Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Dokter menguji sampel darah pasien di laboratorium kecil. - The doctor tests the patient's blood sample in the small laboratory.

Indonesian normally does not use separate words for “the” or “a/an”. Nouns like dokter, sampel, darah, pasien, and laboratorium are neutral for definiteness.

Whether you translate them as “a doctor” or “the doctor” depends on context:

If this is the first time you mention the doctor: “A doctor tested the patient’s blood sample…”
If the doctor is already known in the conversation: “The doctor tested the patient’s blood sample…”

You only mark definiteness explicitly if you really need to, using words like:

dokter itu / dokter tersebut = that / the doctor (specific, known one)
seorang dokter = a doctor (one doctor)

Could dokter and pasien here be plural (doctors / patients)?

Yes. Indonesian nouns do not automatically show singular vs plural, so:

dokter can mean “doctor” or “doctors”
pasien can mean “patient” or “patients”

The sentence could be:

“The doctor tests the patient’s blood sample…”
“Doctors test patients’ blood samples…”

You know which one from context.

If you want to make the plural explicit, you can say:

para dokter (a group of doctors)
dokter-dokter (doctors)
para pasien or pasien-pasien (patients)

Why is kecil (small) placed after laboratorium, not before it?

In Indonesian, most descriptive adjectives come after the noun:

laboratorium kecil = small laboratory
rumah besar = big house
meja panjang = long table

So the pattern is:

noun + adjective

This is the opposite of English (adjective + noun). That’s why you say laboratorium kecil, not kecil laboratorium.

How should I understand the phrase sampel darah pasien? Which word belongs to which?

The structure is:

sampel = sample
darah = blood
pasien = patient

Stacked together, sampel darah pasien is understood as:

“the patient’s blood sample”
(literally: sample [of] blood [of] patient)

This is a common pattern in Indonesian: several nouns placed together, with “of” relationships understood from context:

kartu kredit bank = the bank’s credit card
nomor telepon kantor = the office phone number

If you want to make the “of” relationship more explicit, you can also say:

sampel darah dari pasien = a blood sample from the patient

What is the difference between menguji and memeriksa here?

Both verbs can fit this sentence, but they have different nuances:

menguji (from uji, “test”)
- menguji sampel darah = to test a blood sample, usually with lab procedures, machines, or specific tests.
- More technical / lab-science feel.
memeriksa (from periksa, “examine / check”)
- memeriksa sampel darah = to examine/check the blood sample.
- Slightly broader: could be visually checking, doing tests, etc.
- Also used for examining patients: dokter memeriksa pasien (the doctor examines the patient).

In a laboratory context, menguji sampel darah often suggests running proper tests or analysis on the sample.

Why is the location expressed with di (in/at), not ke or pada?

di is for location (where something happens):
- di laboratorium kecil = in/at the small laboratory.
ke is for movement toward a place (to):
- Dokter pergi ke laboratorium kecil. = The doctor goes to the small laboratory.
pada is more formal and often used with people, time, or abstract things, similar to “to / on / at (in a formal sense)”:
- pada pasien (on/to the patient), pada hari Senin (on Monday).

Since the sentence describes where the testing happens (not movement), di laboratorium kecil is the correct choice.

Can I say di lab kecil instead of di laboratorium kecil?

Yes, in everyday informal speech you will often hear:

lab (from English “lab”) instead of laboratorium.

So:

di laboratorium kecil = in the small laboratory (neutral/formal)
di lab kecil = in the small lab (more casual)

In writing (especially formal or academic), laboratorium is preferred. In conversation, lab is very common.

How do we know if this sentence is in the past, present, or future tense?

We don’t know just from the verb. Indonesian verbs like menguji do not change form for tense. The time is given by context or by adding time words:

Past:
- Kemarin dokter menguji sampel darah pasien di laboratorium kecil.
  = Yesterday the doctor tested the patient’s blood sample…
Present (habitual or current):
- Setiap hari dokter menguji sampel darah pasien di laboratorium kecil.
  = Every day the doctor tests patients’ blood samples…
Future:
- Besok dokter akan menguji sampel darah pasien di laboratorium kecil.
  = Tomorrow the doctor will test the patient’s blood sample…

Without extra words, Dokter menguji sampel darah pasien di laboratorium kecil is default-neutral and usually translated with a simple present or simple past, depending on context.

Could this sentence be made passive, like “The patient’s blood sample is tested by the doctor in the small laboratory”?

Yes. A common passive version in Indonesian would be:

Sampel darah pasien diuji dokter di laboratorium kecil.

Here:

sampel darah pasien becomes the subject.
diuji is the passive form (di- + uji).
dokter functions like “by the doctor” (the agent) but without a preposition.

You could also say:

Sampel darah pasien diuji oleh dokter di laboratorium kecil.

with oleh explicitly meaning “by”.

The original sentence (Dokter menguji …) is active; the passive forms focus more on the sample than on the doctor.

Why don’t we use a pronoun like dia or ia (he/she) after dokter?

Indonesian usually does not repeat the subject with a pronoun in the same clause. Since dokter is already the subject, you don’t add dia or ia:

Dokter menguji sampel darah pasien… ✅
Dokter dia menguji sampel darah pasien… ❌ (wrong)

You would only use dia/ia in another clause or sentence:

Dokter menguji sampel darah pasien. Ia mencatat hasilnya.
= The doctor tests the patient’s blood sample. He/She records the results.

How can I make it very clear that this is “the” specific doctor or “the” specific patient?

You can add a demonstrative like itu (that/the) or tersebut (the aforementioned):

Dokter itu menguji sampel darah pasien itu di laboratorium kecil.
= That / the (specific) doctor tested that / the (specific) patient’s blood sample in the small laboratory.
Dokter tersebut menguji sampel darah pasien tersebut…
= The aforementioned doctor tested the aforementioned patient’s blood sample…

You can also specify “one doctor / one patient” with seorang:

Seorang dokter menguji sampel darah seorang pasien…
= A doctor tests a patient’s blood sample…

Is there any difference between sampel and contoh, since both can mean “sample”?

Both can be translated as “sample”, but in this context sampel is more natural:

sampel
- Borrowed from English “sample”.
- Common in science, medicine, statistics, and lab contexts.
- sampel darah = a (laboratory) blood sample.
contoh
- More general: example, model, sample in a non-technical sense.
- contoh kalimat = example sentence.
- contoh soal = sample question / example problem.

In a medical laboratory setting, sampel darah pasien is the normal and precise phrase.