Jam di perpustakaan selalu tepat.

The clock in the library is always accurate.

Breakdown of Jam di perpustakaan selalu tepat.

• adalah: to be
• di: in
• selalu: always
• perpustakaan: the library
• jam: the hour
• tepat: accurate

Questions & Answers about Jam di perpustakaan selalu tepat.

What does jam mean here? I thought jam meant hour.

In Indonesian, jam has a few related meanings:

1. Clock / watch (the object)

   • Jam di perpustakaan = the clock in the library
   • jam tangan = wristwatch

2. The time shown on a clock / o’clock

   • jam tiga = three o’clock

3. An hour (duration)

   • dua jam = two hours

In your sentence Jam di perpustakaan selalu tepat, context makes jam mean the clock (the physical object), not hour or o’clock.

Why is it di perpustakaan and not something like pada perpustakaan or ke perpustakaan?

The prepositions have different uses:

• di = at / in (location, where something is)
  • di perpustakaan = in/at the library (location)
• ke = to (direction, movement towards)
  • ke perpustakaan = to the library
• pada = at / on (more abstract, often for time, people, or formal style)
  • pada jam tiga = at three o’clock
  • pada saya = to me / with me

In the sentence, we are talking about where the clock is located, so di perpustakaan is correct. Pada perpustakaan is ungrammatical in this context, and ke perpustakaan would mean movement towards the library, which is not the idea here.

Why is it di perpustakaan instead of di perpustakaan itu for in the library?

Indonesian usually does not need articles like the / a. A bare noun often covers both meanings:

• perpustakaan can mean a library or the library, depending on context.

To make it very clear that you mean a specific library, you can add itu (that) or ini (this):

• di perpustakaan itu = in that library / in the (known) library
• di perpustakaan ini = in this library

Your sentence Jam di perpustakaan selalu tepat is natural and will usually be understood as The clock in the library is always accurate, especially if both speaker and listener know what library is being talked about. Adding itu is optional for extra specificity.

What is the structure of jam di perpustakaan? Is di perpustakaan an adjective?

The structure is:

• jam = head noun (clock)
• di perpustakaan = prepositional phrase modifying the noun

So jam di perpustakaan literally means the clock that is in the library.

In Indonesian, modifiers usually come after the noun:

• buku merah = red book
• guru bahasa Inggris = English teacher
• jam di perpustakaan = clock in the library

So di perpustakaan is not an adjective; it is a prepositional phrase (using preposition di) describing the location of the jam.

Could we also say Jam perpustakaan selalu tepat instead of Jam di perpustakaan selalu tepat?

You can say Jam perpustakaan, and it can be understood, but the nuance is slightly different:

• jam di perpustakaan
  Focuses on location: the clock that is in the library.
• jam perpustakaan
  Sounds more like the library’s clock (kind of like a possessed or associated noun-phrase).

In everyday speech, both could be acceptable depending on context, but jam di perpustakaan is clearer if you simply mean the clock located in the library.

Is jam here singular or plural? Could it mean the clocks in the library?

Indonesian nouns normally do not show number (singular/plural) unless you add something:

• jam = clock / clocks
• jam-jam = clocks (reduplication can show plurality)
• beberapa jam = several clocks

So grammatically, Jam di perpustakaan selalu tepat could mean:

• The clock in the library is always accurate, or
• The clocks in the library are always accurate.

In real use, context usually tells you whether it is singular or plural. If you want to be clear about plural, you could say Jam-jam di perpustakaan selalu tepat.

What exactly does selalu do here? Where does it usually go in a sentence?

Selalu means always and is an adverb of frequency. It normally comes before the verb or adjective that it modifies:

• Dia selalu datang tepat waktu. = He always comes on time.
• Dia selalu ramah. = She is always friendly.

In Jam di perpustakaan selalu tepat:

• selalu is modifying tepat (accurate/on time).
• Pattern: [Subject] + selalu + [adjective]

So:

• Jam di perpustakaan selalu tepat. = The clock in the library is always accurate.

Putting selalu after tepat (e.g. tepat selalu) is not natural in Indonesian.

What does tepat mean here, and how is it different from words like benar or akurat?

Tepat here means exact / on time / precise. For clocks and schedules, tepat is the most natural choice:

• jamnya tepat = the clock is accurate / shows the correct time
• tepat waktu = on time

Comparison:

• tepat
  Exact, precise, correctly timed or positioned.

  • jawaban yang tepat = an accurate / exact answer
  • datang tepat waktu = come on time

• benar
  Right / correct in a more general sense, often about truth or correctness.

  • jawaban yang benar = a correct answer
  • Itu tidak benar. = That is not true.

• akurat
  Similar to accurate, often more technical or formal and borrowed from English.

  • data yang akurat = accurate data

For a clock, jamnya tepat is much more natural than jamnya benar or jamnya akurat in everyday speech.

Could we change the word order to Di perpustakaan, jam selalu tepat?

Yes, that is also grammatically correct:

• Jam di perpustakaan selalu tepat.
  Neutral order: subject (Jam di perpustakaan) first.

• Di perpustakaan, jam selalu tepat.
  Fronted location phrase (Di perpustakaan) for emphasis or contrast:
  In the library, the clock is always accurate (maybe contrasting with other places).

Both are natural Indonesian. Fronting di perpustakaan just changes the emphasis, not the basic meaning.

Can we start the sentence with Selalu like Selalu tepat jam di perpustakaan?

That word order sounds unnatural in Indonesian.

Typical patterns would be:

• Jam di perpustakaan selalu tepat.
• Di perpustakaan, jam selalu tepat.

Starting with Selalu tepat jam di perpustakaan is not standard; it sounds like poetry or very stylized speech at best. For normal usage, keep selalu just before the adjective or verb it modifies, as in the original sentence.

Why is there no adalah in this sentence? I learned that Indonesian uses adalah for is/are.

In Indonesian, the linking verb (like is / are) is often omitted, especially in simple present statements with adjectives:

• Dia pintar. = He is smart.
• Makanan ini enak. = This food is delicious.

Adalah is:

• Optional and often omitted in everyday speech.
• More common:
  • before a noun phrase:
    Dia adalah guru. = He is a teacher.
  • in formal or written language for clarity/emphasis.

Your sentence:

• Jam di perpustakaan selalu tepat.

can be thought of as:

• Jam di perpustakaan (adalah) selalu tepat.

But the adalah is dropped, and that is the normal, natural form in Indonesian.

What is the meaning and formation of perpustakaan?

Perpustakaan means library.

Morphologically:

• Root: pustaka = book / text (a somewhat formal/literary word)
• Pattern: per- + pustaka + -an → perpustakaan

The per- … -an pattern often forms nouns for:

• places associated with the root:
  
  • belajar (to study) → perbelajaran (rare)
  • usaha (effort/business) → perusahaan (company)
  • pustaka (book) → perpustakaan (place of books → library)

So perpustakaan literally is a place of books, which matches the meaning library.