Indonesian · BIPA 1 (A1) · Chapter 34
Sudah selesaiAlready done
Past-time vocabulary: sudah, belum, kemarin, tadi, tadi malam, selesai, pulang, bertemu, minum, lupa. Key grammar: Indonesian verbs do not change for time — "makan" stays "makan". To mark a completed event, put "sudah" (already) BEFORE the verb: "Saya sudah makan" (I have eaten). The negative is "belum" (not yet), also before the verb: "Saya belum makan". Time words like "kemarin" (yesterday), "tadi" (earlier) may be added: "Kemarin saya pergi ke pasar" (yesterday I went to the market) — the verb still stays the same. In ch30 you learned "akan" (will) before the verb for the future; "sudah" is its partner for the past — the same slot, before the verb. English lets "already" sit at the end ("I ate already"), so English speakers put "sudah" at the end: "Saya makan sudah" ✗ → "Saya sudah makan" ✓. Sound corner: "sudah", "belum", "kemarin".
Dialogue
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Sudah makan?— Have you eaten?
- BudiMike, kamu sudah makan?Mike, have you eaten?
- MikeYa, saya makan sudah.Yes, I have eaten. (slip: "sudah" goes before the verb, not at the end)
- Budi"sudah" sebelum kata kerja, Mike: "Saya sudah makan"."sudah" before the verb, Mike: "Saya sudah makan".
- MikeOh, "Saya sudah makan". Tapi saya belum minum kopi.Oh, "Saya sudah makan". But I have not had coffee yet.
- BudiBagus! "belum" juga sebelum kata kerja: "belum minum".Great! "belum" is also before the verb: "belum minum".
- MikeMengerti. Kemarin saya sudah bertemu Sari.Understood. Yesterday I already met Sari.
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Akhir pekan kemarin— Last weekend
- SariMike, kemarin kamu ke mana?Mike, where did you go yesterday?
- MikeKemarin saya pergi ke pantai. Saya sudah berenang.Yesterday I went to the beach. I went swimming.
- SariWah, seru! Kamu sudah makan siang di sana?Wow, fun! Did you have lunch there?
- MikeBelum. Saya makan tadi malam di rumah.Not yet. I ate last night at home.
- SariOh ya, kamu sudah selesai tugasmu?Oh right, have you finished your assignment?
- MikeSudah! Tadi pagi saya sudah selesai.Yes! I finished it this morning.
Vocabulary
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- sudah
adverbalready, done
- belum
adverbnot yet
- kemarin
adverbyesterday
- tadi
adverbearlier, just now
- tadi malam
adverblast night
- selesai
verbto finish, be done
- pulang
verbto go home, return
- bertemu
verbto meet
- minum
verbto drink
- lupa
verbto forget
Grammar
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sudah + verb — completed events
Explanation
Indonesian verbs do not change for time: "makan" can mean eat, ate, or eaten. To mark that an event is complete, put "sudah" (already) RIGHT BEFORE the verb: "Saya sudah makan" (I have eaten / I already ate). The negative is "belum" (not yet), also before the verb: "Saya belum makan" (I have not eaten yet). Note the typical answers: "Sudah" (yes, done) or "Belum" (not yet). To make the time explicit, add a time word at the front or end of the sentence: "Kemarin saya pergi ke pasar" (yesterday I went to the market), "Saya bertemu dia tadi" (I met him earlier) — the verb still does not change; the time word carries the past meaning. Remember ch30: "akan" (will) goes before the verb for the future. "sudah" takes the same slot for the past: akan makan (will eat) ↔ sudah makan (have eaten). English lets "already" move to the end ("I ate already"), so English speakers are tempted to put "sudah" at the end: "Saya makan sudah" ✗. Its place is before the verb: "Saya sudah makan" ✓.
Examples
- Saya sudah makan.I have already eaten.
- Dia sudah pulang.He has already gone home.
- Kami belum makan.We have not eaten yet.
- Kemarin saya pergi ke pasar.Yesterday I went to the market.
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