A1 Sentence Structure 1 min read Fácil

Subject-Verb Agreement

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Practícalo

Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds

Indonesian verbs never change based on the subject, making it one of the easiest languages to master.

  • Rule 1: Verbs stay the same regardless of 'I', 'you', or 'they'. Example: 'Saya makan' (I eat), 'Mereka makan' (They eat).
  • Rule 2: No plural forms for verbs. Example: 'Dia lari' (He runs), 'Kami lari' (We run).
  • Rule 3: Time is indicated by words like 'sudah' (already) or 'akan' (will), not verb changes.
Subject + Verb = Sentence

Verb Invariance Table

Subject Verb (Makan) Translation
Saya
makan
I eat
Kamu
makan
You eat
Dia
makan
He/She eats
Kami
makan
We eat
Mereka
makan
They eat
Anda
makan
You (formal) eat

Meanings

Indonesian is an isolating language, meaning verbs do not conjugate for person, number, or gender.

1

Base Verb Usage

The verb remains in its base form regardless of the subject.

“Saya tidur.”

“Kamu tidur.”

Reference Table

Reference table for Subject-Verb Agreement
Form Structure Example
Affirmative
Subj + Verb
Saya makan
Negative
Subj + tidak + Verb
Saya tidak makan
Question
Apakah + Subj + Verb?
Apakah kamu makan?
Future
Subj + akan + Verb
Saya akan makan
Past
Subj + sudah + Verb
Saya sudah makan
Continuous
Subj + sedang + Verb
Saya sedang makan

Espectro de formalidad

Formal
Saya sedang makan.

Saya sedang makan. (Daily life)

Neutral
Saya makan.

Saya makan. (Daily life)

Informal
Aku makan.

Aku makan. (Daily life)

Jerga
Gue makan.

Gue makan. (Daily life)

The Stability of Indonesian Verbs

Verb Root

Subjects

  • Saya I
  • Kamu You
  • Mereka They

Ejemplos por nivel

1

Saya makan nasi.

I eat rice.

2

Kamu minum air.

You drink water.

3

Dia tidur siang.

He/She takes a nap.

4

Mereka pergi sekolah.

They go to school.

1

Saya tidak suka pedas.

I don't like spicy.

2

Apakah kamu mengerti?

Do you understand?

3

Kami sudah sampai.

We have arrived.

4

Mereka akan datang besok.

They will come tomorrow.

1

Saya sedang membaca buku.

I am reading a book.

2

Dia tidak mau ikut rapat.

He doesn't want to join the meeting.

3

Kami harus segera pergi.

We must leave immediately.

4

Mereka bisa bicara bahasa Indonesia.

They can speak Indonesian.

1

Saya telah menyelesaikan laporan itu.

I have finished that report.

2

Dia tidak pernah datang tepat waktu.

He never comes on time.

3

Kami akan mempertimbangkan usulan Anda.

We will consider your proposal.

4

Mereka sedang mendiskusikan masalah ini.

They are discussing this problem.

1

Saya berpendapat bahwa kebijakan ini perlu ditinjau.

I am of the opinion that this policy needs review.

2

Dia tidak menyadari dampak tindakannya.

He does not realize the impact of his actions.

3

Kami senantiasa berusaha memberikan yang terbaik.

We always strive to provide the best.

4

Mereka tidak mengindahkan peringatan tersebut.

They did not heed the warning.

1

Saya senantiasa menjunjung tinggi nilai-nilai tersebut.

I always uphold those values.

2

Dia tidak mengindahkan norma yang berlaku.

He does not observe the prevailing norms.

3

Kami berupaya mengimplementasikan strategi baru.

We are attempting to implement a new strategy.

4

Mereka tidak memungkiri adanya kesulitan.

They do not deny the existence of difficulties.

Fácil de confundir

Subject-Verb Agreement vs Affixation (me-/ber-)

Learners think these are conjugations.

Subject-Verb Agreement vs Passive Voice (di-)

Learners confuse passive markers with conjugation.

Subject-Verb Agreement vs Reduplication

Learners think repeating a verb changes its subject.

Errores comunes

✗

Saya makans

✓

Saya makan

Do not add 's' to verbs.
✗

Dia makanning

✓

Dia makan

Do not add -ing.
✗

Kami makano

✓

Kami makan

Do not add vowel endings.
✗

Mereka makant

✓

Mereka makan

Do not add plural markers to verbs.
✗

Saya sudah makans

✓

Saya sudah makan

Verb remains base form.
✗

Apakah kamu makans?

✓

Apakah kamu makan?

No conjugation in questions.
✗

Dia tidak makans

✓

Dia tidak makan

Negation does not trigger conjugation.
✗

Kami sedang makans

✓

Kami sedang makan

Continuous aspect does not change verb form.
✗

Dia akan makans

✓

Dia akan makan

Future tense does not change verb form.
✗

Mereka harus makans

✓

Mereka harus makan

Modal verbs do not affect main verb.
✗

Saya berpendapats

✓

Saya berpendapat

Even complex verbs remain invariant.
✗

Dia menyadaris

✓

Dia menyadari

Root form is stable.
✗

Kami mengimplementasikans

✓

Kami mengimplementasikan

No plural agreement.

Patrones de oraciones

Saya ___ ___.

Apakah kamu ___ ___?

Saya tidak ___ ___.

Mereka akan ___ ___.

Real World Usage

Texting constant

Lagi apa?

Ordering food very common

Saya mau nasi goreng.

Job interview common

Saya bisa bekerja keras.

Travel common

Saya pergi ke Bali.

Social media very common

Saya sedang liburan.

Food delivery app common

Saya pesan sate.

💡

Don't overthink

If you find yourself looking for a conjugation table, stop! It doesn't exist.
⚠️

Avoid English habits

Do not add -s or -ing to your verbs.
🎯

Focus on pronouns

Since verbs don't change, the pronoun is the most important part of the sentence.
💬

Politeness

Use 'Anda' for formal situations instead of 'Kamu'.

Smart Tips

Just use the base verb.

Dia eats. → Dia makan.

Use 'sedang' + base verb.

Kami are eating. → Kami sedang makan.

Use 'akan' + base verb.

Mereka will eats. → Mereka akan makan.

Use 'tidak' + base verb.

Saya did not eats. → Saya tidak makan.

Pronunciación

ma-KAN

Stress

Stress usually falls on the second to last syllable.

Question

Kamu makan? (rising pitch at end)

Indicates a yes/no question.

Memorízalo

Mnemotecnia

Indonesian verbs are like a rock; they never move, no matter who stands next to them.

Asociación visual

Imagine a giant, heavy stone statue of a person eating. No matter who walks up to it (a child, a king, a group), the statue stays exactly the same.

Rhyme

No matter who, no matter when, the verb stays the same, again and again.

Story

Budi is a very lazy verb. He refuses to change his clothes for anyone. Whether the King visits or a beggar walks by, Budi stays in his pajamas. That is why Indonesian verbs are so easy!

Word Web

makantidurpergiminumlaribaca

Desafío

Write 5 sentences using different subjects (I, you, we, they, he) with the same verb 'minum'.

Notas culturales

Using the correct pronoun is more important than verb conjugation.

In Jakarta, pronouns change (Gue/Lo), but verbs still don't.

In formal writing, the subject is rarely dropped.

Indonesian is an Austronesian language, which typically lacks inflectional verb agreement.

Inicios de conversación

“

Apa yang kamu makan?

“

Kamu pergi ke mana?

“

Apakah kamu suka kopi?

“

Apa rencana kamu besok?

Temas para diario

Write about what you eat for breakfast.
Describe your daily routine.
Write about a trip you took.
Discuss your future goals.

Errores comunes

Incorrect

Correcto

Incorrect

Correcto

Incorrect

Correcto

Incorrect

Correcto

Test Yourself

Fill in the correct verb form.

Saya ___ (makan) nasi.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: makan
Verbs are invariant.
Find the mistake. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Dia makans nasi.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: makans
No -s suffix.
Which sentence is correct? Opción múltiple

Choose the correct one.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Saya makan.
Base form is correct.
Reorder the words. Sentence Reorder

Arrange the words in the correct order:

All words placed

Click words above to build the sentence

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Saya makan nasi
Subject-Verb-Object order.
Translate to Indonesian. Traducción

They drink water.

Answer starts with: Mer...

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Mereka minum air
No conjugation.
Which is the negative form? Opción múltiple

Saya ___ makan.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: tidak
Tidak is for verbs.
Fill in the future form.

Saya ___ makan.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: akan
Akan indicates future.
Build a sentence. Sentence Building

Subject: Kami, Verb: pergi

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Kami pergi
Simple S-V structure.

Score: /8

Ejercicios de practica

8 exercises
Fill in the correct verb form.

Saya ___ (makan) nasi.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: makan
Verbs are invariant.
Find the mistake. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Dia makans nasi.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: makans
No -s suffix.
Which sentence is correct? Opción múltiple

Choose the correct one.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Saya makan.
Base form is correct.
Reorder the words. Sentence Reorder

makan / Saya / nasi

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Saya makan nasi
Subject-Verb-Object order.
Translate to Indonesian. Traducción

They drink water.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Mereka minum air
No conjugation.
Which is the negative form? Opción múltiple

Saya ___ makan.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: tidak
Tidak is for verbs.
Fill in the future form.

Saya ___ makan.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: akan
Akan indicates future.
Build a sentence. Sentence Building

Subject: Kami, Verb: pergi

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Kami pergi
Simple S-V structure.

Score: /8

Preguntas frecuentes (8)

No, Indonesian verbs are invariant.

It is still 'makan'.

No, verbs do not change for plural subjects.

Use 'sudah' before the verb.

Yes, it is universal.

That is for focus/transitivity, not subject agreement.

Yes, in casual speech if it is clear.

No, it is much easier due to no conjugation.

Scaffolded Practice

1

1

2

2

3

3

4

4

Mastery Progress

Needs Practice

Improving

Strong

Mastered

In Other Languages

Spanish low

Conjugation (como, comes, come)

Indonesian has zero conjugation.

French low

Conjugation (mange, manges, mangeons)

Indonesian lacks inflectional endings.

German low

Conjugation (esse, isst, essen)

Indonesian is morphologically simpler.

Japanese partial

Politeness levels (taberu, tabemasu)

Indonesian verbs are truly invariant.

Arabic low

Conjugation (akaltu, akalta, akalti)

Indonesian lacks gender/number agreement.

Chinese high

Isolating structure

Both are very similar in this aspect.

Learning Path

Prerequisites

Previous
Simple Present Tense
Next
Common Verbs

Related Grammar Rules

A0

Basic Sentence Structure
A0

Existential 'Ada'
A1

Imperative Requests
B1

Subordinate Clauses
B1

Complex Sentences
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