Sentence Pattern

Subject – Complement

A simple sentence can be built by adding a noun, an adjective, a prepositional phrase or a numeral to complement the subject. 
There is no verb ‘to be’ in Indonesian.
However, because of the influence of English, a sort of copula verb ‘adalah‘ or ‘ialah‘ is often inserted between the subject and complement.

Dewi peragawati. Dewi adalah seorang peragawati. Dia cantik. Bapak di kantor. Anaknya satu. Dewi bukan peragawati. Apakah Dewi peragawati? Dewilah peragawatinya

Dewi (is a) catwalk model. Dewi is a catwalk model. She (is) beautiful. Father (is) at the office. His son is one. Dewi is not a catwalk model. Is Dewi a catwalk model? Dewi is the catwalk model.

noun copula verb adjective preposition phrase numeral negative sentence interrogative sentence predicate marker

Subject – Predicate – Adverb

The predicator may be a simple intransitive verb without any affixes. 
It may also take the prefix ber-, me-, or ter-. 
Adverbial is an optional element.

Subject	Predicate	Adverb	Meaning
Ibu saya	ada	di rumah.	My mother is at home.
Latihan menari	sudah selesai	kemarin.	The dance rehearsal has concluded yesterday.
Uangnya	tersimpan	dengan baik.	His money was kept safely.

Subject – Predicate – Object – Adverb

The predicator may be a simple verb without any affixes. 
It may also take the affixes me-, -i, me-i, memer-i, me-kan, memper-kan. 
Adverbial is an optional element.

Subject	Predicate	Object	Adverb	Meaning
Mereka Dia Polisi	sudah mengerjakan mengalami bekuk	laporan itu kesulitan pencuri.	kemarin. sebagai pelajar.	They have done the report yesterday. He experienced many difficulties as student. The police arrested the thief.

Subject – Predicate – Complement – Adverb

The complement may be a noun phrase, an adjective, or a noun phrase preceded by an adjective-like verb. 
It may be also a noun preceded by an adjective as predicate. 
Adverbial is an optional element.

Subject Noun	Predicate Verb	Complement Noun	Adverbial Adverb	Meaning
Ujian Dia Ayahnya	tinggal berdagang menjadi	dua hari batik guru.	lagi. di Pasar.	The exam is two days away. He traded batik in the market. His father becomes a teacher.

Subject Noun	Predicate Verb	Complement Adjective	Meaning
Bajunya Dia	berwarna merasa	kuning. beruntung.	His shirt is yellow. He felt lucky.

Subject Noun	Predicate Adjective	Complement Noun	Meaning
Mangga itu Pohon ini Orang itu	manis banyak lambat	rasanya. buahnya. jalannya.	That mango is sweet in taste. This tree has many fruits. That person are slow in walking.

Subject – Predicate – Object – Complement

The complement may be a noun phrase, an adjective, a noun phrase or a verb.

Subject Noun	Predicate Verb	Object Noun	Complement Adjective	Meaning
Dia Masalah itu	merasa membuat	badannya dia.	lemah.	He felt his body weak. That problem made him angry.

Subject Noun	Predicate Verb	Object Noun	Complement Noun	Meaning
Dia Mereka	mengira menamai	saya bayi itu	orang Jawa. Amir.	He thought me a Javanese/He thought I was a Javanese. They named the baby Amir.

Subject Noun	Predicate Verb	Object Noun	Complement Verb	Meaning
Dia Mereka	meyuruh mengajarkan	saya kami	keluar. menari.	He asked me to go out. They taught us dancing.

Subject – Predicate – Object – Object

The structure has two objects. 
The first object is indirect object and the second one is direct object. 
The indirect object is often called the beneficiary of an action.

Subject Noun	Predicate Verb	Indirect Object Noun	Direct Object Noun	Meaning
Saya Dia	sedang mencarikan menawari	adik saya saya	pekerjaan. pekerjaan.	I am getting my sister a job. He offered me a job.