Basic
Word Order/Syntax
The basic word order in Indonesian is Subject-Verb-Object.
For example:
| Saya | membaca | buku |
| Subject | Verb | Object |
Articles
Definite or indefinite articles (a, the) in Indonesian are not known. If you say ‘Gedung’(building) can mean ‘a building’ or ‘the building’. It’s very important to understand it within the context to know what it really means.
Gender
Indonesian has no gender. ‘Anak’ (child) is used to refer to a girl or a boy. To specify gender, you can say ‘anak laki’ (male child/son) or ‘anak perempuan’ (female child/daughter).
Plural
To indicate a plural noun we can double the noun, use number or put the word ‘banyak’(many/much/ a lot) or ‘sedikit’(few/little/some/several) before the noun.
| Singular | Plural | Meaning |
| rumah | rumah-rumah | houses |
| lima rumah | five houses | |
| banyak rumah | many houses | |
| minyak | sedikit minyak | little oil |
| orang | beberapa orang | few people |
| uang | banyak uang | a lot of money |
Negative
’Tidak’ and ‘Bukan’ are used to indicate negation such as ‘no’ and ‘not’. ‘Tidak’ is positioned before the adjective, verb or preposition. ‘Bukan’ is used to refer a noun.
| Tidak | Saya tidak takut | I am not affraid |
| Bukan | Dia bukan teman saya | He is not my friend |