Learn Basic Indonesian (Part 1)

About Spelling in Indonesian

Since it is very regular, Indonesian  spelling is very easy to master. Once you learn how it sounds,  you will be able to read Indonesian  quickly and effortlessly. Probably, the only  sound that poses a challenge to
English speakers is represented by the sound 'ng' such as in the word 'orang' (person) or 'terbang' (to fly).

Some words have the sound 'ng' in the middle of a word such as in the 'jangan' (don't do something) or 'tangan' (hands).


About Tenses in Indonesian

There are no tenses in Indonesian.  Unlike English, Indonesian verbs do not change to express person or time. So, for example, the word 'pergi' (to go) does not change its form to express I go, he goes, we went, they will go etc. The pronouns  (saya, dia, etc) alone tell you who is doing the action expressed by the verb.

So, how does Indonesian express concept of time to  express present, past and future events?

Points in time are simply expressed by stating when an action is supposed to take place. For instance, you just say  'dia makan nasi goreng setiap  hari' (I eat fried rice  every day) or 'dia sedang makan nasi goreng' (he is eating fried rice). The verb is automatically sent into the continuous.

Indonesian  uses what we call tense markers.  These words that are used before the verb which  convey the idea of tense. 'Sedang' means now in Indonesian, for example, 'dia sedang tidur' (meaning he is sleeping now). If you replace sedang with sudah (meaning already) such as 'saya sudah sarapan' (I've already had lunch) then the meaning changes into past.