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Aspect & Time Markers

sudah, sedang, akan, belum, pernah and how time is expressed without verb conjugation
Tumpukan tiap partikel aspek dan urutannya
Aspect particle stacking and ordering restrictions
sudah sedang, akan sudah, etc.
Not all particle combinations are equally natural
belum vs tidak vs tidak pernah
aspectual contrast in negation
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Three negation strategies carry three distinct aspectual meanings
makan habis
resultative aspect via verb complements
MAH-kan HAH-bis
eat up/finish eating — the complement marks completion
Kalau...maka/akan
conditional constructions
if...then/will
Links a condition to its consequence
Kebiasaan masa lalu ditandai secara kontekstual
Habitual past marked contextually rather than morphologically
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No dedicated "used to" form — context carries this meaning
sudah + pernah + konteks
perfect-like meaning built from combined markers
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These pieces together approximate an English "have done" meaning
ketika, saat, selagi
when, at the moment, while (time clauses)
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Introduce subordinate time clauses
Rangkaian narasi kompleks dengan beberapa penanda waktu
Sequencing complex narratives with multiple time particles
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Longer narratives combine several aspect particles across clauses
Indonesia tidak memiliki penanda tense sejati
Indonesian lacks true tense marking — all particles are aspectual/modal
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A key structural fact distinguishing Indonesian from tensed languages
Thi tường thuật (narrative present) untuk kesegaran
Historical present for vivid narration
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Present forms can narrate past events for dramatic effect