A1 Time Expressions 1 min read आसान

Time Markers

सीखा हुआ चिह्नित करें
Practice it

Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds

Indonesian time markers are flexible; place them at the start or end of a sentence to define when things happen.

  • Place time words at the start of the sentence for emphasis: 'Besok saya pergi' (Tomorrow I go).
  • Place time words after the verb for standard flow: 'Saya pergi besok' (I go tomorrow).
  • Use 'sudah' for past, 'sedang' for present, and 'akan' for future actions.
Time Marker + Subject + Verb OR Subject + Verb + Time Marker

Meanings

Time markers are words used to specify when an action occurs. Unlike European languages, Indonesian verbs do not change based on time.

1

Absolute Time

Specific points in time like days or clock times.

“Saya bangun jam enam.”

“Hari ini panas.”

2

Relative Time

Markers indicating completion or ongoing status.

“Saya sudah makan.”

“Dia sedang tidur.”

Time Marker Placement

Time Marker Position Example
Kemarin Start/End Kemarin saya tidur
Sekarang Start/End Saya tidur sekarang
Besok Start/End Besok saya tidur
Sudah Before Verb Saya sudah tidur
Sedang Before Verb Saya sedang tidur
Akan Before Verb Saya akan tidur

Reference Table

Reference table for Time Markers
Form Structure Example
Affirmative Subj + Verb + Time Saya makan kemarin
Negative Subj + Belum/Tidak + Verb Saya belum makan
Question Subj + Verb + Time + ? Kamu makan kapan?
Future Subj + Akan + Verb Saya akan makan
Past Subj + Sudah + Verb Saya sudah makan
Present Subj + Sedang + Verb Saya sedang makan

औपचारिकता का स्तर

औपचारिक
Saya sedang makan.

Saya sedang makan. (Dining)

तटस्थ
Saya lagi makan.

Saya lagi makan. (Dining)

अनौपचारिक
Lagi makan nih.

Lagi makan nih. (Dining)

बोलचाल
Makan dulu ya.

Makan dulu ya. (Dining)

Time Marker Categories

Waktu

Past

  • Kemarin Yesterday
  • Tadi Earlier

Present

  • Sekarang Now
  • Sedang Currently

Future

  • Besok Tomorrow
  • Nanti Later
Sign up free to read full explanation

Examples by Level

1

Saya makan nasi kemarin.

I ate rice yesterday.

2

Besok saya pergi.

Tomorrow I go.

3

Hari ini saya senang.

Today I am happy.

4

Saya belajar sekarang.

I am studying now.

1

Saya sudah makan.

I have already eaten.

2

Dia sedang bekerja.

He is working.

3

Kami akan datang nanti.

We will come later.

4

Tadi saya menelepon.

I called earlier.

1

Minggu depan, kami akan berlibur.

Next week, we will go on vacation.

2

Sebelumnya, saya tinggal di Jakarta.

Previously, I lived in Jakarta.

3

Setelah itu, kita makan.

After that, we eat.

4

Akhirnya, dia datang.

Finally, he arrived.

1

Sudah sejak lama saya ingin ke sana.

I have wanted to go there for a long time.

2

Sementara itu, tim bekerja.

Meanwhile, the team is working.

3

Kerap kali dia terlambat.

Often he is late.

4

Seringkali kita lupa.

Often we forget.

1

Kala itu, dunia terasa berbeda.

At that time, the world felt different.

2

Sejauh ini, hasilnya memuaskan.

So far, the results are satisfying.

3

Menjelang sore, suasana tenang.

Towards evening, the atmosphere is calm.

4

Seketika itu juga dia pergi.

Immediately he left.

1

Dahulu kala, hiduplah seorang raja.

Once upon a time, there lived a king.

2

Kian hari kian membaik.

Day by day it gets better.

3

Tatkala fajar menyingsing, ia berangkat.

As dawn broke, he departed.

4

Kelak, kau akan mengerti.

Someday, you will understand.

Easily Confused

Time Markers बनाम Tadi vs Kemarin

Both mean past.

Time Markers बनाम Nanti vs Besok

Both mean future.

Time Markers बनाम Sudah vs Sedang

Both relate to action.

सामान्य गलतियाँ

✗

Saya makankan kemarin

✓

Saya makan kemarin

Do not add suffixes for tense.
✗

Kemarin saya makan nasi

✓

Kemarin saya makan nasi

This is actually correct, but don't forget the subject.
✗

Saya kemarin makan

✓

Saya makan kemarin

While possible, it's better to keep the verb and object together.
✗

Saya makan besok

✓

Saya akan makan besok

Need 'akan' for future.
✗

Saya sudah makan kemarin

✓

Saya makan kemarin

Don't double-mark past tense.
✗

Sedang saya makan

✓

Saya sedang makan

Subject must come first.
✗

Akan saya pergi

✓

Saya akan pergi

Subject first.
✗

Sudah saya makan

✓

Saya sudah makan

Passive voice confusion.
✗

Besok saya pergi ke pasar

✓

Besok saya akan pergi ke pasar

Need future marker for clarity.
✗

Tadi saya sudah makan

✓

Tadi saya makan

Redundant markers.

Sentence Patterns

Saya ___ makan.

___ saya pergi.

Saya pergi ke pasar ___.

Dia ___ bekerja ___.

Real World Usage

Texting constant

Udah sampai?

Food Delivery very common

Sedang diproses.

Job Interview common

Saya sudah berpengalaman.

Travel common

Besok saya berangkat.

Social Media very common

Lagi liburan nih!

News constant

Tadi pagi terjadi...

Sign up free to see all examples
💡

Keep it simple

Don't overthink tense. Just add the marker.
⚠️

Don't conjugate

Never add suffixes to verbs.
🎯

Move it around

Try putting the time at the start for emphasis.
💬

Use 'udah'

In casual speech, 'udah' is much more common than 'sudah'.

Smart Tips

Always add 'akan' before the verb.

Saya pergi besok. → Saya akan pergi besok.

Use 'sudah' to emphasize completion.

Saya makan. → Saya sudah makan.

Move the time marker to the front.

Saya pergi besok. → Besok saya pergi.

Use 'udah' instead of 'sudah'.

Saya sudah makan. → Saya udah makan.

उच्चारण

ke-ma-rin

Stress

Indonesian is syllable-timed; keep stress even.

Statement

Saya makan kemarin ↘

Falling intonation for facts.

Memorize It

Mnemonic

Think of time markers as 'sticky notes' you can slap on the front or back of any sentence.

Visual Association

Imagine a train where the verb is the engine and the time marker is a flag you can wave from the front or the back.

Rhyme

Time at the start or time at the end, Indonesian grammar is your best friend.

Story

Budi eats rice. Budi eats rice yesterday. Yesterday Budi eats rice. See? The verb 'makan' never changes!

Word Web

KemarinBesokSekarangSudahSedangAkanNantiTadi

चैलेंज

Write 5 sentences about your day using a different time marker for each.

सांस्कृतिक नोट्स

People often use 'udah' instead of 'sudah'.

Always use full 'sudah' and 'akan'.

Some regions use different particles for time.

Indonesian time markers evolved from simple nouns and verbs.

Conversation Starters

“

Kamu sudah makan?

“

Besok kamu ke mana?

“

Apa yang sedang kamu lakukan?

“

Kapan terakhir kali kamu liburan?

Journal Prompts

Tulis tentang hari kemarin.
Apa rencana kamu besok?
Ceritakan kegiatanmu sekarang.
Apa yang sudah kamu capai tahun ini?
Sign up free to see all tips

Test Yourself

Fill in the blank.

Saya ___ makan nasi.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: sedang
Sedang indicates ongoing action.
Choose the correct sentence. बहुविकल्पी

Which is correct?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Saya makan kemarin
No conjugation!
Fix the sentence. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Saya sudah makan kemarin.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Both
Redundant markers are bad.
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 kemarin
SVO order.
Translate to Indonesian. अनुवाद

I will go tomorrow.

Answer starts with: Say...

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Saya akan pergi besok
Need 'akan' for future.
Match the marker. Match Pairs

Match each item on the left with its pair on the right:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Kemarin, Sekarang, Besok
Correct order.
Build a sentence. Sentence Building

Use 'sedang' and 'bekerja'.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Saya sedang bekerja
Subject first.
Choose the best marker. बहुविकल्पी

___ saya pergi ke Jakarta.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Besok
Future context.

Score: /8

अभ्यास प्रश्न

8 exercises
Fill in the blank.

Saya ___ makan nasi.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: sedang
Sedang indicates ongoing action.
Choose the correct sentence. बहुविकल्पी

Which is correct?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Saya makan kemarin
No conjugation!
Fix the sentence. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Saya sudah makan kemarin.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Both
Redundant markers are bad.
Reorder the words. Sentence Reorder

makan / kemarin / saya

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Saya makan kemarin
SVO order.
Translate to Indonesian. अनुवाद

I will go tomorrow.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Saya akan pergi besok
Need 'akan' for future.
Match the marker. Match Pairs

Match: Past, Present, Future

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Kemarin, Sekarang, Besok
Correct order.
Build a sentence. Sentence Building

Use 'sedang' and 'bekerja'.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Saya sedang bekerja
Subject first.
Choose the best marker. बहुविकल्पी

___ saya pergi ke Jakarta.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Besok
Future context.

Score: /8

अक्सर पूछे जाने वाले सवाल (8)

No, Indonesian verbs never change.

At the start or end of the sentence.

'Sudah' is for completion, 'tadi' is for time.

It is usually redundant.

No, use 'tadi' or 'kemarin'.

Use 'akan'.

No, it is informal.

Generally, no.

Sign up free to practice

In Other Languages

Spanish low

Verb conjugation

Indonesian verbs are static.

French low

Verb conjugation

Indonesian uses simple markers.

German low

Verb conjugation

Indonesian ignores person and tense.

Japanese low

Verb endings

Indonesian uses separate words.

Arabic low

Verb roots/patterns

Indonesian is isolating.

Chinese high

Aspect markers

Indonesian markers are more flexible in position.

Previous
Daily Routine Verbs

Related Grammar Rules

A1

Days of the Week
A1

Telling Time
A2

Sequencing Events
A2

Future Plans
Was this helpful?

टिप्पणियाँ (0)

टिप्पणी के लिए लॉगिन करें
अभी तक कोई टिप्पणी नहीं। अपने विचार साझा करने वाले पहले व्यक्ति बनें!