Indonesian Questions

Grammar Tips:

In Indonesian there are 4 ways of asking a question to get a yes or no answer, and they are the following:

-Verb + pronoun: Unlike English, the auxiliaries do and does are not used. apakah dia punya waktu luang? (Does she have free time?)

-Pronoun + verb: Only the intonation makes the sentence interrogative: apakah dia punya waktu luang? (Does she have free time?)

-Verb +...+ pronoun. The pronoun goes last: apakah dia punya waktu luang?(Does she have free time?)

-Finally you can also make a question by adding a tag question to the end of a statement.dia punya waktu luang, bukan? (She has free time, doesn’t she)

Yes- No question

Question which seek the answer 'yes' or 'no' are yes-no question. example

kamu lapar? (are you hungry)

tidak. (no)

the answer might not be a simple positive or negative . There are many other responses, such as kadang-kadang ( sometimes), mungkin ( possibly) and so on.

Yes- no question are spoken with interrogative intonation, marked by a rise in final pitch, and written with a final question mark. Frequently intonation ( a question mark in writing) is the only difference between a statement, marked by a fall in final pitch and yes-no question

 

Sri sudah pulang (Sri has gone home)

Sri sudah pulang? (Has Sri gone home?)

 

Dia guru (he is a teacher)

Dia guru?  (Is he a teacher?)

Bukan as a sentence tag

Bukan can be attached  to a statement to turn it into a question.Bukan then corresponds to a sentence tag with 'be', 'have', or 'do' in English. This is usually used either when the speaker, is uncertain as to the truth of the statement, seeks confirmation or, when knowing the statement to be correct, seeks agreement from the addressee

Example:

kamu  mahasiswa, bukan?  (you are a student, aren't you?)

pesawat berangkat jam lima, bukan?  (the plane leaves at five, doesn't it?)