User:Cammoore

Overview of grammar

The same as English, the linguistic typology of Indonesian is subject–verb–object. Predicates

Noun phrase

Nouns have no articles or inflection. Subject and object pronouns are the same, with one exception. Adjectives come after the noun. If demonstratives are functioning as an adjective they come after the noun and adjective.

Pronouns

Subject pronouns (9)

saya - I
anda - you
saudara - you
kamu - you (informal)
dia - he/she
kami - we (not you)
kita - we (and you)
meréka - they

saya Mel - I am Mel
anda pengusaha - you are a businessman
dia guru - she is a teacher

Object pronouns (2)

All the same. Except when dia is both subject and object.

dia mengenal + nya = dia mengenanalnya - he knows her

Possessive pronouns (3)

Same as regular pronouns. Follows the noun.

mobil saya - my car
kopor-kopor anda - your luggage
kucing kamu - your cat

Also: -mu - your

kuncingmu - your cat
temanmu - your friend

-nya = her/her, thier (must already be established from context)
permainan + nya = permainannya - his/her/their toy
rumah besar + nya = rumah besarnya - his/her/thier house

Demonstratives (2)

ini - this
iti - that

ini buku - this is a book
iti kopi - that is coffee

Adjectives (1)

mobil baru - a new car
pusat kota - town center
tempat parkir - parking space
film itu - that film

sekolah bahasa Indonesia - Indonesian language school

Pluralization (2)

orang - person
orang-orang - people

rak buku - book shelf
rak-rak buku - book shelves

Pluralization does not need to be used when it obvious from context:

empat orang - four people
banyak anak - a lot of children
berapa orang? - how many people?

Verb Phrase

Indonesian verbs have no grammatical person or tense, which means no conjugation. Person is coded by pronouns; tense is always clearly understood contextually or aided by tense markers.

Tense markers

Present (2)

sedang - now

saya mangajar biologi - I teach biology
saya sedang mengajar biologi - I am teaching biology

Past (4)

sudah - already

dia datang - he arrives
dia sudah datang - he arrived

telah - equivalent to sudah, used in writing and formal speech

dulu - formerly
dulu dia miskin - she used to be poor

baru saja - has just
dia baru saja bangun - she has just woken up

Future (1)

akan

Mel akan menjemput Tom - Mel will puck up Tom

Adverbs (1)

dangan + adjective = adverb

cepat - quick
dangan cepat - quickly
baik - good
dangan baik - well

dia berbicara dangan cepat - she speaks quickly

Forming questions

ini buku - this is a book
ini buku? - this is a book?
apakah ini buku? - is this a book?
apakah anda pengusaha? - are you a businessman?

Also: apa = apakah (less formal, more common)

apa iti menarik? - is it interesting?

Who, whose?

siapa itu? - who is that?
jas siapa ini? - whose jacket is this?

siapa nama anda? - what's your name?
However: apa nama kota itu? - what's this town called?

When?

kapan rapat? - when is the meeting?

Where?

di mana kamu tinggal? - where do you live?
ke mana kamu pergi? - to where are you going?
dari mana kamu berasal? - from where do you come?

Why?

kenapa dia marah? - why is he angry?
kenapa mobil itu berhenti? - why did that car stop?

mengapa - preferred in writing
karena - because

How?

bagaimana film itu? - how was that film?
bagaimana kabarnya? - how are things?

How many?

berapa mobil? - how many cars?
berapa lama? - how long? (time)
berapa panjang? - how long? (length)
berapa kali? - how many times?

Negation

Negating adjectives and verbs

dia tidak minum - he doesn't drink
saya tidak tahu - I don't know

dia tidak séhat - he isn't healthy
meréka tidak mabuk - they aren't drunk

Negating nouns

saya bukan orang Indonesia - I am not Indonesian
ini bukan kucing - this is not a cat
bukan dia - it's not him

Replying "no"

apa dia mabuk? tidak. - is she drunk? no.
apa dia bekerja di Bali? tidak - does she work in Bali? no.

apa kakakmu penari? bukan. - Is your sister a dancer? no.