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Learn Basic Indonesian Language with The Experts

Berjumpa lagi di MasteringBahasa! Hello! How are you? Thank you so much for visiting us in MasteringBahasa! In this article, we will guide you to Learn Basic Indonesian Language! This article is related with How to Learn Bahasa article. In How to Learn Bahasa article, it guides you how and where to learn Indonesian language, for example, by listening Indonesian music, watching Indonesian movies, reading Indonesian books, et cetera! In this article, whae would like to teach you how to express what you are feeling or what you need by saying them in sentences. Basically, unlike English sentences which need tenses, as what we have mentioned in Indonesian Verb To Be, Indonesian sentences  do not require any kind of tenses form.

The basic Indonesian sentences formula is:

Subject + Verb + Object

You can add Indonesian Adjectives, Indonesian Adverbs and Indonesian Prepositions, according to your need.Indonesian language does not have different kinds of verbs for different tenses, as you can see in Indonesian Grammar.

Yet, before moving to the main article, we would like to give you a brief reviews about important structure of Indonesian language:

1. Indonesian Pronouns

Can be used in Subjects and Objects. Here is a quick-to-learn list of Indonesian Pronouns. Kindly check the article if you need to learn more of Indonesian pronouns!
Indonesian Pronouns[/th] [th]English PronounsAku[/td] [td]IKamu[/td] [td]YouHe, She[/td] [td]DiaKita[/td] [td]We (inclusive)Kami[/td] [td]We (exclusive)Kalian[/td] [td]You (Plural)They[/td] [td]Mereka

2. Verbs

You can see more verbs in Indonesian Verbs and Indonesian Grammar. Here is a quick-to-learn list of Indonesian verbs. Kindly check the articles to learn more of Indonesian verbs!
Indonesian Verbs[/th] [th]English VerbsLapar[/td] [td]HungryBerbicara[/td] [td]SpeakMelihat[/td] [td]SeeDengar[/td] [td]HearMendengarkan[/td] [td]ListenMemasak[/td] [td]CookingAmbil[/td] [td]TakeMenerima[/td] [td]ReceiveMemberi[/td] [td]GiveMakan[/td] [td]EatMinum[/td] [td]DrinkTidur[/td] [td]SleepMendorong[/td] [td]PushMenarik[/td] [td]Pull

Bersiul[/td] [td]Whistle

3. Nouns

You can found Indonesian Nouns lists in the article of Indonesian Grammar. You can also find nouns list that suitable for your traveling purpose in Indonesian Traveling Phrases too! Here is a quick-to-learn list of Indonesian nouns. Kindly check the articles to learn more of Indonesian nouns!
Indonesian Nouns[/th] [th]English NounsPakaian[/td] [td]ClothesMakanan[/td] [td]FoodMinuman[/td] [td]DrinkKomputer[/td] [td]ComputerBuku[/td] [td]BookKamus[/td] [td]DictionaryTas[/td] [td]BagDompet[/td] [td]WalletPonsel[/td] [td]HandphonePintu[/td] [td]DoorKursi[/td] [td]ChairMeja[/td] [td]TableMajalah[/td] [td]MagazineRumah[/td] [td]House

Helm[/td] [td]Helmet

Now we are moving to learn Basic Indonesian language. This article guides you to understand basic Indonesian language.

1. Basic Indonesian Sentence

As we have mentioned before, the ultimate and basic Indonesian sentence structures only consist of Subject + Verb + Object. Here are some examples:

  1. Saya makan nasi goreng. (I eat fried rice.)
    Saya[/td] [td]Makan[/td] [td]Nasi Goreng.Subject[/td] [td]Verb[/td] [td]Object
  2. Saya membaca buku. (I read book)
    Saya[/td] [td]membaca[/td] [td]buku.Subject[/td] [td]Verb[/td] [td]Object
  3. Saya menonton televisi. (I watch television.)
    Saya[/td] [td]menonton[/td] [td]televisi.Subject[/td] [td]Verb[/td] [td]Object

2. Indonesian Sentence with “to be”

But in Indonesian sentences, although there are no kind of tenses formula, there are also kind of tenses by “to be” verbs. By adding “to be” verbs, we are mentioning something that we had done in the past, we are doing in present, or what will we do in the future. But do not worry! Even if you are adding “to be” verbs, you don’t have to change the verbs to suit the “to be”s. For examples:

  1. Saya sudah makan nasi goreng. (I had eaten fried rice)
    Saya[/td] [td]sudah[/td] [td]makan[/td] [td]Nasi Goreng.Subject[/td] [td]“to be”[/td] [td]Verb[/td] [td]Object
  2. Saya akan menonton televisi. (I will watch television.)

    Saya[/td] [td]akan[/td] [td]menonton[/td] [td]televisi.Subject[/td] [td]“to be”[/td] [td]Verb[/td] [td]Object

3. Indonesian Sentence with Adverbs

When you need to add adverb of places or time, you can do it too! See Indonesian Adverbs to learn more of adverbs that are super useful to be used! If you are mentioning adverbs, it means you let the listener to understand where and when your plan or activity has been done. Here are some examples:

  1. Saya sudah makan nasi goreng tadi pagi. (I had eaten fried rice this morning.)

    Saya[/td] [td]sudah[/td] [td]makan[/td] [td]nasi goreng[/td][td]tadi pagi.[/td] [/tr]Subject[/td] [td]”to be”[/td] [td]Verb[/td] [td]Object[/td][td]adverb of time[/td] [/tr]

  2. Saya akan membaca buku di perpustakaan. (I will read book in library.)

    Saya[/td] [td]akan[/td] [td]membaca[/td] [td]buku[/td][td]di[/td][td] perpustakaan.[/td] [/tr]Subject[/td] [td]”to be”[/td] [td]Verb[/td] [td]Object[/td][td]preposition[/td][td]adverb of place[/td] [/tr]

  3. Saya selalu tidur siang sepulang sekolah. (I always take a nap after school.)

    Saya[/td] [td]selalu[/td] [td]tidur siang[/td] [td]sepulang sekolah.Subject[/td] [td]Adverb of frequency[/td] [td]Verb[/td] [td]adverb of time[/td] [/tr]

4. Indonesian Questions Structures

Can we use these sentences order into interrogative sentence? Of course we can! In Basic Indonesian Question Structures, we have discussed about 5W+1H which is available in both English and Indonesian language. Kindly check the article to learn about those 5W+1H Indonesian version! Now let’s see if we can apply basic Indonesian sentence into Question sentences!

  1. Kamu makan apa? (What are you eating?)

    Kamu[/td] [td]makan[/td] [td]apa?[/td]  [/tr]Subject[/td] [td]Verb[/td] [td]Question Word[/td] [/tr]

  2. Kapan kamu akan membaca buku? (When will you read a book?)

    Kapan[/td] [td]kamu[/td] [td]akan[/td] [td]membaca[/td][td]buku?[/td] [/tr]Question Word[/td] [td]Subject[/td] [td]Preposition[/td] [td]Verb[/td][td]Object[/td] [/tr]

  3. Siapa dia? (Who is he?)

    Siapa[/td] [td]dia?[/td] [/tr]Question Word[/td] [td]Subject

  4. Apakah kamu lapar? (Are you hungry?)

    Apakah[/td] [td]kamu[/td][td]lapar?[/td] [/tr]
    Question Word[/td] [td]Subject[/td][td]Verb

5. Indonesian Sentences with Adjectives

In Indonesian Adjectives, we have discussed that adjectives are used to complement nouns and ways to learn basic Indonesian Language. Let we see the application of adjectives in sentences:

  1. Saya makan nasi goreng yang enak. (I eat delicious fried rice.)

    Saya[/td] [td]makan[/td] [td]nasi goreng[/td] [td]yang enak.
    Subject[/td] [td]verb[/td] [td]Object[/td] [td]Adjective

  2. Seorang pria tua berbicara di panggung. (An old man is speaking the stage)

    Seorang[/td] [td]pria[/td] [td]tua[/td] [td]berbicara[/td][td]di panggung.[/td] [/tr]
    Article[/td] [td]Subject[/td] [td]Adjective[/td] [td]Verb[/td][td]adverb of place[/td] [/tr]

  3. Novel berjudul “Mirah dari Banda” adalah sebuah novel menarik. (A novel entitled “Mirah dari Banda is an interesting novel.)

    Novel[/td] [td]berjudul “Mirah dari Banda”[/td] [td]adalah[/td] [td]sebuah[/td] [td]novel[/td][td]menarik
    Subject[/td] [td]Adverb[/td] [td]Preposition[/td] [td]Article[/td] [td]Subject[/td][td]Adjective

6. Greetings with Indonesian Sentences

Just like English greetings, Indonesian greetings does not have any kind of special form. Like, the forms are already there since the beginning. MasteringBahasa has discussed about greetings in How to Introduce Yourself and Common Greetings in Indonesian language. You have to check them since they are very useful! In these examples, let’s see if we can combine greetings with sentences:

  1. Selamat pagi! Sudah makan? (Good morning! Have eaten yet?)
    Selamat pagi![/td] [td]Sudah[/td] [td]Makan?
    Greetings[/td] [td]”To be”[/td] [td]Verb
  2. Selamat malam. Apakah saya mengganggumu? (Good evening. Am I bothering you?)
    Selamat malam.[/td] [td]Apakah[/td] [td]saya[/td][td]mengganggu[/td][td]-mu?
    Greetings[/td] [td]Question Word[/td] [td]Subject[/td][td]Verb[/td][td]Pronoun
  3. Terima kasih! Hati-hati di jalan! (Thank you! Be careful on the road!)

    Terima Kasih.[/td] [td]Hati-hati[/td] [td]di[/td][td]jalan!
    Greetings[/td] [td]Verb[/td] [td]Preposition[/td][td]Object

7. Indonesian Sentences with Indonesian Phrases

If you noticed there are some examples that are imperfect, for example a sentence which does not contain object, it means they are clause. However, when a noun or a verb is combined with adjectives, it means they are phrases. Phrases also can be a combination between words with same degree, like verb+verb, noun+noun, et cetera! Kindly check the article of Indonesian Common Phrases and Indonesian Conversation Phrases to learn for useful Indonesian phrases! But here are some examples:

  1. Wanita cantik itu menunggu di teras rumahku. (That beautiful lady is waiting in my house terrace.)

    Wanita cantik[/td] [td]itu[/td] [td]menunggu[/td][td]di[/td][td]teras rumah[/td][td]-ku
    Phrase[/td] [td]Preposition[/td] [td]Verb[/td][td]Preposition[/td][td]Phrase, adverb of place[/td][td]pronoun

  2. Ada seekor anjing besar di taman. (There is a big dog in the park.)

    Ada[/td] [td]seekor[/td] [td]anjing besar[/td][td]di[/td][td]taman
    Article[/td] [td]Quantifier[/td] [td]Phrase[/td][td]Preposition[/td][td]adverb of place

  3. Ibu membuat jus segar di dapur. (Mother makes fresh juice in the kitchen.)
    Ibu[/td] [td]membuat[/td] [td]jus segar[/td][td]di[/td][td]dapur
    Subject[/td] [td]Verb[/td] [td]Phrase[/td][td]Preposition[/td][td]Phrase, adverb of place

So those are basic sentences form in Indonesian language! Pretty easy right to Learn Basic Indonesian Language? Thank you so much for joining us today! Stay tune in MasteringBahasa for more useful articles you can learn! Don’t forget to always practice-practice-and-practice! Terima kasih! Sampai jumpa lagi!