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Indonesian · BIPA 1 (A1) · Chapter 34

Sudah selesai Already 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".

Sudah makan? — Have you eaten?

  1. Budi Mike, kamu sudah makan? Mike, have you eaten?
  2. Mike Ya, saya makan sudah. Yes, I have eaten. (slip: "sudah" goes before the verb, not at the end)
  3. Budi "sudah" sebelum kata kerja, Mike: "Saya sudah makan". "sudah" before the verb, Mike: "Saya sudah makan".
  4. Mike Oh, "Saya sudah makan". Tapi saya belum minum kopi. Oh, "Saya sudah makan". But I have not had coffee yet.
  5. Budi Bagus! "belum" juga sebelum kata kerja: "belum minum". Great! "belum" is also before the verb: "belum minum".
  6. Mike Mengerti. Kemarin saya sudah bertemu Sari. Understood. Yesterday I already met Sari.

Akhir pekan kemarin — Last weekend

  1. Sari Mike, kemarin kamu ke mana? Mike, where did you go yesterday?
  2. Mike Kemarin saya pergi ke pantai. Saya sudah berenang. Yesterday I went to the beach. I went swimming.
  3. Sari Wah, seru! Kamu sudah makan siang di sana? Wow, fun! Did you have lunch there?
  4. Mike Belum. Saya makan tadi malam di rumah. Not yet. I ate last night at home.
  5. Sari Oh ya, kamu sudah selesai tugasmu? Oh right, have you finished your assignment?
  6. Mike Sudah! Tadi pagi saya sudah selesai. Yes! I finished it this morning.
汉字PinyinPOSMeaning
sudah adv. already, done
belum adv. not yet
kemarin adv. yesterday
tadi adv. earlier, just now
tadi malam adv. last night
selesai v. to finish, be done
pulang v. to go home, return
bertemu v. to meet
minum v. to drink
lupa v. to forget

sudah + kata kerja — kejadian yang sudah selesai sudah + verb — completed events

Kata kerja bahasa Indonesia tidak berubah untuk waktu: "makan" bisa berarti eat, ate, atau eaten. Untuk menandai bahwa suatu kejadian sudah selesai, taruh "sudah" (already) TEPAT SEBELUM kata kerja: "Saya sudah makan" (I have eaten / I already ate). Bentuk negatifnya adalah "belum" (not yet), juga sebelum kata kerja: "Saya belum makan" (I have not eaten yet). Perhatikan jawaban khas: "Sudah" (ya, sudah) atau "Belum" (belum). Untuk menegaskan kapan, tambahkan kata waktu di depan atau belakang kalimat: "Kemarin saya pergi ke pasar", "Saya bertemu dia tadi" — kata kerjanya tetap tidak berubah; kata waktulah yang membawa makna lampau. Ingat bab 30: "akan" (will) diletakkan sebelum kata kerja untuk masa depan. "sudah" menempati slot yang sama untuk masa lampau: akan makan (akan makan) ↔ sudah makan (sudah makan). Bahasa Inggris membiarkan "already" berpindah ke akhir ("I ate already"), maka penutur Inggris tergoda menaruh "sudah" di akhir: "Saya makan sudah" ✗. Letaknya sebelum kata kerja: "Saya sudah makan" ✓.

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" ✓.

  • 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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