Aims
- To introduce and practise the word ada (there is…, there are…)
- To review the names of common foods, buildings and places
- To review common prepositions, adjectives and expressions of time
ada, bermacam-macam, buah-buahan, gereja, ikan, ilmu kimia, jagung, kantor polisi, kereta api, kuliah, mahasiswa, mesjid, nanti malam, nasi, pusat, sekolah, telur
Use the following exercises (Latihan) to review the above vocabulary items.
mahasiswa
[a]university student (usually male)
[q]jalan
[a]street (for address)
[q]kelas
[a]class
[q]sepeda motor
[a]motorcycle
[q]tinggal
[a]to stay, reside
[/qdeck]One of the most frequent and useful words in Indonesian is ada. Ada doesn’t have a single equivalent in English, so it is not easy to describe succinctly in English how it is used. Like many (perhaps most) features of Indonesian vocabulary, grammar and usage, you have to “learn by doing” rather than through explanation. Nevertheless, when you first start to study a new feature of Indonesian, it is usually useful to use (and often impossible to avoid using) English translations.
Ada usually (but not always) means something like the English “there is”, “there are”, “there was”, “there were”, “there had been” etc. Ada indicates that something or someone is at a certain location in space or in time. For example:
There is an automobile plant in Siliwangi Street.
To say “there isn’t”, “there aren’t” etc. you simply place tidak in front of ada. Thus:
There’s no automobile plant in Siliwangi Street.
Study this picture and read the Indonesian description of it. The items of food on the table and their exact location may be described using sentences with ada. The absence of certain items may be expressed using tidak ada.
Di meja ini ada nasi. Di samping nasi ada ikan. Di depan ikan ada bermacam-macam sayuran. Ada telur di samping nasi dan di belakang telur ada pisang. Tidak ada bir di meja ini. Juga tidak ada roti atau kue. Tidak ada kopi atau teh.
Now, after having read the text, complete the following exercises. Consult your dictionary or the vocabulary list when you encounter unknown words.
Di sini senang, di sana senang (I like it here, I like it there)
Di mana-mana hatiku senang (My heart likes it everywhere)
Look at the spread of food below. Following the model you see above write a short paragraph. Use ada to say what is on the table, and tidak ada to say what is not. Use the prepositions di depan, di belakang and di samping to describe where items of food are located in relation to other items on the table.
di, di pusat kota, di belakang, di dekat, di depan, di samping, tidak jauh dari…
For example you might write:
Di pusat kota, di dekat alun-alun, ada kantor polisi.
You can ask yes/no questions using ada. These questions are like the English “Is/Was there a …..?”, “Are/Were there any …..?” and so on. Simply place the yes/no question-marker apakah at the beginning of the sentence. Study these examples:
In English, if someone asks you, for example, “Do you have any proof?” you can answer “I do” instead of saying “Yes.” This kind of answer can be called an “echo answer” because it repeats or “echoes” a key component in the question.
The echo answer is a very common way of answering “yes” or “no” in Indonesian. Look back at Lesson 7 and 9 for examples of “echo answers” using jauh, suka and mau.
So, when you answer in the affirmative (“yes”) to a question beginning Apakah ada… it is best to echo the key word in the question, just saying ada. In fact it sounds slightly clumsy to answer Ya or even Ya, ada. Ada by itself is usually all that is necessary. Similarly, when you answer “no” to a question beginning with Apakah ada… again you usually echo the key word in the question, saying tidak ada rather than simply tidak.
To answer these questions in the affirmative you say ada, and to answer in the negative you say tidak ada. Thus:
Now, after having read the explanations on how to use ada, complete the following exercises to test your understanding and for further practice. Consult your dictionary or the vocabulary list when you encounter unknown words.
(1) You can use ada to talk about the characteristics or qualities of something in a certain place. One way of doing this is to frame sentences in this form:
ada + name of a thing/building + yang +adjective + preposition + name of a place
(2) You can also use ada to talk about when something is going to happen (or is happening, or happened) and where, using sentences framed in this form:
ada + name of an event + preposition + name of a thing/place + adverb of time
Study this short exchange.
Without changing the basic form of this dialogue, you can replace each noun, preposition and adjective in it to convey different ideas. For example, you could say the following (compare the two dialogues to see which words have been changed).
Preserving this basic shell, write out five new, completely different variations on it.
To complete this IndoLingo exercise, record your voice, then download it and name the file Exercise 16-03. Send it to your IndoLingo Instructor. If you are not subscribed to IndoLingo, you may do this exercise as a written homework assignment.
IndoLingo allows you to record and download your voice. IndoLingo assignments contain various listening and speaking activities. You complete the IndoLingo assignment, record and submit it to your instructor or a native speaker.
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«The Indonesian Way« uses IndoLingo as a tool to provide students with the opportunity to communicate with a native speaker through the IndoLingo assignments, to actively use and develop their speaking skills, and to achieve a near-native pronunciation of the Indonesian language.
Now practise “ada”, “tidak ada”, and “tetapi” by answering the following questions:
alun-alun | a town common (the grassed central square in Indonesian towns, especially in Java & Bali) |
bupati | the head of a shire or a sub-provincial district |
désa | a village, administrative unit at the village level (also in urban areas). |
kampung | a village |
kelas | grade/schoolyear; ruang kelas a classroom |
kué | a cake |
kebun | a garden, a plantation |
méja | a table |
pésta | a party (a social event where you dance, drink, chat etc.) Also: a celebratory festival |
perahu; perahu layar | a small boat, a traditional Indonesian sailboat, a yacht |
pertandingan (•tanding); pertandingan sepak bola | a match; competition a football (i.e. soccer) match |
pulau | an island |
sayuran (•sayur) | a vegetable, vegetables |
sépak bola | football (soccer) |
sungai | a river |
Find the following hidden words: cake, cookies • table • garden • class • party • island • kick • regent • boat • river • vegetables
Use the following flashcards to memorise the newly learned words.
ada
[a]there is, there are
[q]alun-alun
[a]town square
[q] [a]the head of a regency or a, sub-provincial district
[q]desa
[a]a village (administrative unit)
[q]kampung
[a]a village
[q]kebun
[a]a garden, a plantation
[q]kelas
[a]a classroom, grade/schoolyear
[q]kue
[a]a cake
[q]meja
[a]a table
[q]perahu
[a]a small boat, a traditional Indonesian, sailboat, a yacht
[q]pertandingan
[a]a (sports) match, a football match
[q]pesta
[a]a party, a festival
[q] [a]an island
[q]sayuran
[a]a vegetable, vegetables
[q]sepak bola
[a]football, (especially soccer)
[q]sungai
[a]a river
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