INDONESIAN GRAMMER 

Me-verbs
Me-verbs are transitive verbs, meaning that the action implied by them affects an object
Word Order:
 They have the general meaning of “to (verb) something”
 Adjectives, demonstratives and possessives follow the noun
Prefix Initial letter of the base
Demonstratives: word
e.g. anjing itu this dog me- l, m, ng, ny, r, y, w
anjing ini that dog mem- b, f, p*, v
men- d, j, c, y, sy, t*, z
Adjectives: meng- A, e, i, o, u, g, h, k*, kh
 Two adjectives describing a noun are linked by dan or yang meny- s*
e.g. anjing putih dan hitam the black and white dog * indicates which letter are dropped when me- prefix is attached
anjing besar yang hitam the big black dog
e.g. Saya membaca buku I read a book
 Two or mor adjectives are linked by dan and yang and a comma Mereka menjemput Tomo They met Tomo
e.g. anjing besar yang gemuk, putih dan hitam Saya memasak nasi goreng I ate nasi goreng
the big, fat, black and white dog, mendengar to listen/hear something
memotong to cut something
Adjectives and demonstratives: melihat to see something
e.g. anjing besar yang duduk di bawah pohon tinggi ini
That big dog sitting under the tall tree Me-kan verbs
 Me-kan transitive verbs have two main functions: causative or benefactive
Possessives:
1. causative me-kan verbs based on adjectives (the object is caused to have the characterisitic
e.g. anjing saya/anjing Leeanne My dog/Leeanne’s dog
indicated by the adjective base)
e.g. membersihkan cause something to be clean, to clean something
Adjectives and possessives:
Siti sudah membersihkan kamar ini Siti has cleaned the room
 In complex sentences, which include both adjectives and possesives, it is important to remember
that the adjective as a clause usually follows the possessive to close the phrase. 2. me-kan verbs based on nouns (put the object in/take the object to the place indicated by
e.g. kucing nenek saya besar, hitam dan puith (ada) di bawah tempat tidur the base) or (cause the object to be/treate the object as/give the object as what is indicated
My grandma’s big black and white cat is under the bed. by the base)
memakamkan grave = bury/put in a grave
Verbs. mencalonkan candidate = nominate
Ber-verbs menyekolahkan school = send to school
 Ber- verbs are intransitve verbs, meaning that the action implied by the verb, happens in isolation mendaftarkan list = to register
 They have the general meaning of “having what the base indicates”. mengorbankan sacrifice = to sacrifice
 Cannot be made passive. They are only active
 The final r is lost if the following base begins with r or CerC where C is a consonant. 3. me-kan verbs based on intransitive verbs (object is caused to perform the action of the base)
1. ber + baseword = verb (action) membangunkan wake up = to wake someone up
e.g. berolahraga to play sport menjatuhkan drop = to drop
berlatih to practice
bermain to play 4. benefactive me-kan (the action of the verb is done for the benefit of someone else)
berenang to swim Ali membuka pintu
bertelur to produce (benefactive verb) (DO)
berperang to go to war (Ali opens the door)
2. ber + noun = verb (to have the feature of the noun) Ali membukakan pacarnya pintu
e.g. bernama to have the name (benefactive verb) (IO) (DO)
berkuilt to have skin (Ali opens the door for his girlfriend)
berbulu to have hair
berwarna to have the colour  Some me-kan words, bsed on emotions and attitudes do not require an object. They indicate
beragama to have the religion that “the subject causes the object to experience the emotion or attitude expressed by the base”
berpakaian to wear clothes  The verbs based on emotive adjectives act like adjectives in a number of ways. For instances,
they commonly occur with modifiers like sangat and sekali.
 e.g. membosankan bored  Many of these adjectives have a me-kan form as well. However, the memper- form is used when
menyenangkan excited increasing or causing something to be more than it already is.
menyedihkan saddening
membingungkan confusing 2. memper – kan form (concrete to abstract or causative from ber-)
meyakinkan convincing menghitung count
memperhitungkancalculate
5. –kan with kepada menimbang weigh
 Some verbs, when used in conjunction with kepada, must take a –kan suffix. However, when the mempertimbangkan weigh up, consider
kepada is omitted, they take an –i suffix. This group is easily identified as all the verbs in it convey melakukan do, perform
the idea of giving something. memperlakukan treat s.o. (in a certain waY)
Saya menyerahkan formulir kepada pegawai kantor pos
Saya menyerahi pegawai kantor pos formulir bekerja work
memperkerjakan employ
Susi meminjamkan uang kepada Ali bercakap chat
Susi meminjami Ali uang mempercakapkan chat about

Saya menawarkan pekerjaan kepada temanku 3. memper- i form (to do again)

Saya menawari temanku pekerjaan memperbaiki repair s.t.
memperbarui renovate
Me-i verbs
1. me-i verbs based on nouns (apply/give what is indicated in the base to the objective) or (act 4. memper + numbers
as/be what the base indicates) memperdua to divide into two
meminyaki oil = ‘to oil’
membintangi star = “to star in”

2. me-i verbs based on intransitive verbs (object is the place where the action occurs)
the –i absorbs the place or the ‘di’ or ‘ke’
memasuki to enter
menemui to meet
mencintai to love
medekati to near, move towards
meneduri to sleep in
menduduki to sit in/to occupy

3. When –i is attached to a number of transitive verbs indicates that the actions was repeated
many times
menciumi kissed
menggigiti bite/bit

Memper
 Used with adjectives and is always transitive.

1. memper + adjectives (causative meaning – cause something to become more of what is

described by the adjective)
memperpanjang lengthen (s.t.)
memperlebar widen s.t.
mempercepat hasten, speed up something
memperkuat strengthen something
memperlancar facilitate, make easier
memperbanyak increase the number of something Doer
mempererat make closer, increase relationship Pe-/per-
 When me-/ber- is replaced by pe-/per- and therefore, added to a root verb, it creates a noun manisan sweets (sweet)
referring to the doer of the action. dataran plain (flat)
melatih – pelatih trainer/coach bundaran roundabout (round)
melayani – pelayan waiter, shope assistant
memainkan – pemain player nouns + an = nouns
datang -pendatang new comer (broadens the meaning or creates a ‘collectivity’ of the original concept)
belajar – pelajar student e.g. lautan ocean (sea)
berdagan – pedagang trader/merchant daratan land-mass (land)
berjalan kaki – pejalan kaki pedestrian jaringan network (net)
 Can be added to certain nouns as well harian daily
rimba – perimba forestor mingguan weekly
laut – pelaut sailor bulanan monthly
rokok – perokok smoker
 Can be addded to cerrtain adjectives, desribing a person numbers + an = nouns
takut – penakut coward puluhan tens of....
jahat – penjahat criminal
ke + adjective + an = abstract noun
Nouns e.g. kesehatan health (healthy)
peN-an keindahan beauty (beautiful)
creates nouns from me-, me-i, me-kan transitive verbs. (noun is the doing or result of the keberishan cleanliness (clean)
action) kecelakaan accident
pengecekan checking (from mengecak)
penulisan the act of writing (from menulis) ke + verb + an = abstract noun
penjualan the act of selling (from menjual) e.g. kedatangan arrival (to arrive)
pengarjaran the act of teaching (education) (from menajar) keberangkatan departure (to leave)
kehidupan life
peR – keterbodasan limitation
an creates nouns from ber- intransitive verbs (the result of the action) kelahiran birth (born)
perjalanan journey (from berjalan)
pelajaran study/lesson (from belajar) ketidak-mampuan incapable
perdagangan development (from berkembang) ketidak-adilan injustice
perubahan a change (from berubah) ke-tidak percayaan disbelief

can also have.... Others include:

bersatu – persatuan to be united – unity Kedokteran medical
menyatukan – penyatukan to unify – unification Kemerah-merahan reddish
berbeda – perbedaan to differ – difference
membedakan – pembedaan to tell apart - discrimination Verbs
ke + adjective + an = verb
verb + an = noun (the subject is suffering intensely from, or overcome by the base)
(form derivates from verbs that create the object or result of the action suggested by the verb) kelaparan suffering from hunger
e.g. makan - makanan food kedinginan sufferingt from the cold
membaca - bacaan reading matter kehausan suffering from the heat
memakai - pakaianclothes ketakutan suffering from being scared (afraif)
berlatih - latihan an exercise kebanjiran suffer from the affect of flood
membagi - bagian section ke –an followed by nouns mean suffering because the object (noun) following has been
berkunjung - kunjungan a visit affected by the action in the verb stem word”
bapak kecurian uang father has lost his money
adjectives + an = noun Ter prefix
(noun has the quality expressed by the adjective) ter + adjective = superlative
e.g. asinan pickle (salty) terkaya richest
 terbesar the biggest Adalah/ada
terdekat the nearest Adalah/ialah
 Generally is used in replace of ‘are’ or ‘is’ and must have a noun on both sides of the equational
showing completed action. Ter – attached to transitive verbs is similar to the di- form, it is sentence that contains the subject and predicate (describes/explains subject)
important to understand that the ter- form relates to the state created by the actions, while  Adalah can be used for 1st, 2nd and 3rd person and ialah only for the third person.
the di- form relates to the doing of the action. The doer of the action is never mentioned
when using the ter- stative verb construction Kedua pemudi yang sedang menelopon ini adalah teman dekat
e.g. Koran siapa yang diletakkan di atas meja?
Whose newspaper has been put on the table? Tidak dapat disangkal, olahraga adalah salah satu kegiatan utama orang
Koran siapa yang terletak di atas meja? Australia.
Whose newspaper is (located) on the table?
Ada
Bank terbuka dari jam 9 pagi sampai jam 3 sore.  Is generally used to indicate where a person or thing is situated and is used with di and dalam.
The bank is open (in a state of openness) from 9 am – 3 pm. 1. indicating presence in a place
Bank dibuka pada jam 9 Ada bemo di jalan
The bank opens at 9 a.m. 2. indicating existence
Tuhan ada
Ter – indicating ability or inability, used with tidak. Derived from transitive verbs and always 3. there is, there are
occur in the passive form. Ada beberapa gunung api di Indonesia
e.g. Rumah besar itu tidak terbeli oleh kami. 4. to have, own (informal – mempunyai usually used)
We cannot afford to buy that big house Mereka ada dua anak
Puncak tidak terlihat oleh saya
I cannot see the top of the mountain. Mereka yang tidak ada cukup waktu terluang, dapat menggunakan
fasilitas olahraga di tempat kerjanya.
Ter – sense of accidental or intentional – can be used transitively or intransitively
e.g. transitive Negatives – tidak/bulan/belum
Teh saya terminum oleh ibu Tidak
Mother accidentally drank my tea.  Negates verbs and adjectives and negates the intention of a previous statement
intransitive e.g. dia tidak (ada) di kamar ini
nasi goreng ibu termakan oleh saya. He is not in this room
I ate mother’s fried rice by mistake. Aku tidak menemui kawanku
I did not meet my friend
Se – prefix
se- + per + number  Kurang can be used to lessen the impact of the negation
sepertiga one third e.g. Saya kurang pasti I’m not sure.
se- + adjective = ‘as...as’ Bukan
Ali setinggi Suparman Ali is as tall as Suparman  Negates nouns only. Replaces adalah in equational sentences.. Corrects the intention of previous
statements.
se - + noun = sharing the thing indicated by the base word e.g. Gadis cantik itu bukan kakaku That pretty girl is not my older sister
Dia rekan sekantor saya he shares an office with me. orang itu bukan guru saya That person is not my teacher.
se + classifier = ‘one’, ‘a’, and ‘an’. Belum = ‘not yet’
 It acts as a negative response to sudah.
-lah
-lah; adds emphasis to a word
Inilah rumah saya, bukan yang itu
This is my house, not that one
Yang
-lah; adds imperative to soften the command and makes it more polite
Emphasiser – placed before the adjective emphasises the characteristic it conveys
Tutuplah pintu itu! Close the door please!
e.g. Sumbawa Besar adalah kota yang paling besar di bagian barat Pulau
Sumbawa
 Sumbawa Besar is the largest town in the wester part of Sumbawa Island Idiomatic expressions, conjunctins, essay work etc.
Apakah....atau whether....or.....
Useful when two adjectives are linked a noun. It puts emphasis on one particular
adjective. Baik...maupun both......and......
e.g. Mobil baru yang merah itu mobil saya, neither.....nor....
The new red car is mine. Baik dia maupun anaknya tidak suka menonton speak bola

The one/ones – indicates a particular object from others of the same type Kecuali/di samping....juga (pula) besides/apart from....also....
e.g. Di luar jendela ada beberapa mobil, yang biru adalah mobil saya. Di samping punya rumah besar dia juga punya mobil Ferari
There are several cars outside the window, the blue one is mine.
Making lama makin... The more time, the more....
Relative pronoun (caluse marker) – which, that, who. Dewi makin lama makin cantik.
Can link nouns or pronouns to other groups of words, making more complex
sentences. Makin...makin... Two qualtiies increasing/decreasing at the same rate.
e.g. Minyak wangi yang dijual di bandar udara murah sekali. Orang itu makin kaya makin sombong
The perfume that is sold at the airport is very cheap.
“yang dijual di bandar udara” tells us more about the perfume. Bukan/tidak...melainkan/tetapi ‘not...but...’
Connects a negative clause and an affirmative clause
Imperatives – Negative imperatives and prohibitions Bukan/tidak introduces an incorrect clause.
Tolong Melainkan intriduces the correction.
Ask someone to do something for your benefit or on your behalf Bukan – negates noun/noun clauses
e.g. Tolong ambil kopor saya Please help me carry my suitcase Tidak – negates verbs or adjectives
Bukan Ali Melainkan Yusman yang mencuri dompetnya
Harap = ‘would you please’
Suggests that this is the action that is expected to take place Mentang-mentang ‘just because’
e.g. Harap tunggu sebentar? Would you please wait a moment? Indicates annoyance of someone’s behaviour
Mentang-mentang kaya dia pikir dia bisa menganiaya pembantu-pembantunya
Coba = ‘please try’ Just because he is rich, he thinks he can mistreat his servants.
Urging someone to do something. Often used between people of equal status, or by adults
urging a child to do something. Sambil while – one person, two actions at the same time
e.g. Coba makan pisang goreng ini. Please try (eating) this fried banana Ima sedang menyeterika pakaian sambil menonton televisi
Ima is ironing her clothes, while watching television
Silakan, = ‘please’
Used to invite someone to do something for his or her own comfort or benefit. Sementara while – two people, two different actions at the same
Never used in the english sense – i.e. ‘can I have a drink please?’ time
e.g. Silakan minum/masuk Please drink/come in Ratna menerima tamu sementara Edi membereskan kamarnya
Ratna is receiving guests while Edi is tidying his room
Mohon = ‘please’
Simple direct requests. Sedangkan while/on the other hand/ whereas
Comparing, contrasting two people’s habits, or two
Minta = “could i please have...” similar but different things.
Rumah itu terbuat dari kayu sedangkan rumah saya terbuat dari batu bata
Jangan = “don’t” That house is built of wood whereas my house is built of rock
Used for negative commands and instructions and that tell someone not to do something.
E,g, Jangan terlambat Don’t be late Sampai until, as far as, to
Jalanlah terus sampai ke sudut Jl. Merrivale
Keep walking straight until you reach the corner of Merrivale Ave.
Dilarang = “it is forbidden/prohibited” Sampai-sampai until, with the result that, almost unexpectedly,
Used to tell someone they are not allowed to do something incredibly
e.g. dilarang merokok No smoking is allowed. Dia belajar dengan rajin sampai-sampai menjadi dosen Universitas Gajah Mada.
He studied hard so that (with the result that) he became a lecturer at Gajah Mada University.
 An active sentence is a sentence which places emphasis upon the Subject or Doer of an actions. It is
Sebagai ‘as’ – indicating role/ability often called subject-focused. It takes the following general form:
Saya ingin bekerja sebagai perawat
SUBJECT AUXILIARY VERB VERB(transitive) OBJECT
Seperti ‘as/like’ – indicating similarity PREPOSITION
Dia makan pisang seperti monyet
Mary must write a letter to Joe
Supaya ‘in order that’, so that
Saya akan melanjutkan pendidikan di universitas supaya bisa mendapat pekerjaan basah Mary harus menulis surat kepada Joe
OBJECT FOCUS:
Sehingga ‘wuth the result that’, ‘consequently’, ‘to the extent
that’, so A passive sentence is a sentence which placed emphasis upon the object and the action being done to an
Dia makan terus sehingga perutnya sakit. object. It is often called object-focus. It takes the following general form:

Forms of ‘if’ First and Second Perons:

Kalau, jika, jikalau ‘if’ – possibility that the goal could be achieved Active Sentence: Saya sudah membersihkan kamar duduk pada pagi hari.
Kalau saya ada uang, saya ingin membeli sepeda motor
Passive Sentence:
Andaikata, seandainya ‘if’ – high level of improbability OBJECT AUXILIARY VERB SUBJECT (no me-) VERB +suffix
Saya akan tinggal di hollywood andaikata saya menjadi bintang filem. PREPOSITION

Asal, asalkan ‘providing, as long as’ The sitting room has already been cleaned by me in the morning
Asalkan pekerjaanmu beres, kamu boleh pulang
Kamar duduk sudah saya bersihkan pada pagi hari
Forms of ‘when’
Kapan ‘when’ – only in questions Third Person:
Kapan Anda berangkat ke Indonesia? Active Sentence: Mary akan menulis surat di perpustakaan.

Kalau, jikalau, jika, bilamana, bila ‘when’ – action will happen in the future Passive sentence:
Bilamana saya mengunjungi pulau Bali saya akan makan nasi goreng OBJECT AUXILIARY di-VERB+suffix (oleh)+SUBJECT
PREPOSITION
Waktu, sewaktu, ketika, tatkala, semasa ‘when’ – actions occurred in the past
Sewaktu saya masih muda saya tinggal di Jakarta A letter will be written by Mary in the library.

Only/the only one... Surat akan ditulis oleh Mary di perpustakaan.

salah satu ‘one of’ – inanimate object
Salah satu pura yang terkenal di Bali bernama Pura Besakih When writing in object-focus form using third person, the verb has any prefix taken off and replaced by
Ambon ialah salah satu ibu kota propinsi di Indonesia DI (di). Any suffix however remains on the verb. Likewise, the oleh or in English, the “by” can be either
omitted or included in the sentence structures.
salah seorang/seekor ‘one of’ – refers to people/animals
Salah seorang teman saya berasal dari Jakarta
Dewasia ini, salah seorang penyanyi popular di Indonesia adalah Dewi Yull

satu-satunya ‘the only one’

Satu-satunya tempat di Indonesia yang sudah saya kunjungi adalah Bali
Dia satu-satunya teman saya yang ikut ke pesta nanti sore
Inilah satu-satunya warung yang menjual makanan Padang.
Subject-focus and Object-focus

SUBJECT FOCUS: What Person?

 SINGULAR PLURAL
1st saya me, my kita
I We our, ours
Person aku/ku* mine kami
Kamu/mu*
anda
2nd you, you,
You engkau^ You you
person yours yours
saudara*
ibu/bapak
dia
3rd him, his, Their,
He/She/It -nya They they
person her, hers theirs
beliau*
^ informal. * formal

Comparatives

lebih + adjective more (adjective +er);

lebih+ adjective +daripada adjective + er + than

yang paling + adjective most (adjective + er)

ter+adjective most adjective

terbanyak most

lebih banyak more....

banyak many