Pola belajar saya berubah sejak saya mulai belajar di perpustakaan.

Breakdown of Pola belajar saya berubah sejak saya mulai belajar di perpustakaan.

saya
I
di
at
belajar
to study
berubah
to change
perpustakaan
the library
mulai
to start
sejak
since
pola
the pattern
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Questions & Answers about Pola belajar saya berubah sejak saya mulai belajar di perpustakaan.

1. What does pola belajar literally mean, and is it the same as cara belajar?

Literally:

  • pola = pattern
  • belajar = to study / learning

So pola belajar = study pattern or learning pattern (how your study habits, schedule, and methods are organized over time).

cara belajar = way of studying / study method.

They overlap a lot in everyday use, but there is a nuance:

  • pola belajar suggests a repeated pattern or habit over time (e.g. when, how often, in what environment you study).
  • cara belajar focuses more on the technique or method (e.g. taking notes, using flashcards, watching videos).

In this sentence, both would be possible:

  • Pola belajar saya berubah…
  • Cara belajar saya berubah…

…but pola sounds slightly more systematic or “habit-like.”

2. Why is saya used twice? Could one of them be omitted?

The sentence has:

  • Pola belajar sayamy study pattern
  • sejak saya mulai belajar… → since I started studying…

So there are two different grammatical roles:

  1. saya as a possessor (my)
  2. saya as a subject (I)

In natural Indonesian, the second saya can often be omitted if the subject is clear:

  • Pola belajar saya berubah sejak mulai belajar di perpustakaan.

This is still understood as “since I started studying at the library” because pola belajar saya already tells us whose pattern we’re talking about.

Keeping both saya is fully correct and a bit more explicit/neutral. Omitting the second saya sounds a bit more informal and flowing in speech.

3. Could I use aku instead of saya here? Does it change the meaning?

Grammatically, yes:

  • Pola belajar aku berubah sejak aku mulai belajar di perpustakaan.

Meaning is the same, but the register changes:

  • saya → neutral, polite, standard; good for speaking with strangers, older people, or in writing.
  • aku → informal, intimate; used with friends, family, or in casual speech.

Don’t mix saya and aku in the same sentence or conversation unless you are doing it for a special effect (e.g. quoting someone).

4. Why is there no past tense word like sudah or telah? How do we know it’s in the past?

Indonesian usually does not change the verb form for tense. Time is shown by:

  • context
  • time words (e.g. kemarin, besok)
  • aspect words (e.g. sudah, sedang)

In this sentence, sejak (since) already tells us we’re talking about a change starting in the past and continuing until now. So:

  • Pola belajar saya berubah sejak saya mulai belajar di perpustakaan.

is naturally understood as:

  • “My study pattern has changed since I started studying at the library.”

You can add sudah or telah to emphasize completion:

  • Pola belajar saya sudah berubah sejak…
  • Pola belajar saya telah berubah sejak… (more formal)

But they are not required; the sentence is complete and natural without them.

5. What is the function of sejak here? How is it different from karena or ketika?
  • sejak = since (starting from a time point in the past)
    It focuses on the starting point and the continuation up to now.

In this sentence:

  • sejak saya mulai belajar di perpustakaan
    = since I started studying at the library

If you used:

  • karena = because
    Pola belajar saya berubah karena saya mulai belajar di perpustakaan.
    Meaning: “My study pattern changed because I started studying at the library.”
    This explains the reason, not the time frame.

  • ketika = when (at the time when)
    Pola belajar saya berubah ketika saya mulai belajar di perpustakaan.
    Meaning: “My study pattern changed when I started studying at the library.”
    This ties the change to a specific moment, but doesn’t emphasize continuation up to now as strongly as sejak.

So sejak is best if you want the English sense of “has changed since…” (ongoing effect).

6. Why is belajar repeated? Could I say “sejak saya mulai di perpustakaan”?

You need a verb after mulai (start). mulai by itself does not mean “go to” or “be at.”

Correct patterns:

  • mulai belajar = start to study
  • mulai bekerja = start to work
  • mulai tinggal di… = start living in…

So:

  • sejak saya mulai belajar di perpustakaan
    = since I started studying at the library

If you say:

  • sejak saya mulai di perpustakaan

this is not natural because mulai expects an action after it. You would need something like:

  • sejak saya mulai bekerja di perpustakaan (since I started working at the library)
  • sejak saya mulai kursus di perpustakaan (since I started a course at the library)

In each case, mulai is followed by a verb (bekerja, kursus, belajar, etc.).

7. What’s the role of di in di perpustakaan? Could I say ke perpustakaan instead?
  • di = at / in (location, static)
  • ke = to (movement towards)

In this sentence:

  • belajar di perpustakaan
    = “study at the library” (you are already there and studying)

If you said:

  • belajar ke perpustakaan

this is ungrammatical or at least very unnatural, because belajar is not a verb of motion. You might see pergi ke perpustakaan (go to the library) or jalan ke perpustakaan (walk to the library), but with belajar you almost always use di:

  • Saya suka belajar di perpustakaan.
  • Dia belajar di rumah.
  1. Could I move the sejak-clause to the beginning:
    “Sejak saya mulai belajar di perpustakaan, pola belajar saya berubah.”?

Yes, that is perfectly grammatical and natural:

  • Sejak saya mulai belajar di perpustakaan, pola belajar saya berubah.

Indonesian allows this fronting for emphasis or flow, similar to English:

  • “Since I started studying at the library, my study pattern has changed.”

The meaning is the same; putting sejak… first can make the time frame feel a bit more prominent, especially in writing or formal speech.

9. What is the difference between berubah and mengubah? Could I say “mengubah” here?
  • berubah = to change (intransitive: something changes by itself)
    Pola belajar saya berubah.
    “My study pattern changed.”

  • mengubah = to change something (transitive: someone changes something)
    Saya mengubah pola belajar saya.
    “I changed my study pattern.”

In your sentence:

  • Pola belajar saya berubah sejak…

You cannot replace berubah with mengubah without adding an agent (subject who does the changing). So:

  • Pola belajar saya mengubah sejak… (incorrect)
  • Saya mengubah pola belajar saya sejak saya mulai belajar di perpustakaan.
    (“I changed my study pattern since I started studying at the library.” – stylistically a bit odd with sejak, but grammatically okay.)

For “has changed” with no clear agent, berubah is the right word.

10. Why not say “di dalam perpustakaan”? Is there a difference from di perpustakaan?

Both are grammatically correct:

  • di perpustakaan = at / in the library (neutral, most common)
  • di dalam perpustakaan = literally “inside the library”

di dalam can emphasize being inside the physical space, often to contrast with:

  • di luar perpustakaan (outside the library)
  • another location

In everyday speech, people usually just say di perpustakaan unless they really need to stress “inside.” So the original sentence is the most natural default.

  1. Could I omit saya in the sejak-clause and also the verb mulai, and say:
    “Pola belajar saya berubah sejak belajar di perpustakaan.”?

Yes, that’s natural and common:

  • Pola belajar saya berubah sejak belajar di perpustakaan.

Here:

  • The subject (I) is implied from pola belajar saya.
  • sejak belajar di perpustakaan literally = “since (I) study at the library / since studying at the library.”

Nuance:

  • sejak saya mulai belajar di perpustakaan → highlights the starting point in time (when you began).
  • sejak belajar di perpustakaan → a bit more general, focusing on the situation or period of studying at the library, not as sharply on the moment you started.

Both are correct; the original is slightly more explicit.

12. Is this sentence formal, informal, or neutral? Would people say it in everyday conversation?

The sentence is neutral-standard Indonesian:

  • Uses saya (polite/neutral pronoun)
  • Uses full word perpustakaan, not slang

It’s fine in:

  • writing (essays, reports)
  • polite conversation
  • semi-formal speech

In more casual conversation with friends, you might hear:

  • Pola belajarku berubah sejak aku mulai belajar di perpustakaan.
  • Or with slang: …di perpus. (short for perpustakaan)

But as written, the sentence is very natural and acceptable in most contexts.