Breakdown of Saya belum memutuskan bab mana yang akan saya baca ulang malam ini.
Questions & Answers about Saya belum memutuskan bab mana yang akan saya baca ulang malam ini.
Belum means “not yet”, while tidak means simply “not / do not / did not” without the idea of yet.
- Saya belum memutuskan = I have not decided yet (I still might decide later).
- Saya tidak memutuskan = I did not decide / I choose not to decide (more final or deliberate).
In this sentence, belum suggests the decision is still pending, not permanently refused.
Memutuskan is the active transitive verb meaning “to decide”.
- Root: putus = broken / cut off / ended.
- memutus / memutuskan = to break, to terminate, or (in many contexts) to decide.
In standard Indonesian:
- memutuskan a decision = to decide / to make a decision.
- You cannot say Saya belum putus to mean I haven’t decided; that would sound incomplete or mean something else (e.g. I haven’t broken up).
So Saya belum memutuskan is the natural way to say I have not decided yet.
Breakdown:
- bab = chapter
- mana = which
- bab mana = which chapter
- yang = a marker that introduces a clause describing a noun (like that/which/who in English)
- akan = future marker (will)
- saya = I
- baca ulang = read again / reread
- malam ini = tonight / this evening
So:
- bab mana → which chapter
- yang akan saya baca ulang malam ini → that I will reread tonight
Together: bab mana yang akan saya baca ulang malam ini =
“which chapter (it is) that I will reread tonight”.
Grammatically, yang akan saya baca ulang malam ini is a relative clause modifying bab mana.
They play different roles:
- mana = which (selecting one among several).
- yang = relative-clause marker (like that/which in English).
Contrast:
bab yang akan saya baca ulang malam ini
= the chapter that I will reread tonight
(refers to a specific chapter, as if already known or chosen).bab mana yang akan saya baca ulang malam ini
= which chapter I will reread tonight
(the choice is still open; we don’t know which one yet).
So mana expresses the idea of “which (one)”, and yang introduces the clause describing that noun. You normally can’t drop yang here; bab mana akan saya baca ulang malam ini is unnatural.
In standard Indonesian, you normally repeat the subject pronoun inside the relative clause:
- yang akan saya baca ulang = that I will reread.
If you drop saya:
- yang akan baca ulang sounds incomplete and a bit ungrammatical in careful speech, because baca needs a subject. In very casual spoken language some people might omit it, but it’s not good standard style.
So:
- Correct / natural: Saya belum memutuskan bab mana yang akan saya baca ulang malam ini.
- Too casual / non-standard: … bab mana yang akan baca ulang malam ini.
Both can mean “to read again”, but there are some nuances:
baca ulang
- Literally “read again / re-read”.
- Sounds a bit more compact and slightly more formal or neutral.
- Common in writing and careful speech.
membaca lagi
- membaca = to read, lagi = again.
- Very common in everyday speech.
- Slightly more conversational.
You could also say:
- Saya belum memutuskan bab mana yang akan saya baca lagi malam ini.
This is okay and natural; baca ulang just has a slightly more “deliberate re-reading” feel.
Indonesian has a common pattern: modal/auxiliary + base verb (no me- prefix on the second verb), for example:
- akan pergi (will go)
- mau makan (want to eat)
- bisa tidur (can sleep)
Here:
- akan is functioning like a modal (will).
- The verb phrase is baca ulang in base form.
You could say akan membaca ulang, and it’s still grammatically correct, but:
- akan baca ulang sounds more natural and common in everyday Indonesian.
- Dropping me- after akan / mau / bisa is very typical in speech and writing.
Yes, that sentence is natural:
- yang akan saya baca ulang = that I will reread (more neutral, slightly formal).
- yang mau saya baca ulang = that I want to reread (adds the nuance of desire/intention).
Differences:
- akan focuses on future time: an action that will happen.
- mau focuses on intention/desire: I want/intend to do it.
So:
- yang akan saya baca ulang → talks about a future plan.
- yang mau saya baca ulang → emphasizes that it’s something you want to reread.
Standard Indonesian uses [noun] + mana, not mana + [noun], for “which X”:
- buku mana = which book
- film mana = which movie
- bab mana = which chapter
So:
- Saya belum memutuskan bab mana yang akan saya baca ulang malam ini. ✅
- Saya belum memutuskan mana bab yang akan saya baca ulang malam ini. ❌ (sounds wrong / unidiomatic)
The pattern is:
- [noun] + mana when “which” is part of a larger clause:
- Saya belum tahu buku mana yang akan saya beli.
- I don’t yet know which book I will buy.
Yes. Malam ini is an adverbial phrase of time and is flexible in position. All of these are grammatically fine:
Saya belum memutuskan bab mana yang akan saya baca ulang malam ini.
(neutral; time at the end)Malam ini, saya belum memutuskan bab mana yang akan saya baca ulang.
(emphasis on tonight at the beginning)Saya malam ini belum memutuskan bab mana yang akan saya baca ulang.
(less common, but possible in speech)
Changing the position mainly changes what you emphasize, not the core meaning.
Indonesian does not change the verb form for tense. Instead, it uses:
- Time adverbs:
- kemarin (yesterday), sekarang (now), besok (tomorrow), malam ini (tonight), etc.
- Aspect / modal words:
- sudah (already), belum (not yet), akan (will), sedang (currently), baru saja (just), etc.
In this sentence:
- belum → signals an incomplete action (not yet done).
- akan → signals a future action (will).
- malam ini → gives the time (tonight).
So:
- Saya belum memutuskan… → I haven’t decided yet…
- …yang akan saya baca ulang malam ini. → …which I will reread tonight.
Yes, grammatically you can switch:
- Aku belum memutuskan bab mana yang akan aku baca ulang malam ini.
Difference:
- saya = more formal / polite / neutral; used with strangers, in formal writing, with elders, in professional contexts.
- aku = informal / intimate; used with close friends, family (depending on region), or in casual speech.
So:
- With a teacher / boss / stranger: prefer saya.
- With a close friend: aku is fine and often more natural.