An intransitive verb does not have an object. For examples cry, work, laugh, and talk. That means there’s no word in the sentence that tells who or what received the action of the verb. It signifies an action that is done by someone or something, but it is not done to anyone or anything. An example of an intransitive verb in English is the verb “to die”. You can say:
“She died.” → You cannot say:“She died her husband.”
Intransitive verbs take several forms in Indonesian:
Single morphemes
- For example: setuju, mandi, tidur, bangun, pergi, datang, terbang, masuk, duduk, kawin
- Saya tidur.
- I sleep.
Intransitive verbs that consist of a base word plus a prefix. The most common affix on intransitive verbs is the prefix ber-, in fact most (but not all) words that have a ber- prefix on them are intransitive verbs.
- For example: berjalan, berhenti, beristirahat, berubah, berlibur, bermain, berbicara.
- Saya ingin berjalan kaki saja.
- I’d prefer to just walk.
Sometimes the ber- prefix is dropped, especially if you are speaking rapidly or informally.
- Aku ingin jalan kaki aja.
- I’d prefer to just walk.
Intransitive verbs that have a me- prefix.
- Apakah Anda pandai menyanyi?
- Are you any good at singing?
- Anak-anak ini belum bisa membaca dan menulis!
- These children can’t read or write yet!
- Di mana Anda mengajar?
- Where do you teach?
- Ibu Simatupang suka sekali memasak.
- Mrs Simatupang enjoys cooking.
- Katanya mereka akan menikah.
- I’ve heard they’re going to get married.
- Gunung Merapi meletus kemarin.
- Mount Merapi erupted yesterday.