Saya merekam suara guru di kelas dengan telepon.

I record the teacher's voice in class with the phone.

Breakdown of Saya merekam suara guru di kelas dengan telepon.

• saya: I
• di: in
• guru: the teacher
• dengan: with
• telepon: the telephone
• kelas: the class
• suara: the voice
• merekam: to record

Questions & Answers about Saya merekam suara guru di kelas dengan telepon.

Why is it Saya and not Aku here? Are they different?

Both mean I.

• Saya = neutral / polite, used in most situations (with teachers, strangers, at work, in writing).
• Aku = informal / intimate, used with close friends, family, or in casual contexts.

Because the sentence is about a guru (teacher) and a classroom context, Saya is more appropriate. With a close friend you might say:

• Aku merekam suara guru di kelas dengan telepon.

Can I leave out Saya and just say Merekam suara guru di kelas dengan telepon?

You can drop Saya, but it changes the feel:

• Saya merekam suara guru di kelas dengan telepon.
  → full sentence, clear subject: I recorded / am recording…

• Merekam suara guru di kelas dengan telepon.
  → sounds like a note, title, or fragment: Recording the teacher’s voice in class with a phone.

In normal conversation, you usually keep Saya unless it’s very clear from the previous sentence who the subject is.

Why is it merekam and not just rekam?

Rekam is the root; merekam is the standard verb form.

Indonesian often adds a meN- prefix to make an active verb:

• root: rekam (record)
• verb: me
  • rekam → merekam (to record)

Use merekam in normal sentences:

• Saya merekam suara guru. – I record / I am recording the teacher’s voice.

The bare root rekam appears in:

• commands: Rekam suara guru! – Record the teacher’s voice!
• headlines / notes: Rekam suara guru di kelas.

So in a normal statement, merekam is correct.

What exactly does suara guru mean? Is it “the teacher” or “the teacher’s voice”?

Suara guru literally means the teacher’s voice (or a teacher’s voice, depending on context).

• suara = voice / sound
• guru = teacher

When two nouns are put together in Indonesian, the second noun often acts like English ’s:

• suara guru → the teacher’s voice
• buku guru → the teacher’s book
• mobil guru → the teacher’s car

If you specifically mean my teacher’s voice, you can say:

• suara guru saya – my teacher’s voice
• suara guruku – my teacher’s voice (more informal, with suffix -ku)

If I want to say “my teacher” more clearly, should I say guru saya in this sentence?

Yes. To make it clearly my teacher, you can say:

• Saya merekam suara guru saya di kelas dengan telepon.
  → I record my teacher’s voice in class with a phone.

This removes ambiguity; guru alone could be:

• the teacher (everyone knows which one from context),
• a teacher (unspecified),
• or my teacher (if already known in context).

Adding saya makes it explicit: my teacher.

How do I say “the teacher” vs “a teacher” in Indonesian? There’s no the or a here.

Indonesian usually relies on context, but you have options:

• guru – can mean a teacher or the teacher, depending on context.
• seorang guru – clearly a teacher (one teacher, not specific).
• guru itu – that teacher / the teacher (already known).
• guru saya – my teacher.

Examples:

• Saya merekam suara seorang guru di kelas.
  → I recorded a teacher’s voice in class. (some teacher, not specified)

• Saya merekam suara guru itu di kelas.
  → I recorded that teacher’s voice in class. (a specific one you both know)

Does di kelas mean “in the classroom” or “during class”? Is there a difference?

Di kelas can mean both, depending on context:

1. Location – in the classroom

   • Saya duduk di kelas. – I sit in the classroom.

2. Situation/time – during class
   In this sentence:

   • Saya merekam suara guru di kelas dengan telepon.
     → Most people will understand it as I recorded the teacher’s voice *during class (in the classroom)*.

If you want to emphasize “inside the room”:

• di dalam kelas – inside the classroom.

If you want to emphasize “during the lesson”:

• saat pelajaran / saat kelas berlangsung – during class / while class is in session.
  E.g. Saya merekam suara guru saat pelajaran.

What does dengan telepon do here? Is dengan necessary?

Dengan marks the instrument – the thing used to do the action.

• dengan telepon = with a phone / using a phone

Alternatives:

• Saya merekam suara guru di kelas dengan telepon.
• Saya merekam suara guru di kelas pakai telepon. (more casual; pakai = use/wear)
• Saya merekam suara guru di kelas menggunakan telepon. (more formal; menggunakan = to use)

You can sometimes drop the preposition in very casual speech:

• Saya rekam suara guru pakai telepon.
• Saya rekam suara guru telepon. (this last one can be unclear; better to keep dengan or pakai)

Using dengan is clear and standard.

Does telepon here mean a phone call or a physical phone (like a smartphone)?

In this sentence, telepon refers to the device, not the call:

• telepon = telephone / phone (device)
• panggilan telepon = phone call

Modern options people say:

• telepon genggam – mobile phone (formal)
• ponsel – mobile phone (quite neutral)
• HP (pronounced ha-pe) – cell phone (very common, informal)

So you might also hear:

• Saya merekam suara guru di kelas pakai HP.
  → I record the teacher’s voice in class using my phone.

There’s no word for past or present. How do I know if it means “I recorded” or “I am recording” or “I will record”?

Indonesian verbs don’t change form for tense. Saya merekam suara guru di kelas dengan telepon can mean:

• I recorded the teacher’s voice…
• I am recording the teacher’s voice…
• I will record the teacher’s voice…

Context or time words show the time:

• tadi – a little earlier / just now
  Tadi saya merekam suara guru di kelas dengan telepon.
  → I recorded …

• sekarang – now
  Sekarang saya merekam suara guru di kelas dengan telepon.
  → I am recording …

• nanti – later
  Nanti saya merekam suara guru di kelas dengan telepon.
  → I will record …

Is it clear that this is an audio recording, not a video?

Yes, because of suara:

• suara = voice / sound

So merekam suara guru strongly suggests audio (recording the teacher’s voice).

If you just say merekam guru, it’s less specific and can mean video or audio, depending on context:

• Saya merekam guru di kelas.
  → I recorded the teacher in class. (often understood as video)

If I say Saya merekam suara guru saya di kelas dengan telepon saya, is that too many saya?

It’s grammatically correct but sounds a bit heavy and repetitive.

More natural options:

• Saya merekam suara guru saya di kelas dengan telepon.
  (we usually assume the phone belongs to me unless context says otherwise)

• If you need to emphasize ownership of both:

  • Saya merekam suara guru saya di kelas dengan telepon saya sendiri.
    → I recorded my teacher’s voice in class with my own phone.

In everyday speech, it’s common to mention saya only where it’s really needed for clarity.

How would this sentence sound in more formal and in more casual Indonesian?

Neutral / standard (your sentence):

• Saya merekam suara guru di kelas dengan telepon.

More formal:

• Saya merekam suara guru saya di dalam kelas menggunakan telepon genggam.
  (my teacher, inside the classroom, using a mobile phone)

Casual:

• Aku rekam suara guru di kelas pakai HP.
  (using aku, dropping me- in fast speech, pakai HP for “with my phone”)

All three are understandable; choice depends on who you’re talking to and how formal the situation is.