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The core components of a sentence are noun and verbs. In Indonesian, nouns are called by nomina or kata benda, and verbs are called by verba or kata kerja. As stated in Indonesian sentence types, the minimum requirements of Indonesian sentence are subjek and predikat. What forms a subject is a single word, a phrase, or a clause. There are several types of noun in Indonesia. These Indonesian noun phrase structure will be explained further in this article.

Before we take a further step to Indonesian phrase structure, let’s discuss what a noun really is in Indonesian. A noun or Nomina or Kata benda, is used to describe an item or a person to be able to be uttered in a sentence. Therefore, it represents an item, whether it is concrete or abstract, in a sentence. The examples of concrete items are meja (a table), kursi (a chair) and some other goods that you can touch and see.

On the other hand, abstract items are something that you cannot see and touch but they exist. For example, perasaan (a feeling), nama (a name of a person) and any other thing you can think of without touching it.

Now, let’s take a look at the types of noun (kata benda) in Indonesian.

Noun

Seen from how the Indonesian noun is formed, there are two types of noun. First it is root noun (kata nomina dasar) and the second is a derivative noun (kata nomina turunan). A root noun is a noun which has no addition to the word in order to make a noun while a derivative noun is a noun that is formed from a verb, an adjective, and a noun that is added by one or more affixes (Indonesian prefix table or suffix. also see Indonesian infixes). The forming of derivative noun is divided into four forms. They are:

1. Verba (v) + (-an)
2. (pe-) + verba (v)
3. (pe-) + adjektiva (adj)
4. (per-) + nomina + (an)

You can see to the list below for the example of those nouns.

Root Noun (nomina dasar)

• Buku (a book)
• Meja (a table)
• Kursi (a chair)
• Radio (a radio)
• Televisi (a tv)
• Ponsel (a phone)

Derivative Noun (nomina turunan)

1. Verbs + (-an)

• Pikiran ( a thinking)
• Urutan (a queue)
• Undangan (an invitation)
• Asahan (a sharpener)

2. (pe-) + verbs

• Perusak ( a destroyer)
• Pekerja (a worker)
• Pegulat (a wrestler)

3. (pe-) + adjective

• Pewarna (something that gives another thing color)
• Pemanis (a sweetener)

4. (per-) + nouns + (-an)

• Perkantoran (an office complex)
• Peranakan (crossbreed)

Indonesian Noun Phrase Examples

In the example below, you can see the implementation of those words above into sentences in a good structure.

1. Indonesia terdiri dari dari gugusan pulau.
2. Petarung yang tanggung selalu memiliki strategi yang jitu.
3. Kawasan padat penduduk itu mulai ditinggalkan.
4. Orang Eskimo dikenal sangat tahan terhadap cuaca yang sangat dingin.
5. Toleransi menjadi cara untuk mempererat persatuan.
6. Penantiannya selama ini akhirnya membuahkan hasil.
7. Ikan hasil tangkapannya berukuran besar.
8. Setelah sekian lama, akhirnya ia menemukan tambatan hati.
9. Anak-anak sangat menggemari bacaan fiksi.
10. Semua siswa wajib berpakaian rapi ke sekolah.
11. Dia memberikan hadiah-hadiah kecil sebagai pemikat pelanggan.
12. Mereka merekrut pengasuh balita dari luar pulau.
13. Pertumbuhan ekonomi di kota tersebut mengalami kenaikan.
14. Saat ini banyak produk kecantikan yang berfungsi sebagai peremajaan kulit.
15. Unsur hara tanah sangat diperlukan bagi tumbuhan.

Noun Phrase

Now let’s move into the variation of noun (nomina or kata benda) which is frasa nomina (noun phrase). A noun phrase or frasa nomina is a combination of two or more nomina. It is usually used in a complex or compound sentence. There are three types of Indonesian noun phrase. Here are Indonesian noun phrase structure:

1. Frasa Nomina Modikatif (Modificative Noun Phrase)

Frasa Nomina Modikatif (Modificative Noun Phrase) is a combination of two or more nouns which have different functions. The first one is giving more explanation on the other one. For example: rumah mungil (a small house), bulan pertama (the first moon), lemari besi (a vault). In the sentences, you can see in the sentences as follow:

• Sepeda lipat dapat menjadi pilihan alternatif yang tepat sebagai pengganti sepeda biasa. (A folding bike could be an alternative for a common bicycle.)
• Dokumen penting seperti sertifikat rumah sebaiknya disimpan didalam lemari besi agar lebih aman. (Precious documents such as certificate of belongings should be kept save in the vault.)

2. Frasa Nomina Koordinatif (Coordinative Noun Phrase)

Frasa Nomina Koordinatif (Coordinative Noun Phrase) is a group of nouns which have equal status in the sentence. Together, they form a meaning and will form a different meaning when are separated. For example:

• Aku sudah siap lahir batin jika memang ayah harus pergi meninggalkan kami untuk selama-lamanya. (I am spiritually and physically ready if my father passed away.)
• Para ibu yang memiliki anak-anak usia pertumbuhan disarankan memasukkan sayur mayur ke dalam daftar makanan wajib setiap harinya. (It is advised to all mother to add vegetables in their children’s menu.)
• Setiap warna negara memiliki hak dan kewajiban yang sama yang diatur dalam UUD 1945. (Every civilian has their right and obligation which regulated by UUD 1945.)

3. Frasa Nomina Apositif (Appositive Noun Phrase)

Frasa Nomina Apositif (Appositive Noun Phrase) is a group of nouns which some parts of the nouns have a role as the substitution of the headword. For example:

• Jakarta, Ibukota Negara Indonesiasaat ini kembali dilanda banjir yang telah menjadi bencana musiman selama beberapa tahun lamanya. (Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia, is currently being stricken by flood which is the most common disaster for the past few years.)
• Burung Cendrawasih, burung langka dari Irianmenjadi salah satu kekayaan satwa yang hanya dimiliki oleh negara Indonesia. (Cendrawasih, an exotic bird from Irian, is a species that could be found only in Indonesia.)
• Jepang, Negeri Matahari terbit, bukan hanya terkenal dengan keindahan sejuta sakuranya saja, tetapi juga terkenal dengan negara sejuta stasiun. (Japan, the country of the rising sun, is famous of its cherry blossoms and of the number of the train station.)
• Liburan tahun depan kami berencana ingin mengunjungi Bali, Pulau dewata. (We planned to have a vacation in Bali, Dewata Island, on the next occasion.)

Here is the article about noun and Indonesian noun phrase structure. Hope you enjoy it and remember practice makes perfect. Good luck.