Saya buang sampah ke dalam tong hijau setiap pagi.

I throw trash into the green bin every morning.

Breakdown of Saya buang sampah ke dalam tong hijau setiap pagi.

• saya: I
• setiap: every
• pagi: the morning
• hijau: green
• buang: to throw
• sampah: the trash
• ke dalam: into
• tong: the bin

Questions & Answers about Saya buang sampah ke dalam tong hijau setiap pagi.

What does buang mean exactly? How is it different from “to throw”?

buang is a verb meaning “to throw away” or “to discard.” If you want the general sense of tossing or throwing (like a ball), you’d use lempar. Use buang when you mean you’re getting rid of something or discarding it.

Why do we say ke dalam tong hijau instead of just dalam tong hijau or ke tong hijau?

• ke indicates movement toward.
• dalam means “inside.”
  Putting them together—ke dalam—means “into.”

So:

• ke dalam tong hijau = “into the green bin” (focus on movement).
• di dalam tong hijau = “in the green bin” (focus on location).
• ke tong hijau by itself isn’t natural for containers; you need ke dalam for “into.”

Why is Saya placed before buang sampah? Is Malay word order like English?

Yes. Malay typically follows Subject–Verb–Object (SVO), just like English.

• Saya (subject)
• buang (verb)
• sampah (object)

That’s why Saya buang sampah… matches the SVO pattern.

Why is there no “the” or “a” before sampah?

Malay doesn’t use articles (a, an, the). Nouns stand alone. If you need to specify quantity you can add words like satu (one) or sebuah (a piece of), or demonstratives like ini (this) and itu (that). With uncountable nouns like sampah (trash), no article or number marker is normally used.

Why does hijau come after tong? Are adjectives always placed after nouns?

Yes. In Malay, adjectives follow the noun they describe.

• tong hijau = “green bin”
  You wouldn’t say hijau tong.

What does setiap pagi mean, and can I move it elsewhere in the sentence?

setiap pagi means “every morning.” It’s an adverbial time phrase. You can place it at the beginning or end:

• Setiap pagi, saya buang sampah…
• Saya buang sampah… setiap pagi.
  Both are correct; Malay allows flexible adverb placement.

How do I say “I am throwing away the trash” (the progressive form)?

Use the aspect marker sedang before the verb, and the verb takes the me- prefix:

• Saya sedang membuang sampah ke dalam tong hijau.

How do you indicate past or future actions for “buang”?

Malay verbs don’t change form for tense. You add time markers:

• Past: telah or sudah
  – Saya telah membuang sampah…
• Future: akan
  – Saya akan membuang sampah…

Why use Saya instead of Aku or Gue?

• Saya is formal or neutral—you can use it in most situations.
• Aku is informal and friendly, often used among close friends or family.
• Gue is colloquial Jakarta slang.
  Choose your pronoun based on the level of formality and who you’re speaking to.