Saya pernah melihat pemain yang curang di lapangan, lalu pelatih menegurnya dengan tegas.

Pernah means something like have ever or once in past experience.

So Saya pernah melihat... means I have seen... before or I once saw....

It does not just mark ordinary past tense by itself. It specifically suggests that this happened at least once as part of your experience.

Compare:

• Saya melihat... = I saw / I see
• Saya pernah melihat... = I have ever seen / I once saw

Both can relate to seeing, but they are used differently.

• melihat = to see
• menonton = to watch

In this sentence, melihat pemain yang curang means to see a player cheating or to notice a dishonest player.

If you used menonton, it would sound more like you were watching a game or event as a spectator. That could also work in some contexts, but melihat is more natural here if the focus is simply that you witnessed the cheating.

Yang introduces a clause that describes the noun before it.

So:

• pemain = player
• yang curang = who cheats / who is dishonest / who was cheating

Together, pemain yang curang means the player who was cheating or a cheating player.

This is a very common Indonesian pattern:

• orang yang baik = a person who is kind
• buku yang menarik = a book that is interesting
• murid yang rajin = a student who is diligent

By itself, Indonesian nouns usually do not show singular/plural clearly unless context makes it obvious.

So pemain yang curang could mean:

• a cheating player
• the cheating player
• cheating players, depending on context

In this sentence, because later we get menegurnya with -nya referring to one person, the most natural reading is a/the cheating player in the singular.

Curang means dishonest, unfair, or cheating.

In a sports context, pemain yang curang most naturally means a player who cheats or a player playing unfairly.

It does not necessarily mean the person is morally corrupt in a broad life sense; here it is probably about unfair behavior on the field.

This phrase can feel slightly flexible, and that is a good thing to notice.

• di lapangan = on the field

In most natural readings, it connects to the overall situation: the cheating player was on the field, and that is where the speaker saw them.

So the sentence is understood as something like: I once saw a player cheating on the field...

If you wanted to make the location attach more clearly to the cheating itself, the sentence is already acceptable as is. Indonesian often relies on context rather than strict attachment rules.

Lalu means then, after that, or next.

It links two events in sequence:

1. Saya pernah melihat pemain yang curang di lapangan
2. lalu pelatih menegurnya dengan tegas

So the sentence presents a kind of narrative progression: I once saw a cheating player on the field, and then the coach reprimanded him firmly.

Other connectors that might appear in similar sentences are:

• kemudian = then, afterwards
• terus = then, next, and then
• dan = and

But lalu nicely emphasizes that the second action happened after the first.

Indonesian does not have articles like a, an, and the.

So pelatih can mean:

• a coach
• the coach

Context decides which one sounds right in English.

In this sentence, pelatih is most naturally understood as the coach, because it sounds like a specific coach involved in the situation.

The -nya here means him, her, or them, depending on context.

So:

• menegur = to reprimand / to scold / to warn
• menegurnya = to reprimand him/her

In this sentence, -nya refers back to pemain yang curang.

So pelatih menegurnya means: the coach reprimanded him.

Because pemain here is understood as singular, -nya is naturally translated as him in this context.

Tegur is the base word.
Menegur is the active verb form, created with the meN- prefix.

This is very common in Indonesian:

• baca → membaca = read
• lihat → melihat = see
• tegur → menegur = reprimand / address / warn

In normal sentences, the active verb usually appears with this prefix. So pelatih menegurnya is the natural standard form for the coach reprimanded him.

Dengan tegas means firmly, sternly, or assertively.

• dengan = with
• tegas = firm, decisive, stern

So literally it is with firmness, but in natural English we usually say firmly.

It comes after the verb phrase: pelatih menegurnya dengan tegas

That word order is very normal in Indonesian. Adverbial expressions like this often come after the verb.

Not exactly.

• menegur = to reprimand, admonish, call out, correct
• memarahi = to scold, get angry at

Menegur can be firm, but it does not automatically mean strong anger. It can even be mild in some contexts, like correcting someone politely.

Because the sentence adds dengan tegas, it becomes clearly firmer: the coach reprimanded him firmly.

If you used memarahi, it would sound more emotional or angry.

Not exactly, because that would change the structure.

The Indonesian sentence is divided into two parts with lalu:

1. Saya pernah melihat pemain yang curang di lapangan
2. lalu pelatih menegurnya dengan tegas

So the speaker says first that they saw the cheating player, and then says the coach reprimanded that player.

Your English version makes the whole event look like one thing the speaker saw directly as a single verb phrase: saw the coach reprimand...

That is a possible idea, but it is not the same structure as the Indonesian sentence given.

Yes, but it changes the tone.

• Saya = neutral, polite, standard
• Aku = informal, personal

So:

• Saya pernah melihat... sounds neutral and appropriate in many situations
• Aku pernah melihat... sounds more casual and conversational

The rest of the sentence can stay the same, though depending on style you might also make other words more informal.