Saya menaruh kamus di meja belajar.

I put the dictionary on the study desk.

Breakdown of Saya menaruh kamus di meja belajar.

• saya: I
• di: on
• menaruh: to put
• kamus: the dictionary
• meja belajar: the study desk

Questions & Answers about Saya menaruh kamus di meja belajar.

Why does the sentence use menaruh? How is it different from meletakkan or menempatkan?

The root of menaruh is taruh, which means to put / to place (something somewhere).

• menaruh = meN-

  • taruh
  • Neutral, everyday verb for putting something somewhere.
  • Common in writing and in careful speech, though in casual conversation people often just use taruh.

• meletakkan (root: letak, position/place)

  • Also means to put / to place, often with a nuance of placing something down.
  • Very common, fully interchangeable with menaruh in this sentence:
    
    • Saya meletakkan kamus di meja belajar.

• menempatkan (root: tempat, place)

  • More like to position / to place (something or someone in a role/position/location).
  • Often used in more formal or abstract contexts:
    
    • Perusahaan menempatkan dia di cabang Jakarta. = The company placed him in the Jakarta branch.
  • Sounds a bit too formal/abstract for a simple “put a dictionary on a desk”.

So for this sentence, menaruh (or meletakkan) is the most natural choice.

Why is there no past tense marking? How do I know whether it means put (past), am putting, or will put?

Indonesian verbs usually do not change form for tense. The bare sentence:

• Saya menaruh kamus di meja belajar.

can mean:

• I put the dictionary on the study desk. (past)
• I am putting the dictionary on the study desk. (present, in context)
• I will put the dictionary on the study desk. (future, in context)

You show time by adding time words or aspect markers:

• Past:

  • Tadi saya menaruh kamus di meja belajar. = Earlier I put the dictionary on the study desk.
  • Kemarin saya menaruh kamus di meja belajar. = Yesterday I put the dictionary…
  • Saya sudah menaruh kamus di meja belajar. = I have already put the dictionary…

• Future:

  • Saya akan menaruh kamus di meja belajar. = I will put the dictionary…
  • Nanti saya menaruh kamus di meja belajar. (more natural: akan menaruh) = I’ll put the dictionary later.

Context + these time words tell you the tense.

Why is there no a or the before kamus? How do I say a dictionary, the dictionary, or my dictionary?

Indonesian normally doesn’t use separate words for a or the. The noun kamus by itself is neutral:

• kamus = dictionary / a dictionary / the dictionary (depending on context)

To be more specific:

• a dictionary

  • Often just kamus (if the exact dictionary doesn’t matter).
  • You can also say sebuah kamus (literally “one dictionary”) if you really want to stress it’s a single, unspecified dictionary.

• the dictionary

  • Usually just kamus if both speakers know which one you’re talking about.
  • You can also say kamus itu (itu = that) to make it definite:
    
    • Saya menaruh kamus itu di meja belajar. = I put that/the dictionary on the study desk.

• my dictionary

  • Add saya after the noun: kamus saya
    
    • Saya menaruh kamus saya di meja belajar. = I put my dictionary on the study desk.

Can I say Aku menaruh kamus di meja belajar instead of Saya? What’s the difference?

Yes, grammatically both are correct:

• Saya menaruh kamus di meja belajar.
• Aku menaruh kamus di meja belajar.

Difference is mainly formality and closeness:

• saya: neutral, polite, safe in almost all situations (formal and informal).
• aku: more intimate / casual, used with:
  • close friends
  • family
  • to children
  • in songs, poems, etc.

Avoid aku in formal situations (job interview, speaking to a professor you don’t know well, etc.) unless the relationship clearly allows it.

What exactly is meja belajar? Is belajar an adjective here?

Literally:

• meja = table / desk
• belajar = to study / to learn

Together, meja belajar is a compound noun meaning study desk or study table.

In Indonesian it’s very common for a noun + verb combination to create a kind of “purpose” noun:

• kamar mandi = bathroom (room to bathe)
• kamar tidur = bedroom (room to sleep)
• alat tulis = stationery (tools to write)
• meja belajar = desk for studying

So belajar is still a verb, but in this compound it functions like a modifier of purpose (“desk for studying”), not an adjective like in English.

Why do we use di and not ke before meja belajar?

Indonesian distinguishes location and direction:

• di = at / in / on (shows where something is located)
• ke = to / towards (shows movement to a place)

In Saya menaruh kamus di meja belajar, the focus is the resulting location of the dictionary (it ends up on the desk), so we use di.

Compare:

• Saya menaruh kamus di meja belajar.
  = I put the dictionary on the study desk. (resulting location)

We do not say:

• ✗ Saya menaruh kamus ke meja belajar.

You use ke with verbs of motion like pergi (go), datang (come):

• Saya pergi ke meja belajar. = I go to the study desk.

Can I drop Saya and just say Menaruh kamus di meja belajar?

As a normal statement, you should keep the subject:

• Saya menaruh kamus di meja belajar. ✅

If you drop Saya and keep menaruh, it sounds incomplete or odd as a standalone sentence.

However:

1. In commands, you typically use the root verb (without meN-) and no subject:

   • Taruh kamus di meja belajar. = Put the dictionary on the study desk.

2. You can omit Saya if it’s very clear from the context and the sentence continues something before, but usually people still include it for clarity. So for a beginner, better to keep the subject.

Is kamus singular or plural here? How do I say I put the dictionaries on the study desk?

Indonesian nouns usually don’t mark singular vs plural:

• kamus can mean dictionary or dictionaries, depending on context.

To make plural explicit, you have several options:

• beberapa kamus = several dictionaries

  • Saya menaruh beberapa kamus di meja belajar. = I put several dictionaries on the study desk.

• Number + noun:

  • Saya menaruh dua kamus di meja belajar. = I put two dictionaries…

• Reduplication (noun-noun):

  • kamus-kamus = dictionaries (as a group)
  • Saya menaruh kamus-kamus itu di meja belajar.
    = I put those dictionaries on the study desk.

For the dictionaries, kamus-kamus itu is a clear, definite expression.

Where can I put time expressions in this sentence? For example: yesterday, just now, already?

Time words are quite flexible. Common positions:

1. At the beginning:

   • Kemarin saya menaruh kamus di meja belajar. = Yesterday I put the dictionary…
   • Tadi saya menaruh kamus di meja belajar. = Just now / earlier I put the dictionary…

2. After the subject:

   • Saya kemarin menaruh kamus di meja belajar. (possible, but the first version is more natural)

3. Aspect words like sudah (already) and belum (not yet) usually go before the verb:

   • Saya sudah menaruh kamus di meja belajar. = I have already put the dictionary…
   • Saya belum menaruh kamus di meja belajar. = I haven’t put the dictionary yet.

For “I just put the dictionary on the study desk”, you can say:

• Saya baru saja menaruh kamus di meja belajar.
• Saya baru menaruh kamus di meja belajar. (very common)

Can I change the word order to emphasize something, like Kamus saya taruh di meja belajar?

Yes, Indonesian allows some flexibility in word order for emphasis, as long as the meaning stays clear.

Some natural variants:

• Saya menaruh kamus di meja belajar.
  (neutral, standard order)

• Kamus itu saya taruh di meja belajar.
  = That dictionary, I put on the study desk. (emphasis on kamus itu)

• Di meja belajar saya menaruh kamus.
  = On the study desk, I put a dictionary. (emphasis on location)

• Kamus saya taruh di meja belajar.
  This is understandable and can appear in spoken Indonesian, especially with context, but more clearly:

  • Kamus itu saya taruh di meja belajar.
  • Kamus saya saya taruh di meja belajar. (grammatically OK but sounds slightly repetitive)

For learners, stick first to the basic S–V–O–(place) order:

• Saya menaruh kamus di meja belajar.

Is menaruh formal or informal? Which verb is more natural in everyday speech?

menaruh is neutral, not particularly formal or slangy. But in everyday conversation many Indonesians will:

• Use the root: taruh

  • Saya taruh kamus di meja belajar. (very natural spoken Indonesian)

• Or use meletakkan in similar contexts:

  • Saya meletakkan kamus di meja belajar.

So:

• Formal writing / careful speech: menaruh, meletakkan are common.
• Casual conversation: taruh is very common; menaruh is still fine, just a bit more “bookish” depending on the speaker.

How do I turn this into a command like Put the dictionary on the study desk?

Use the root verb (without meN-) and drop the subject:

• Taruh kamus di meja belajar.
  = Put the dictionary on the study desk.

To sound more polite, especially to someone you should respect:

• Tolong taruh kamus di meja belajar.
  = Please put the dictionary on the study desk.

Or even softer:

• Bisa tolong taruh kamus di meja belajar?
  = Could you please put the dictionary on the study desk?