Learn about causative verbs in Indonesian
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Intro |
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| Michael: What are causative verbs? |
| Blanca: And how do they work in Indonesian? |
| Michael: At IndonesianPod101.com, we hear these questions often. Imagine the following situation: Sasha and Gundar are complaining about how strict their mothers are. Sasha says, |
| "My mother makes me eat vegetables every day." |
| Sasha Lee: Ibu menyuruh saya makan sayuran setiap hari. |
| Dialogue |
| Sasha Lee: Ibu menyuruh saya makan sayuran setiap hari. |
| Gundar Gunawan: Ibu tidak memperbolehkan saya makan permen. |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Sasha Lee: Ibu menyuruh saya makan sayuran setiap hari. |
| Michael: "My mother makes me eat vegetables every day." |
| Gundar Gunawan: Ibu tidak memperbolehkan saya makan permen. |
| Michael: "My mother doesn't let me eat sweets." |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: In Indonesian, you can use causative verbs to describe when someone causes an action to happen, rather than being the effective subject of the action. In English, we usually translate such verbs using phrases such as “to make or to have someone do something.” |
| [Recall 1] |
| Michael: Let’s see how this works in Indonesian, starting with the dialogue. |
| Do you remember how Sasha says "My mother makes me eat vegetables every day?" |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Blanca as Sasha Lee: Ibu menyuruh saya makan sayuran setiap hari. |
| Michael: This literally means "My mother instructs me to eat vegetables every day." The causative verb here is |
| Blanca: menyuruh |
| Michael: which means “to instruct.” The root word is |
| Blanca: suruh |
| Michael: and it’s modified by the prefix |
| Blanca: me- |
| Michael: whose function, among others, is to turn a verb, a noun, or an adjective into a causative verb. |
| [Recall 2] |
| Michael: Now, let’s take a look at our second sentence. |
| Do you remember how Gundar says "My mother doesn't let me eat sweets?" |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Blanca as Gundar Gunawan: Ibu tidak memperbolehkan saya makan permen. |
| Michael: This literally means “My mother does not allow me to eat sweets.” The causative verb here is |
| Blanca: memperbolehkan |
| Michael: which means “to allow.” The root word is |
| Blanca: boleh, |
| Michael: which is modified by the affixes |
| Blanca: memper- and -kan. |
| Michael: whose function, among others, is to turn a verb, a noun, or an adjective into a causative verb. |
| Michael: As you saw, in Indonesian, to create a causative verb, it’s necessary to use certain affixes. There are four main groups of affixes that can turn a word into a causative verb. Let’s see them. The first group gets the verb forming prefix |
| Blanca: me- |
| Michael: For example, let’s consider the adjective |
| Blanca: kering |
| Michael: which means “dry.” Here is a sample sentence with its causative verb form |
| Blanca: Baju saya mengering di bawah matahari, |
| Michael: which means “My clothes become dry in the sun.” Here, the subject is “clothes” or |
| Blanca: baju |
| Michael: and the agent is implied. So, the sentence literally means “My clothes become dry under the sun.” Let’s hear it once more: |
| Blanca: Baju saya mengering di bawah matahari. |
| Michael: The second group is made of verbs which can get an object. This group is marked by the suffix |
| Blanca: -kan |
| Michael: that is commonly paired with prefix |
| Blanca: me- . |
| Michael: For example, let’s consider the verb |
| Blanca: tidur, |
| Michael: which means “to sleep.” Here is a sample sentence with its causative form |
| Blanca: Ibu menidurkan adik bayi di kursi goyang, |
| Michael: which means “The mother makes the little baby brother sleep on the rocking chair.” Here, the subject is “little baby brother” or |
| Blanca: adik bayi |
| Michael: and the agent is “mother” or |
| Blanca: ibu |
| Michael: The third group gets the affixes |
| Blanca: me- and -i |
| Michael: For example, let’s consider the adjective |
| Blanca: kotor |
| Michael: which means “dirty.” Here is a sample sentence with its causative verb form |
| Blanca: Adik mengotori lantai dengan spidol, |
| Michael: which means “Brother makes the floor dirty with the markers.” Here, the subject is “floor” or |
| Blanca: lantai |
| Michael: and the agent is “brother” or |
| Blanca: adik |
| Michael: The fourth group gets the prefix |
| Blanca: memper- |
| Michael: For example, let’s consider the verb |
| Blanca: memperlambat, |
| Michael: which means “to be slow.” Here is a sample sentence with its causative form |
| Blanca: Pria itu memperlambat langkahnya, |
| Michael: which means “The man slows down” or literally “The man slows down his steps.” Here, the subject is “the steps” or |
| Blanca: langkahnya |
| Michael: and the agent is “the man” or |
| Blanca: pria itu. |
| [Summary] |
| Michael: In this lesson, you learned about the Indonesian causative verbs. These verbs are marked by certain affixes which indicate that the grammar subject of the action is not the agent of the action. |
| Review |
| Michael: Let's review. Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then, repeat after Blanca focusing on pronunciation. |
| Do you remember how to say "My mother makes me eat vegetables every day?" |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Blanca as Sasha Lee: Ibu menyuruh saya makan sayuran setiap hari. |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Blanca as Sasha Lee: Ibu menyuruh saya makan sayuran setiap hari. |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Blanca as Sasha Lee: Ibu menyuruh saya makan sayuran setiap hari. |
| Michael: And do you remember how to say "My mother doesn't let me eat sweets?" |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Blanca as Gundar Gunawan: Ibu tidak memperbolehkan saya makan permen. |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Blanca as Gundar Gunawan: Ibu tidak memperbolehkan saya makan permen. |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Blanca as Gundar Gunawan: Ibu tidak memperbolehkan saya makan permen. |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We’re here to answer them! |
| Blanca: Dadah! |
| Michael: See you soon! |
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