Indonesian cheat sheet

Basic clause

Indonesian commonly uses subject–verb–object order. Verbs do not conjugate for grammatical person.

Saya membaca buku. — I read a book.

Time and aspect

Time words and aspect markers supply information that English often expresses through verb tense.

sudah: already/completed; sedang: in progress; belum: not yet.

Affixes

Prefixes and suffixes change a word’s grammatical role or meaning. Learn them together with an actual word.

ajar → belajar (study); kerja → bekerja (work).

Plural meaning

Context and number expressions can establish plurality. Reduplication is useful, but is not required after every number.

dua buku — two books; buku-buku — books.

Tidak and bukan

Tidak commonly negates verbs and adjectives; bukan commonly negates a noun phrase or corrects an identification. Context can add further uses.

Saya tidak tahu. — I do not know. Saya bukan guru. — I am not a teacher.

Possessor order

A possessor normally follows the possessed noun in a simple phrase. The same ordering principle helps with names and pronouns.

buku saya — my book; rumah Rina — Rina’s house.

Location and direction

Di marks a location, ke a destination and dari an origin in common expressions. Written separately, these prepositions differ from attached prefixes.

di sekolah — at school; ke sekolah — to school; dari sekolah — from school.

Question words

Apa asks what, siapa asks who, and di mana asks where. Indonesian questions do not require an English-style auxiliary “do”.

Siapa nama Anda? — What is your name? Di mana sekolahnya? — Where is the school?

Worked example: time in context

In Kemarin saya belajar bahasa Indonesia, kemarin establishes yesterday as the time frame. The verb belajar does not acquire a separate English-style past-tense ending.

Kemarin = yesterday; saya = I; belajar = studied; bahasa Indonesia = Indonesian.

Common mistake: every di is a preposition

The location preposition di is written separately, while the passive prefix di- is attached to a verb. Spacing reflects a grammatical distinction.

di rumah — at home; ditulis — written.

Check your understanding

Which negation fits Saya ___ dokter?

Bukan: dokter is a noun identifying an occupation.

Curriculum connections

Sources