In Bahasa Indonesia, verbs are divided into several classes such as root verb, affixes verb, active and passive verb. Each of the classes has its own function and used for different purposes. According to the present of the object, verbs are divided into two kinds which are transitive and intransitive verb.
Similar to English, transitive verb is the type of verb which requires object. Without an object to follow the verb, the sentence will sound odd. The sentence uses transitive verb is called as active transitive sentence. Unlike active intransitive sentence, active transitive sentence can be changed into passive form. Also learn about Indonesian intransitive verb.
The main difference between Indonesian transitive and Indonesian Transitive Verbs is it has kind of ‘endings’ which change based on the grammatical role of the verb in the sentence.
Characteristic transitive verb
The main characteristic of transitive verb is there are specific affixes follow the verbs. The usual affixes follows transitive verbs are me-, memper-, memper-kan, me-i, me-kan, memper-i, and me-kan. Take a look at below list of transitive verb using those affixes. Also learn more about Indonesian verb prefixes.
Indonesian Prefix me-
- Memakan – to eat
- Menyapu – to sweep
- Memanggil – to call
- Meminum – to drink
- Menulis – to write
- Membantu – to help
- Membuang – to throw
- Membahas – to discuss
- Mengejar – to chase
- Melihat – to see
- Membuat – to make
- Memasak – to cook
- Mencuci – to clean
- Memotong – to cut
- Menonton – to watch
- Menggosok – to scrub
- Menambah – to add
- Mengurangi – to decrese
Sentence example:
- Ibu (S) memasak (V) nasi (O) di dapur (Adv). (Mom cooks rice in the kitchen.)
The example above shows the general pattern of active intransitive sentence. In the sentence, it clearly shows that the verb ‘memasak’ (to cook) cannot stand alone. If the object is missing, the sentence will be incomplete and odd. Here is more sentence examples. Also learn about me- prefix and the writing system.
- Edo menanam herbal di halaman rumah. (Edo plants herbs in the house yard.)
- Ayah memukul kecoa dengan keras. (Dad hits cockroaches very hard.)
- Deni menutup pintu kamarnya. (Deni closes his room’s door.)
Indonesian Affix memper-
- Memperbesar – to make bigger
- Memperkecil – to make smaller
- Memperindah – to make beautiful
- Mempermudah – to make easy
- Memperlambat – to make slower
- Mempercepat – to fasten
Sentence example:
- Mobil itu memperlambat perjalanan kita. (that car slows down our trip.)
- Ayah akan memperbesar ruang tamu. (Dad will make the living room bigger.)
- Dessy pergi ke salon untuk mempercantik penampilanya. (Dessy goes to salon to make her appearance more beautiful.)Â
Indonesian Affix memper-kan
- Mempertontonkan – to show
- Memperdagangkan – to trade
- Mempersoalkan – to cause
Sentence example of Indonesian Transitive Verbs:
- Acara TV itu mempertontonkan tayangan yang tidak pantas. (The TV program airs improper show.)
Indonesian Affix me-i
- Melindungi – to protect
- Mengurangi – to reduce
- Menangisi – to cry over
- Menakuti – to make afraid
- Mengawali – to start
- Manyukai – to like
- Melubangi – to make hole
- Mengkoleksi – to collect
- Melewati – to pass through
- Menyinari – to shine
Also learn about verbs me-i in Bahasa Indonesia.
Sentence example of Indonesian Transitive Verbs:
- Matahari menyinari bumi dengan cerah. (the sun shines the earth brightly.)
- Dia sangat menyukai KPop. (She likes Kpop very much.)
- Secangkir kopi sangat cocok untuk mengawali hari Senin. (A cup of coffee is best to start Monday.)
- Jangan melubangi tembok itu. (Do not make hole on the wall.)
Indonesian Affix memper –i
- Memperbaiki – to fix
- Memperbaharui – to upgrade
Sentence example:
- Kakak memperbaiki TV yang rusak. (Brother fixes the broken TV.)Â
Indonesian Affix me-kan
- Mendaftarkan – to sign up
- Mengeluarkan – to throw out
- Mengajarkan – to teach
- Membicarakan – to teach about
- Membersihkan – to clean up
- Menyelesaikan – to finish
- Mengarahkan – to direct
- Menyelamatkan – to save
- Memanfaatkan – to take advantage
- Mengumpulkan – to collect
- Melewatkan – to miss
- Menyampaikan – to tell
- Menyarankan – to suggest
- Mengirimkan – to send
- Membulatkan – to round
- Menggantungkan – to hang
- Mengorbankan – to sacrifice
- Menyanyikan – to sing
- Menjelaskan – to explain
- Mendoakan – to pray
Also learn about Indonesian me-kan verbs.
Sentence example:
- Sani membicarakan keburukan temannya dibelakang. (Sani talks about her friend’s bad side behind their back.)
- Ayah sudah mengirimkan uang untuk bulan depan. (Dad already sent the money for next month.)
- Bu guru sudah menyarankan siswa untuk membawa paying. (The teacher has suggested the student to bring umbrella.)
- Dila akan menyenyikan lagu nasional saat perpisahan. (Dila will sing national anthem at graduation day.)
- Polisi menjelaskan penyebab kecelakaan itu. (The police explain the cause of accident.)
One of the ways to identify Indonesian Transitive Verbs is from the use of affixes. Transitive verbs mostly employ the affixes above. When used in sentence, you can see that a sentence is transitive verb when it can be changed into passive form. Learning the type of verb gives you better understanding of the context and general meaning.