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Posts published in “Grammar”

Article: Si and Sang

The article si and sang have no equivalent in English. We use sang for presidents, princes, kings, and so on. As for si, it is used as respectful titles to describe the…

Ada

One of the most frequent and useful words in Indonesian is ada. Ada doesn’t have a single equivalent in English, so it is not easy to describe succinctly…

Yang

Yang is probably the most frequent word in the Indonesian language. It has quite a variety of functions and meanings. Basically yang is a connector…

Comparison

To form the comparative and superlative in Indonesian, you add ”lebih” for comparative and ”paling” or ”ter-” for superlative.  Making Comparisons and Judgements 1. Lebih…

Aspect Markers

Sudah tanggal dua belas!It is the twelfth already! Dia sudah datang.He/She has arrived. Dia sudah tua.He/She is old now. Dia sudah kawin.He/She is married. Dia…

Must Not

Tidak Harus There is no *tidak harus” in Indonesian (or rather, *tidak harus occurs rarely and only in special contexts). So how do you negate harus? A quick glance at…

Belum & Jangan

Belum Belum(not yet) combines the meanings of bukan/tidak plus temporal marker sudah. Jangan In the presence of jangan prefix me-(active) and di-(passive) on transitive verb is optional. Adapted from Indonesian Reference Grammar…

Bukan & Tidak

Negation is a way to form a negative sentence. Generally the Indonesian language has two negations: tidak and bukan. But there are also belum and…

Imperative Sentences

Imperative Sentence Translation Note Duduk! Sit. Command Ayo duduk. Come on, sit down. Command, invitation or offering in more informal way. Duduklah Do sit. Command,…

Warning and Forbiding

Negative Imperative Telling people not to do something, i.e. negative imperatives. We have a choice of words: jangan, dilarang, and tidak usah. Dilarang from the root…

Advising

The word ‘sebaiknya’ is generally used for advising, but it can also be used to give a polite command and can be placed either at…

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