Kami menonton latihan tim futsal di lapangan sore ini.

We watch the futsal team's practice on the field this afternoon.

Breakdown of Kami menonton latihan tim futsal di lapangan sore ini.

• kami: we
• menonton: to watch
• di: on
• lapangan: the field
• latihan: the practice session
• sore ini: this afternoon
• tim futsal: the futsal team

Questions & Answers about Kami menonton latihan tim futsal di lapangan sore ini.

Why is it kami and not kita here?

Indonesian has two kinds of “we”:

• kami = we (not including the person we’re talking to) → exclusive
• kita = we (including the person we’re talking to) → inclusive

Kami menonton… implies:

• The speaker and some other people are watching.
• The listener is not part of that group.

If the speaker wanted to include the listener (e.g., “You and I are watching…”), they would use kita:

• Kita menonton latihan tim futsal di lapangan sore ini.
  = You and I (and maybe others) are watching the futsal team practice this afternoon.

What does the me- prefix in menonton mean, and what is the base word?

The base word is tonton (to watch).

The verb menonton = meN- + tonton.

• meN- is a common verb-forming prefix that typically:
  • turns a root into an active verb
  • roughly corresponds to English “to [verb]” (but also marks active voice)

So:

• tonton (root)
• menonton = “to watch / be watching”

In casual speech, people often shorten menonton to nonton:

• Kami nonton latihan tim futsal… (informal)

How do I know the tense? Does Kami menonton… mean we watched, we are watching, or we will watch?

Indonesian verbs don’t change form for tense. Menonton stays the same for past, present, and future.
Time is usually shown by context or time words like kemarin, sekarang, besok, sore ini, etc.

Kami menonton latihan tim futsal di lapangan sore ini can mean:

• We are watching the futsal team practice this afternoon. (a plan for later today)
• We’re watching the futsal team practice this afternoon. (describing today’s schedule)

It usually sounds future-ish (later today), because of sore ini (“this afternoon”).
If you wanted to make it clearly past or future, you could add words like:

• Kemarin sore kami menonton… = Yesterday afternoon we watched…
• Nanti sore kami akan menonton… = Later this afternoon we will watch…

Why is there no word like “am/are” in the Indonesian sentence?

Indonesian doesn’t use a separate verb like “to be” (am/are/is) before another verb.

In English:

• We are watching… (auxiliary verb are
  • main verb watching)

In Indonesian:

• Kami menonton… (one main verb only)

The prefix meN- and context cover what English expresses with am/are/is + -ing.
If you really want to stress “right now”, you can add sedang:

• Kami sedang menonton latihan tim futsal…
  = We are (currently) watching the futsal team practice…

What exactly does latihan mean here?

Latihan is a noun meaning practice / training / rehearsal.

In this sentence:

• latihan tim futsal = the futsal team’s practice / training session.

Related forms:

• latih = root (“to train”)
• berlatih = to practice (verb)
  • Tim futsal itu sedang berlatih. = The futsal team is practicing.

So we could say:

• Kami menonton latihan tim futsal.
  = We are watching the futsal team’s practice.

or

• Kami menonton tim futsal itu berlatih.
  = We are watching the futsal team practice. (verb berlatih)

Why is it latihan tim futsal and not tim futsal latihan?

Indonesian noun phrases usually follow this pattern:

• Head noun
  • modifier(s)

Here:

• latihan (practice) = head noun
• tim futsal (futsal team) = modifier (whose practice?)

So latihan tim futsal = “the futsal team’s practice”.

Putting tim futsal first (tim futsal latihan) would sound wrong and ungrammatical.
A rough pattern to remember:

• latihan + [who/what]
  
  • latihan sepak bola = soccer practice
  • latihan tim futsal = the futsal team’s practice
  • latihan vokal = vocal practice

Is tim futsal singular or plural? How do I say “teams”?

Indonesian normally does not mark plural with -s like English.

• tim = team or teams (depends on context)
• tim futsal = futsal team or futsal teams

In this sentence, because we talk about latihan tim futsal (a practice), it naturally sounds like one team.

If you need to be clear:

• banyak tim futsal = many futsal teams
• tim-tim futsal = teams of futsal (reduplication to show plurality)

But in everyday speech, context is usually enough:

• Kami menonton latihan tim futsal.
  People will assume it’s one specific team having practice.

What does di lapangan literally mean? And why di, not something else?

• di = at / in / on (location preposition)
• lapangan = field, court, or open ground (depending on context)

So di lapangan ≈ at the field / on the court.

Compare:

• di lapangan = at the field (location, static)
• ke lapangan = to the field (direction, going somewhere)
• dari lapangan = from the field (origin)

In this sentence, the watching is happening at that place, so di is correct:

• Kami menonton … di lapangan. = We are watching … at the field.

How do Indonesian time expressions like sore ini work? Why not put ini first?

Common pattern: [time word] + ini / lalu / depan / nanti, etc.

• sore ini = this afternoon
• kemarin sore = yesterday afternoon
• besok pagi = tomorrow morning
• malam nanti = tonight / later at night

So:

• sore = afternoon
• ini = this

Together: sore ini = literally “afternoon this” → “this afternoon”.

You don’t say ini sore for “this afternoon” in standard Indonesian.
Placing sore ini at the end is very common:

• Kami menonton latihan tim futsal di lapangan sore ini.
  (We are watching … this afternoon.)

Could this sentence also mean We watched the futsal team practice this afternoon (past)?

Yes, it can mean that, depending on context and when you say it.

Because Indonesian verbs are tenseless, Kami menonton … sore ini can be understood as:

• future (later today),
• or as a neutral statement of schedule,
• or, if said after the event on the same day, as past.

To make it clearly past, you’d usually adjust the time word:

• Tadi sore kami menonton latihan tim futsal di lapangan.
  = Earlier this afternoon we watched the futsal team practice at the field.

Can I drop kami and just say Menonton latihan tim futsal di lapangan sore ini?

You can drop subject pronouns in Indonesian, but you usually need context.

Menonton latihan tim futsal di lapangan sore ini is grammatically possible but feels incomplete and a bit unnatural as a full sentence unless:

• it’s clearly a continuation of previous sentences, or
• it’s in a note/bullet list (e.g. schedule: “Menonton latihan tim futsal di lapangan sore ini.”)

In normal spoken sentences, you’d keep or at least imply the subject:

• Kami menonton latihan tim futsal… (clear)
• (Kami) nonton latihan tim futsal… (subject understood from context)

What’s the difference between latihan and pertandingan? Could I use pertandingan here?

They are different:

• latihan = practice / training / rehearsal
  (no official competition; just training)

• pertandingan = match / game / competition
  (two sides competing, with score, referee, etc.)

In this sentence:

• Kami menonton latihan tim futsal…
  = We are watching the futsal team practice.

If it were an actual game, you would say:

• Kami menonton pertandingan futsal di lapangan sore ini.
  = We are watching a futsal match at the field this afternoon.

So pertandingan would change the meaning from practice to a real match.