Past tense with pernah (“ever”)
Pernah is a word meaning “been” or “ever.” When placed before the main verb, like sudah, it expresses the past tense, but is not usually translated in English. It is commonly used together with sudah to emphasize past action.
Saya pernah lihat itu. I have seen that.
Saya sudah pernah lihat itu. I have seen that before.
Pernah is often used on its own.
Anda pernah ke sana? Have you ever been there?
Saya pernah ke sana. I have been there before.
When used negatively with tidak or belum, pernah has the sense of “never” or “not yet”:
Saya tidak pernah makan daging. I have never eaten meat.
Saya belum pernah ke sana. I have not yet been there.
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Negation
Tidak, meaning “not,” is the most common negative word, used to negate verbs and adjectives. Spoken contracted forms of tidak are ndak, gak and nggak/enggak.
Hotél ini tidak bagus. This hotel is not good.
Dia tidak pergi. He/she is not going.
Kenapa John enggak datang? Why didn’t John come?
Whenever possible, however, Indonesians prefer to use kurang (“less”) or belum (“not yet”) instead of tidak because the latter seems to carry a sense of “finality” or to be too “strong.” Kurang in this sense means “not really” or “not very”:
Hotél ini kurang baik.
This hotel is not very good.
Saya kurang suka itu.
I don’t really like it.
Dia kurang mengerti.
He doesn’t really understand.
Kenapa Joe belum datang?
Why hasn’t Joe arrived yet?
Belum (“not yet”) is also more commonly used than tidak, as a response to a question involving time or action.
Dia sudah pergi? Belum. Has he gone? Not yet.
Anda sudah pernah ke Bali? Belum.
Have you ever been to Bali? Not yet.
Bukan is used to negate nouns. Tidak is used to negate adjectives, as explained earlier.
Bukan ini, itu. Not this (one), that (one).
Itu bukan lukisan tapi batik.
That is not a painting but batik.
Itu bukan urusan saya.
That is not my business.
Jangan! (“Don’t!”) is used to express negative imperatives instead of tidak.
Jangan pergi! Don’t go!
Jangan mau! Don’t want!
(lit: Don’t accept it!)
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Nouns
| anak child | orang person, human being |
| buku book | nama name |
| makanan food | minuman drink |
| mata eye | hari day |
| mobil car | bis bus |
| kamar room | rumah house, home |
| kursi chair, seat | méja table |
| tempat place, seat | kota town, city |
| jalan street, road | kunci key |
| kawan friend | air water |
| suami husband | isteri wife |
| nasi rice (cooked) | gelas glass |
| gunung mountain | pantai beach |
| karcis ticket | barang goods, item |
| hal matter | masalah problem |
| muka face | belakang back |
| bahasa language | negara country |
| séndok spoon | garpu fork |
| piring plate | hotél hotel |
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Articles
Unlike English, Indonesian does not use any articles (“a,” “an,” “the”) before nouns:
Saya akan naik bis ke Bali. I will take the bus to Bali.
Kita cari hotél yang murah. We are looking for a cheap hotel.
Kita mau séwa kamar. We want to rent a room.
Ada kunci? Do you have the key?
The sense of the English definite article (“the”) can often be conveyed, however, by the possessive suffix -nya (literally: “his, hers, its, yours”) or by the demonstrative pronouns ini and itu (“this” and “that”):
Orangnya tinggi. The person [is] tall.
Bis itu di mana? Where is the [that] bus?
Batik