Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Guru menjelaskan penggunaan kamus digital di perpustakaan. - The teacher explains the use of the digital dictionary in the library.

guru can mean a teacher, the teacher, or teachers in general, depending on context.
kamus digital can mean a digital dictionary, the digital dictionary, or digital dictionaries.

If you really need to be specific, Indonesian uses other words, for example:

seorang guru = a (single) teacher
para guru = the teachers / all the teachers
kamus digital itu = that / the digital dictionary

What is the root of menjelaskan, and what does the me‑…‑kan pattern mean here?

The root is jelas (clear).

The verb menjelaskan is formed like this:

jelas (clear) → menjelaskan (to make something clear, to explain)

The pattern me‑…‑kan often means:

to cause something to become X
or to do X to something (transitive).

So menjelaskan = to make something clear / to explain something.
In the sentence, penggunaan kamus digital is the object of menjelaskan (what is being explained).

What does penggunaan mean, and how is it formed?

The root is guna (use / function).

Formation:

guna (use)
menggunakan (to use) – verb
penggunaan (the use / usage) – noun

The prefix pe‑ and suffix ‑an often turn verbs or roots into abstract nouns, like English use, usage, application.

So penggunaan kamus digital = the use / usage of a digital dictionary.

Why is it penggunaan kamus digital, not something like penggunaan dari kamus digital?

In Indonesian, noun + noun is usually enough to show the relationship that English often expresses with “of”.

penggunaan kamus digital = the use of a digital dictionary

You normally don’t need dari here.
dari (of/from) can be used, but it’s more common when you’re talking about origin or source, e.g.:

buku dari Jepang = a book from Japan

For this type of “use of X”, penggunaan X is the natural form.

Can the sentence also be Guru menjelaskan kamus digital di perpustakaan without penggunaan?

You can say that, but the meaning changes.

Guru menjelaskan penggunaan kamus digital di perpustakaan.
→ The teacher explained the use of the digital dictionary in the library. (focus on how to use it)
Guru menjelaskan kamus digital di perpustakaan.
→ The teacher explained (about) the digital dictionary in the library. (focus on what it is, its features, etc.)

So penggunaan makes it clear that the explanation is specifically about how to use the digital dictionary.

Where does di perpustakaan attach: to menjelaskan or to penggunaan? Is it “in the library the teacher explained…” or “explained the use of the digital dictionary in the library”?

As written, the sentence is ambiguous, and both readings are possible:

Place of the explaining
- The teacher (while in the library) explained the use of a digital dictionary.
Place of the use
- The teacher explained how to use the digital dictionary in the library (as opposed to at home, etc.).

In normal conversation, context or intonation clarifies it.
If you want to be clearer in writing, you can adjust the word order:

To emphasize where the explaining happens:
Di perpustakaan, guru menjelaskan penggunaan kamus digital.
To emphasize where the dictionary is used:
Guru menjelaskan penggunaan kamus digital di perpustakaan kepada siswa.
(Still slightly ambiguous, but context and added info like kepada siswa usually make it clear.)

Why is it di perpustakaan and not another preposition like ke perpustakaan?

di = in / at (location)
ke = to (movement towards a place)

In the sentence, the library is just the location of the action, not the destination of movement, so di is correct:

di perpustakaan = in/at the library
ke perpustakaan would mean to the library, used with verbs of movement, like:
Guru pergi ke perpustakaan. (The teacher went to the library.)

What is the structure of perpustakaan? Is it related to another word?

Yes. The root is pustaka (book / text / literature), a more formal/literary word.

Formation:

pustaka (book, literature)
per‑…‑an → perpustakaan (a place related to books)

So perpustakaan means library, literally something like place of books.
The per‑…‑an pattern often makes place nouns or abstract nouns.

Why is Guru capitalized? Is it because “Teacher” is a title or name?

Here, Guru is capitalized simply because it’s the first word of the sentence.

In general:

guru (lowercase) = teacher (common noun)
It’s not a proper name, so it’s normally not capitalized in the middle of a sentence.

Example:

Guru menjelaskan… (start of the sentence → capital G)
Kemudian guru menjelaskan… (in the middle → usually lowercase guru)

Does Guru menjelaskan penggunaan kamus digital di perpustakaan mean past tense (“explained”) or present tense (“explains”)?

Indonesian verbs generally don’t change form for tense.
menjelaskan itself is tense-neutral.

The tense is understood from context or from time words:

Kemarin guru menjelaskan… = Yesterday the teacher explained…
Sekarang guru menjelaskan… = Now the teacher is explaining…
Setiap hari guru menjelaskan… = Every day the teacher explains…

So the bare sentence can be translated as:

The teacher explained…
The teacher explains…
The teacher is explaining…,
depending on the context.

Is guru singular or plural here? Could it mean “teachers”?

On its own, guru is number-neutral: it can be one teacher or teachers in general.

If context says it’s one teacher, translate as the teacher / a teacher.
If context says it’s a group, you might translate as the teachers.

To show plural more clearly, Indonesian often uses:

para guru = (the) teachers (group)
guru-guru = teachers (plural, with reduplication; sometimes sounds a bit childlike or very informal depending on context)

Why is the order kamus digital and not digital kamus like in English?

In Indonesian, the main noun usually comes first, and the describing word comes after it.

kamus (dictionary) = main noun
digital (digital) = modifier

So:

kamus digital = digital dictionary
kamus besar = big dictionary
perpustakaan umum = public library

Putting the modifier before (like digital kamus) is ungrammatical in standard Indonesian.

Could we say Guru menerangkan penggunaan kamus digital di perpustakaan instead of menjelaskan? Are they the same?

menjelaskan and menerangkan are very close in meaning: both can mean to explain.

jelas = clear → menjelaskan = to make something clear, to explain
terang = bright / clear → menerangkan = to make something clear, to explain

In many contexts they are interchangeable, but:

menjelaskan is slightly more common/neutral in everyday use.
In some styles, menerangkan can sound a bit more formal or bookish, but it’s still standard.

So:

Guru menerangkan penggunaan kamus digital di perpustakaan.
is also correct and would usually be understood the same way.