket and latihan basket both mean basketball practice.
• basket outside a sports context can mean “basket” (like the English word), but the usual everyday word for a physical basket is keranjang.

In this sentence, latihan basket is completely natural and idiomatic.

What does dimulai mean, and how is it formed?

dimulai means is started / is begun / starts.

It’s formed by:

• Prefix di- (passive marker)
• Verb mulai (to start / to begin)

So:

• mulai = to start / begin
• dimulai = to be started / be begun → is/was started

In Latihan basket dimulai pukul delapan pagi, the structure is:

• Latihan basket = the practice (subject)
• dimulai = is started / begins (passive verb)
• pukul delapan pagi = at eight in the morning (time phrase)

Natural English: “Basketball practice starts at eight in the morning.”

Why use dimulai instead of just mulai?

Both are possible, but there’s a nuance:

• dimulai = passive form
  
  • Focuses on the event itself (“the practice is started”)
  • Common in announcements, schedules, notices
• mulai = active or intransitive
  
  • Often used with an explicit subject that does the starting, or as “starts” in a more neutral way

Compare:

1. Latihan basket dimulai pukul delapan pagi.
   → Focus on the practice; sounds like a schedule or announcement.

2. Latihan basket mulai pukul delapan pagi.
   → Also acceptable; sounds a bit more neutral/conversational.

3. Kami mulai latihan basket pukul delapan pagi.
   → “We start basketball practice at eight in the morning.”
   → Clear active subject (kami = we).

In everyday speech, sentence 2 is very common; sentence 1 feels a bit more formal or announcement-like.

What does pukul mean here, and how is it different from jam?

In time expressions, both pukul and jam are used before the number to mean “o’clock / at (time)”:

• pukul delapan = jam delapan = eight o’clock

Differences:

• pukul

  • Literally: “to hit / strike” (as in a clock striking)
  • Often considered more formal or “standard” in announcements, official speech, written notices, etc.

• jam

  • Literally: “hour / clock / watch”
  • Very common in everyday conversation
  • Also used for durations: dua jam = two hours

So you might see:

• Formal / written: Latihan basket dimulai pukul delapan pagi.
• Informal / spoken: Latihan basket mulai jam delapan pagi.

Both are correct and natural; context and register decide which sounds better.

Why do we need pukul? Can we say just delapan pagi?

In most contexts, when telling the time you do need pukul or jam before the number:

• pukul delapan pagi or jam delapan pagi = at eight in the morning

Just saying delapan pagi (eight morning) sounds incomplete or more like a fragment, unless the context is very clear or it’s part of an elliptical answer:

• A: Jam berapa latihan? (What time is the practice?)
• B: Delapan pagi. (Eight in the morning.) → Here it’s fine as a short answer.

But in a full sentence like this one, the natural form is:

• Latihan basket dimulai pukul delapan pagi.

What does pagi add? Can we leave it out?

pagi means morning. It specifies that the time is 8 a.m., not 8 p.m.

• pukul delapan = eight o’clock (AM or PM, ambiguous)
• pukul delapan pagi = eight in the morning (8 a.m.)
• pukul delapan malam = eight at night (8 p.m.)

You can leave pagi out if the context already makes it clear that you’re talking about the morning. But including it:

• removes ambiguity
• sounds very natural in schedules/announcements

So:

• Latihan basket dimulai pukul delapan.
• Latihan basket dimulai pukul delapan pagi.

Both are grammatical; the second is more precise.

What is the overall word order of this sentence? Which part is the subject?

The structure is:

• Latihan basket → subject (“basketball practice”)
• dimulai → verb (“is started / begins”)
• pukul delapan pagi → adverbial of time (“at eight in the morning”)

So the word order is:

Subject – Verb – Time

Indonesian often follows a Subject–Verb–(Object/Adverb) pattern, similar to English, though it’s more flexible with where time expressions are placed.

Can the time phrase pukul delapan pagi go at the beginning of the sentence?

Yes. Indonesian is flexible with adverbial phrases like time. You can say:

• Latihan basket dimulai pukul delapan pagi.
• Pukul delapan pagi, latihan basket dimulai.

Both are correct. Differences:

• Ending position (…pukul delapan pagi.) is very common and neutral.
• Starting position (Pukul delapan pagi, …) puts extra emphasis on the time, often used in announcements or instructions to stress when something happens.

Is there any tense here? How do we know if it’s talking about today, every day, or the future?

Indonesian verbs like dimulai are not marked for tense (no ending like -ed, -s, -will).

The sentence Latihan basket dimulai pukul delapan pagi. could mean:

• A general schedule:
  → “Basketball practice starts at eight in the morning.” (e.g., every day, every Monday)
• A specific event (past or future), depending on context or added time words:
  
  • Tadi latihan basket dimulai pukul delapan pagi.
    → “Earlier, basketball practice started at eight in the morning.”
  • Besok latihan basket dimulai pukul delapan pagi.
    → “Tomorrow, basketball practice will start at eight in the morning.”

So tense is understood from context and time adverbs, not from verb forms.

Does latihan basket refer to one specific practice or practice in general?

On its own, latihan basket is neutral about number and frequency:

• Could be one specific session
• Could be a regular/scheduled practice

Indonesian doesn’t mark plural the way English does. You clarify with extra words if needed:

• satu sesi latihan basket = one basketball practice session
• setiap hari ada latihan basket = there’s basketball practice every day
• latihan basket hari ini = today’s basketball practice

In the given sentence, it sounds like a schedule (a regular starting time) unless another time word changes the meaning.