Bahasa Indonesia: Sentence Structure Part 1

To truly grasp Indonesian grammar, it’s essential to understand its sentence structure. This involves recognizing different types of sentences: statements, questions, imperatives, and exclamations. Each type serves a unique purpose in communication. Let’s explore these structures.

Statements

Statements are the most common type of sentence. They can provide information, express thoughts, or narrate events. In Indonesian grammar, statements can vary in complexity and purpose, but they generally follow a subject-verb-object structure in verbal sentences, similar to English.

For example:

“I eat rice every day.” (Saya makan nasi setiap hari.)

  • Subject: I (Saya)
  • Verb: eat (makan)
  • Object: rice (nasi)

“She reads a book.” (Dia membaca sebuah buku.)

  • Subject: She (Dia)
  • Verb: reads (membaca)
  • Object: a book (sebuah buku)

“They play soccer on weekends.” (Mereka bermain sepak bola di akhir pekan.)

  • Subject: They (Mereka)
  • Verb: play (bermain)
  • Object: soccer (sepak bola)

You can also make a statement with a nominal sentence, where the predicate describes or identifies the subject. For example: 

“She is a doctor.” (Dia adalah seorang dokter.)

  • Subject: She (Dia)
  • Predicate: is a doctor (adalah seorang dokter)

“The cat is black.” (Kucing itu hitam.)

  • Subject: The cat (Kucing itu)
  • Predicate: is black (hitam)

“He is my friend.” (Dia adalah temanku.)

  • Subject: He (Dia)
  • Predicate: is my friend (adalah temanku)

Questions

In Indonesian grammar, questions can be sorted into several types based on their structure and function. Here are some common types of questions in Indonesian:

Yes-No Questions

These questions aim to get responses that are either “yes” or “no”. In this case, the word “apakah” is used to form yes-no questions. It serves as a marker at the beginning of the sentence to indicate that the sentence is a question. It can be equivalent to “do,” “does,” “did,” “is,” “are,” “was,” “were,” “has,” “have,” “had,” or “will”  in English questions. When “apakah” is used, the sentence structure is usually subject-verb-object or subject-predicate, but with “apakah” added at the beginning to turn it into a question. For example:

  • Apakah kamu lapar?” (Are you hungry?)
  • Apakah dia sudah pulang?” (Has he/she already come back?) 

You can also express a yes-no question differently using the  particle -kah. This particle turns the word/phrases it’s attached to as the focus of the question. For example, if we were to use the previous sentence, it would be: 

  • “Sudah pulangkah dia?” (Has he/she already come back?)
  • “Pria inikah yang menolongmu kemarin?” (Was it this man who helped you yesterday?)
  • “Akan pergikah dia ke acara itu?” (Will he go to the party?)

WH-Questions

These questions typically begin with question words (such as “siapa” for who, “apa” for what, “kapan” for when, “di mana” for where, etc.) and are used to gather specific information. For example:

  • Siapa nama kamu?” (What is your name?)
  • Kapan ulang tahunmu?” (When is your birthday?)
  • Di mana buku itu?” (Where is that book?)
  • Bagaimana kamu melakukan itu?” (How did you do that?)

Choice Questions

These questions present two or more options and require you to choose between them. They are often structured using “atau” (or) to separate the options. For example:

  • “Mau minum teh atau kopi?” (Do you want to drink tea or coffee?)
  • “Kamu suka makan ayam atau ikan?” (Do you like to eat chicken or fish?)

Tag Questions

These questions are added at the end of a statement to seek confirmation or agreement. They typically use the particle “kan” or “ya” and may vary based on the speaker’s expectation. For example:

  • “Kamu lapar, kan?” (You’re hungry, aren’t you?)
  • “Rumahnya besar sekali, ya?” (His house is really big, isn’t it?)

Indirect Questions

These questions are often parts of a larger statement and used to sound polite or less direct. They usually follow introductory phrases such as “saya ingin tahu” (I want to know) or “boleh saya tanya” (may I ask). For example:

  • Saya ingin tahu apa dia sudah makan” (I want to know if he/she has eaten already.)
  • Boleh saya tanya kapan kamu akan datang?” (May I ask when you will come?)

These are just some of the different kinds of questions we use in Indonesian.

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