Negation & Questions

tidak vs bukan: kondisi sintaksis penuh

tidak vs bukan: full syntactic conditioning across word classes

The split tracks whether the negated word is verbal/adjectival or nominal

bukan...tapi

contrastive negation: not...but

BOO-kan...TAH-pee

Explicitly contrasts what something isn't with what it is

belum vs sudah tidak

"not yet" vs "no longer"

Two distinct ways an action can fail to be currently true

sama sekali tidak

emphatic negation: not at all

SAH-ma suh-KAH-lee TEE-dak

Strengthens a plain negation considerably

X atau Y?

alternative questions: X or Y?

Presents a direct choice between two named options

kan?, ya?

rhetorical questions and tag questions

kahn / ya

Small final words seeking agreement or confirmation

Item polaritas negatif

Negative polarity items licensed by negation

Certain words only appear naturally in a negative context

Posisi kata tanya tetap di tempat (in-situ)

Question word placement stays in-situ

no fronting

Unlike English, question words don't move to the front

apakah untuk pertanyaan tidak langsung

Indirect questions with apakah (whether)

Saya tidak tahu apakah dia datang. = I don't know whether he's coming.

-kah, ya, deh, sih

politeness particles softening questions

Small final particles add nuance, softness, or emphasis