Indonesian verbs do not change depending on tense, as in English. For example, English has different forms for "ate" (past tense) and "eat" (present tense), while Indonesian uses "makan" for both past and present. When it is important to specify time, Indonesian adds additional words that clarify the time, such as "sudah" (already), "masih" (still), and "akan" (will).
| Indonesian | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Baca | Read | |
| Bangun | Wake up | literally the act of waking up |
| Buka | Open | |
| Buang | Throw away | as in "throwing away the trash" |
| Bunuh | Kill | |
| Gantung | Hang | |
| Hapus | Erase | |
| Jahit | Sew | |
| Jalan | Walk | |
| Makan | Eat | |
| Masak | Cook | |
| Minum | Drink | |
| Lempar | Throw | as in "throwing the ball" |
| Pakai | Wear/Use | |
| Robek | Tear | |
| Lari | Run | |
| Tanya | Ask | |
| Tidur | Sleep | |
| Tinju | Box | punching |
| Tulis | Write | |
| Tutup | Close |
To be or not to be
To be is the most common English verb, yet its indonesian translation, adalah, is rarely used. This is particularly true when ir is used to describe something/someone or to give characteristics. For instance :
- Aki cowok = i am a man
- Dia gemuk = he is fat
- Aku lapar = i am hungry
We can use adalah to make a statement that two things are equivalent. For instance:
- Rusia adalah negara terbesar di dunia.
- Russia is the largest country in the world.
Another use of adalah is to say that something or someone is part of a grup/structure. For instance:
- Día adalah pengawai pemerintah
- He is a government employee.