Ibu menambahkan kaldu ke sup sebelum makan malam.

Ibu literally means mother, but in Indonesian it is also widely used as a respectful way to refer to an adult woman, similar to Mrs., Ma’am, or simply the lady/woman depending on context.

So in this sentence, Ibu could mean:

• Mother / Mom
• Mrs. ...
• a respectful she referring to an adult woman

Context tells you which one is meant.

Tambah is the basic root meaning add or increase.

Menambahkan is a derived verb built from:

• tambah = add
• meN- ... -kan = a verb-forming pattern

In this sentence, menambahkan means to add something.

A very useful pattern is:

• menambahkan X ke Y = to add X to Y

So here:

• kaldu = what is added
• sup = what it is added to

This pattern often makes the verb more transitive, meaning it clearly takes an object.

With menambahkan, it gives the sense of adding something.

Compare the general idea:

• bertambah = to increase, become more
• menambah = to add, increase
• menambahkan = to add something (to something)

For learners, the most practical thing is to remember the full chunk:

• menambahkan kaldu ke sup = add broth to the soup

This is because of how the meN- prefix changes depending on the first sound of the root.

With roots beginning in t, the t usually disappears after the prefix is added:

• tambah → menambah
• tulis → menulis

So:

• tambah
• meN- + tambah
• becomes menambah
• plus -kan
• = menambahkan

This is a very common sound/spelling change in Indonesian.

Here ke marks the destination or target of the addition:

• menambahkan kaldu ke sup = add broth to the soup

That matches English to in add X to Y.

So the structure is:

• menambahkan = add
• kaldu = the thing being added
• ke sup = to the soup

Yes, both are possible, with slightly different nuances:

• ke sup = to the soup
• pada sup = to/on the soup, a bit more formal or bookish in some contexts
• ke dalam sup = into the soup, more explicit about putting it inside

In everyday Indonesian, ke sup is natural and easy to understand.

Indonesian normally does not use articles like a, an, or the.

So:

• kaldu can mean broth / the broth / some broth
• sup can mean soup / the soup

The exact meaning comes from context.

This is very normal in Indonesian, so learners should not expect a separate word for the.

Yes. Sup is the Indonesian word for soup.

It is a loanword, just spelled in Indonesian style.

It can naturally be understood as before dinner.

Why? Because makan malam can mean:

• to eat dinner
• dinner / the evening meal

So sebelum makan malam can mean:

• before eating dinner
• before dinner

In most ordinary contexts, English would simply translate it as before dinner.

It can function as either, depending on context.

Literally:

• makan = eat
• malam = night/evening

But together makan malam commonly means to have dinner or dinner.

That flexibility is common in Indonesian. A phrase can often be interpreted from context without changing its form.

The sentence follows a very common Indonesian order:

• Ibu = subject
• menambahkan = verb
• kaldu = object
• ke sup = prepositional phrase
• sebelum makan malam = time phrase

So the pattern is basically:

Subject + Verb + Object + Other information

That is quite similar to English, which makes this sentence relatively straightforward for English speakers.

The doer is Ibu, because it comes first as the subject of the sentence.

So:

• Ibu = the person acting
• menambahkan = the action
• kaldu = the thing added
• sup = where it is added

In other words, Ibu is the one adding the broth.

Indonesian verbs usually do not change form for tense the way English verbs do.

So menambahkan by itself does not mean specifically:

• added
• adds
• is adding
• will add

The time is inferred from context.

In this sentence, sebelum makan malam gives a time relationship, but it still does not force a specific English tense by itself. Depending on context, it could be translated as:

• Mother added broth to the soup before dinner
• Mother adds broth to the soup before dinner
• Mother was adding broth to the soup before dinner

Context decides which English tense sounds best.

Yes, depending on tone and context.

Possible English choices include:

• Mother
• Mom
• Mrs.
• the woman
• she (if already known in context)

If the sentence is about someone’s own mother in a natural family context, Mom may sound more natural in English. If it is more formal or neutral, Mother may fit better.

Yes: kaldu usually means broth or stock.

It is the thing being added, so grammatically it is the object of menambahkan.

This is useful to remember in the pattern:

• menambahkan kaldu ke sup
• add broth to the soup

So the thing immediately after menambahkan is usually the thing being added.