Indonesian language doesn’t have the verb ‘to be’.
- Ini Erna. This is Erna.
- Saya Paulus. I am Paulus.
- Anda dari Arab Saudi? You are from Saudi Arabia?
In English, the above sentences we must use the verb “to be” (is, am, are). In Indonesian there is no counterpart to the English verb “to be” in these kinds of sentences, so it is important for English-speaking learners to resist the temptation to fill what they may feel is a “gap” by inserting a word that represents “to be”.
The basic sentence in Indonesian is often said to consist of a “topic” (the thing or person that is the beginning point for what you want to say) and the “comment” (the information or opinion you give about the topic).
The comment may have a verb in it (like makan, duduk, tinggal etc.), but it may also be just an object (name, or a place, or a characteristic etc). In the latter case, the topic and comment simply stand side by side in the sentence. It is quite common for the comment to come first, followed by the topic. But usually the topic comes first, as it does in these sentences.