Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Saya menonton film dokumenter di tablet. - I watch a documentary film on the tablet.

saya
- Neutral, polite, and safe in almost all situations
- Used with strangers, in formal situations, at work, with older people, etc.
- Works in both spoken and written Indonesian
aku
- More informal / intimate
- Common with friends, family, or people your own age (depending on local habits)
- Very common in songs, social media, casual speech

So:

Saya menonton film dokumenter di tablet. – polite/neutral
Aku nonton film dokumenter di tablet. – casual, spoken style (note also the verb changes to nonton, see below)

Your version Aku menonton… is grammatically correct, just a bit mixed in style (slightly formal verb with informal pronoun). It’s not wrong, but in real speech people often pair aku with casual verbs like nonton.

Does menonton mean “watched”, “am watching”, or “will watch”? Where is the tense?

Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense the way English verbs do.
The verb menonton simply means “to watch” in a neutral way, and the time is understood from context or from extra words.

The sentence Saya menonton film dokumenter di tablet can mean:

I watch a documentary on (the) tablet.
I am watching a documentary on (the) tablet.
I watched a documentary on (the) tablet.
I will watch a documentary on (the) tablet. (less common without a time word, but still possible)

To make the time clear, you add adverbs:

Tadi malam saya menonton… – I watched (last night)
Sekarang saya menonton… – I am watching now
Besok saya akan menonton… – I will watch tomorrow

The verb form menonton itself does not change.

What is the base form of menonton, and why is there the prefix meN-?

The root (base) word is tonton, which roughly means “to watch” or “to view”.

With the active verb prefix meN-, it becomes:

menonton = meN-
- tonton → “to watch (something)” as a normal active verb.

The meN- prefix:

Makes a root into an active transitive verb (a verb that takes a direct object)
Is very common with action verbs:
- makan (eat) – no prefix, the root is already a verb
- baca → membaca (to read)
- tulis → menulis (to write)
- tonton → menonton (to watch)

In speech, people often use the colloquial form nonton (dropping the prefix):

Saya nonton film dokumenter di tablet. – very common in everyday conversation.

Why is there no word for “a” or “the” before film dokumenter?

Indonesian has no articles like “a / an / the”. Nouns by themselves are neutral.

So film dokumenter can mean:

a documentary
the documentary
documentary (in general)

Context decides whether you mean “a” or “the”.

If you really want to emphasize “a documentary” (one, non-specific), you can say:

Saya menonton sebuah film dokumenter di tablet.

If you want to emphasize “the documentary” (a specific one you both know about), you can say:

Saya menonton film dokumenter itu di tablet.
(itu = that / the one already known)

Is film dokumenter a noun + adjective, or a fixed phrase? Why is the order like that?

In Indonesian, the normal order is:

Noun + describing word

So:

film dokumenter literally: film (that is) documentary
rumah besar – big house
baju merah – red shirt

Here, film is the noun, and dokumenter functions like an adjective (“documentary”).

At the same time, film dokumenter is a very common fixed phrase meaning “documentary (film)”. It’s the standard way to say it; you do not say dokumenter film.

How would I say “I am watching a documentary on my tablet right now”? Do I need something extra for the “-ing” idea?

To emphasize the ongoing / right now action (similar to English “am -ing”), Indonesian commonly uses sedang.

You can say:

Saya sedang menonton film dokumenter di tablet saya. – I am watching a documentary on my tablet.

You can also add sekarang (“now”):

Sekarang saya sedang menonton film dokumenter di tablet saya.

Notes:

sedang marks a progressive or ongoing action.
You can drop it if context already makes it clear, but using it is a good way to practice.

Can I drop saya and just say Menonton film dokumenter di tablet?

Yes, Indonesian often drops the subject pronoun when it’s clear from context who is doing the action.

So in a conversation where it’s already obvious you’re talking about yourself, Menonton film dokumenter di tablet could be understood as:

“(I’m) watching a documentary on (the) tablet.”

However:

As a stand-alone sentence with no context, Saya menonton… is clearer and more natural for learners.
In writing or in more formal speech, people usually keep saya.

So it’s possible to drop it, but as a learner, keeping saya is safer until you feel comfortable with when it can be omitted.

What exactly does di mean here? I learned di as “in/at”, but in English we say “on the tablet”.

di is a general location preposition that covers:

in – di rumah (in/at home)
at – di sekolah (at school)
on – di meja (on the table)

In di tablet, the idea is “at / on the tablet (as a device)”. Indonesian does not always distinguish as sharply between “in/at/on” as English does; di is very flexible.

So:

Saya menonton film dokumenter di tablet.
→ I watch/am watching a documentary on the tablet.

“On” in this sense (on a device) is simply translated with di.

Could I say pada tablet or di dalam tablet instead of di tablet?

In this sentence, di tablet is the natural and correct choice. The others sound strange or overly literal.

pada tablet
- pada is more formal and abstract, often used in writing, laws, or set phrases (e.g. pada hari Senin = on Monday).
- pada tablet for “on the tablet (device)” would sound unnatural in normal speech.
di dalam tablet
- Literally “inside the tablet” (physically inside it).
- This is not how Indonesians describe watching something on a device.

So for “on the tablet” in your context, use di tablet.

If I want to say “I watched some documentaries on the tablet”, how do I make film dokumenter plural?

Indonesian does not change noun forms for plural like English does. Instead, it uses:

Context only
Often no explicit plural marker is needed:
- Saya menonton film dokumenter di tablet.
  → Could mean “a documentary” or “documentaries” depending on context.
Reduplication (repeating the noun)
- film-film dokumenter – documentary films
  This clearly marks plurality and is common in writing.
Quantifiers (numbers / words like “some”, “many”)
- beberapa film dokumenter – some documentaries
- banyak film dokumenter – many documentaries
- dua film dokumenter – two documentaries

So:

Saya menonton beberapa film dokumenter di tablet.
= I watched some documentaries on the tablet.

You usually don’t need to change dokumenter; just mark plurality on film.

Is there any difference in style between Saya menonton film dokumenter di tablet and Saya nonton film dokumenter di tablet?

Yes, the difference is mainly in formality and spoken vs written style.

menonton
- Standard, more formal or neutral
- Common in writing, news, school, formal speech
- Perfectly fine in conversation too
nonton
- Informal / colloquial
- Very common in everyday spoken Indonesian, among friends, in casual text messages, etc.
- Often used with aku: Aku nonton film dokumenter di tablet.

Both mean the same thing (“watch”), and both are correct; but:

Use menonton if you want to sound neutral or slightly more formal.
Use nonton in relaxed, everyday speech.