Breakdown of Guru meminta kami mengulangi kalimat itu dengan jelas.
itu
that
guru
the teacher
kalimat
the sentence
dengan
with
Questions & Answers about Guru meminta kami mengulangi kalimat itu dengan jelas.
Why is there no word for the or a before guru?
Indonesian usually does not use articles the way English does. So guru can mean:
- a teacher
- the teacher
- sometimes just teacher/teachers in a general sense
The exact meaning comes from context. In this sentence, English will usually translate it as the teacher because a specific teacher is meant.
What does meminta mean here?
Here, meminta means to ask or to request.
It comes from the base minta = ask for / request, and the prefix meN- makes it an active verb:
- minta = ask for
- meminta = to ask, to request
In this sentence, Guru meminta kami... means The teacher asked us... or The teacher requested that we...
Depending on context, it can sound polite or instructional, but it is usually less forceful than menyuruh (to order / tell someone to do something).
Why is it kami and not kita?
This is a very important distinction in Indonesian.
Both kami and kita can mean we/us, but: