Jam, setengah, kurang

Use jam before a clock time. Jam sembilan lewat sepuluh is 9:10; jam sembilan kurang lima is 8:55.

Setengah points toward the next hour: setengah sembilan is 8:30, not 9:30. Setengah enam sore is 17:30.

Seperempat is a quarter: sembilan lewat seperempat is 9:15; sembilan kurang seperempat is 8:45. Use pagi, siang, sore, malam to clarify. Duration uses hours after the number: delapan jam.

Setiap, selalu, tidak pernah

Learn the whole week: Senin, Selasa, Rabu, Kamis, Jumat, Sabtu, Minggu. Setiap Senin means every Monday; a bare day name can identify one day from context.

Frequency words include selalu always, biasanya usually, kadang-kadang sometimes, sering often, and tidak pernah never.

Pada is an optional formal time preposition; everyday hari Senin also works. Routine verbs stay unchanged. Belum means not yet and differs from never.

These frequency words are adverbs: selalu, biasanya, kadang-kadang.

Bangun, mandi, suka

Describe a routine with a time phrase and an unchanged verb: Saya bangun setengah tujuh. Mandi already means bathe/shower; no reflexive pronoun is required.

Use suka before a thing or activity: suka membaca, suka memasak. Tidak suka expresses dislike.

Verbs such as membaca, memasak and berlari are learned in their normal forms. Short conversational baca, masak, lari also appear. A prefix does not indicate tense or person; no full derivation system is required here.

Di belakang, beri saya

Location phrases include di atas, di bawah, di depan, di belakang, di samping. Write the preposition separately from the place.

The object normally follows a verb: ambil pena, buka pintu, beri saya kertas. Kepada can clarify a recipient: berikan kepada saya.

-nya attaches to a word and refers back to a known person or object: di sampingnya next to it, mengambilnya takes it. Learn complete common words before expecting productive changes.

Tolong, silakan, jangan

For a request use tolong plus a verb: tolong baca. A common plain instruction also works: buka pintu. There is no person ending to change for Ibu/Bapak.

Silakan invites or grants permission: silakan duduk. Jangan prohibits: jangan duduk di atas printer. Tidak boleh means not permitted; tidak alone is a statement, not the usual command form.

Rules can use ordinary present statements. Dua kali sehari is twice a day; the frequency word follows the number. Avoid confusing dua kali with dua jam.

An imperative is a request or instruction: tolong baca, silakan duduk, jangan tidur.