Indonesian Verbs

Actions speak louder than words

Types of Verbs in Indonesian

• 1. Simple verbs without affixes added to the root word

• 2. Verbs with the prefix “ber-” added to the root word

• 3. Verbs with the prefix “me-” added to the root word

Simple Verbs

• These verbs are used in simple statements that follow the structure Subject + Verb

• They are therefore generally intransitive but can also be made transitive by adding the prefix “me-” and the suffix “kan-”.

• Some of them are both transitive and intransitive including “makan”, “minum” and “naik”.

Verbs With the Prefix “ber-”

• These verbs are always intransitive and can only connect to the object of the sentence via a preposition such as “di”, “ke”, “dari”, “dengan”, “pada” and so on.

• The only exceptions to this are the verbs “bermain” (to play) and “belajar” (to study) which are both transitive.

Other meanings of the “ber-” Prefix

• “ber-” attached to an object (noun) is

another way of expressing possession :

Saya beranak dua orang ( I have two

children)

Saya bermobil Mercedes (I have a Mercedes car)

Other meanings of the “ber-” Prefix

• “ber-” attached to an item of clothing or accessories is another way of expressing

using or wearing :

Saya bercelana jins Levi’s( I am wearing

Levi’s jeans)

Saya berkacamata hitam Ray Ban (I am wearing Ray Ban sunglasses)

Verbs With the Prefix “me~”

• These verbs are always transitive and must therefore connect directly to the object of the sentence.

• There are five “me~” prefixes and their use is determined by the first letter of the root word.

• The five prefixes are “me~”, “mem~”, “men~”, “meng~”, “meny-” and “menge~”.

Prefix “me~”

l, m, n, r, w & y

Prefix “me~”

l, m, n, r, w & y

melamar memandikanmenasehatimerawatmewawancaraimeyakinkan

Prefix “mem~”

b, f, (p) & v

Prefix “mem~”

b, f, (p) & v

membelimemfokuskanme(m)ukalmempunyai *memvaksinasikan

Prefix “men~”

c, d, j, (t) & z

Prefix “men~”

c, d, j, (t) & z

mencucimendidikmenjualmen(t)ontonmenziarahi

Prefix “meng-”

a, e, g, h, i, (k), o & u

Prefix “meng-”

a, e, g, h, i, (k), o & u

mengambilmengobatimengejamengundangmenggunakanmenghabiskanmenginjakmeng(k)umpulkan

Prefix “meny~”

(s)

Prefix “meny~”

(s) meny(s)uratimeny(s)akiti

Prefix “menge~”

This prefix is attached to all single-syllable verbs only.

Prefix “menge~”

This prefix is attached to all single-syllable verbs only.

mengecatmengebom

Attention !!!!

• If the root verb begins with one of the letters in brackets (t,p,k & s), then that letter is dropped when the transitive verb is formed. There are very few exceptions to this rule, the only common one being “mempunyai” where the “p” is not dropped.

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