"I ate when he left."

Translation: Saya makan ketika dia pergi.

[cdar1231]

So i am a beginner and know nothing about the past tense in Indonesian but i was wondering why this can not be translated in the present, ie: "i am eating because he is leaving."

[akucintaDani]

It can be as well

[Scaxivilion]

because is "karena" and is irrelevant here, your sentence would mean that you're only gonna eat if he leaves

[StephenL1]

If I want to specify that this happened in the past, can I use the word "telah"?

eg. "Saya telah makan ketika dia telah pergi"

[MaximilianoJ.]

two questions:
1. For past we have to use: sudah...Saya sudah makan...
2. The translation for "left" is: sudah keluar...
The correct sentence: Saya sudah makan, ketita dia sudah keluar.

[wolfe.mcbr]

Keluar is go outside or exit in a very physical sense. Pergi meaning go or leave is better for the abstract of someone going.

Sudah for already could go at the start but your sentrnce is translated as ' i had already eaten when he had already exited' which is very very clunky and not really the correct transition

sudah at the start only (sudah saya makan ketika dia pergi) would make it 'already i (i already) ate when they left'

Generically though don't put tenses into Indonesian unless they are important and but obvious from connect. Keep it simple.

[Rhy510]

s

[SherleneKl]

saya makan saat dia berangkat is marked wrong. I really don't understand why.

[H.pJVc]

can you use "Saya makan kapan dia pergi" also?

[SherleneKl]

No. Kapan is a question word - When? Kapan dia pergi? When did he go?
You can use ketika or saat in the statement "Saya makan ketika dia pergi."