Now, you may have learned about how to spell Indonesian words. So, let’s step a bit forward by trying to make Indonesian simple sentence.
(If you haven’t learned, please take a bit step backward to see about “how to spell” articles in Basic Learning. You can find them on the menu or just click here)
The same pattern has been used since more than 40 years ago in our elementary school. It has proven to be effective to teach pupils to learn how to make proper and complete sentences.
This time, I would try the same to you. Of course, you will need to practice by yourselves but the pattern is so simple that you should not find any difficulties.
Introduction to INI and ITU
Before, I start the lesson about the pattern of Indonesian simple sentence, let’s spare me some time to introduce you what are the meaning of INI and ITU.
These two words are equal to English THIS and THAT. Since, I don’t like to be too theoretical , let’s forget about the class words they belong too.
INI has the same meaning as THIS and ITU is the same as THAT.
INI is used to appoint something or someone close to a speaker. Meantime, ITU is utilized for the thing that is a bit farther.
The pattern of Indonesian Simple Sentence
The basic pattern of the sentence is as below written
INI/ITU + NOUN (KATA BENDA)
INI/ITU + PRONOUN (KATA GANTI ORANG)
INI/ITU + ADJECTIVE (KATA SIFAT)
The examples
INI / ITU + NOUN
- Ini buku ==> I-ni bu-ku = This is a book
- Itu meja ==> I-tu me-ja = That is a table
INI / ITU + PRONOUN
- Ini ayah ==> I-ni a-yah = This is father
- Itu ibu ==> I-tu i-bu = That is mother
INI / ITU + ADJECTIVE
- Ini jelek ==> I-ni je-lek = This is bad
- Itu bagus ==> I-tu ba-gus = That is good
As I promised, this article is just about Indonesia simple sentence. So, as you can see it’s so easy to make them. You just need to put one of Noun, pronoun, or adjective behind INI or ITU. No auxiliaries or “to be”, such as is, am, are has to be added behind the words.
Then.. You get your first Indonesian complete and proper sentence.
Please try again using these new words. By practicing this pattern, you can also learn another 10 new words. If you forget how to pronounce A,I,U,E,O in Indonesian, please just click the Basic Learning category, then you will find the ways)
New Words
| WORDS | SYLLABLES | MEANING |
|---|---|---|
| KURSI | KUR-SI | A CHAIR |
| MOBIL | MO-BIL | A CAR |
| SEPEDA | SE-PE-DA | A BICYCLE |
| ADIK | A-DIK | A YOUNGER SISTER/BROTHER |
| KAKAK | KA-KAK | A ELDER SISTER/BROTHER |
| BATU | BA-TU | A STONE |
| GELAS | GE-LAS | A GLASS |
| BAJU | BA-JU | A CLOTH |
| CELANA | CE-LA-NA | PANTS |
| DASI | DA-SI | A TIE |
(Please take a look on Noun articles to learn a bit about the words in Indonesian)
Now you can start your practice. If you have any difficulties or need further information, please just leave it on comment box. I will reply as soon as I can.
Have a nice practice!