Calquing English Prepositions | Indonesian Grammar

English prepositions cannot be translated one by one. English at, in, on, to, for, and about divide semantic space differently from Indonesian di, ke, dari, pada, kepada, untuk, selama, and tentang. More importantly, an Indonesian root or affix may encode a relation that English expresses with a separate preposition.

The repair is to identify the relation and the Indonesian verb frame, not the English word. The spatial preposition guide develops the core location system; this page diagnoses calques.

The two-part repair test

Ask:

What role does the phrase express—location, destination, source, time anchor, human recipient, beneficiary, duration, or topic?
Does the Indonesian verb already select the following noun directly?

Relation	Typical Indonesian form
static place	di
destination/path goal	ke
source/origin	dari
time or abstract anchor	pada
human/institutional recipient	kepada
purpose or beneficiary	untuk
duration	selama
explicit topic	tentang

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Translate the relation, then check the verb's object frame. Never choose a preposition solely because the English sentence contains one.

Di, ke, and dari: location, goal, and source

Di locates, ke points toward a goal, and dari identifies a source.

Kami menunggu di lobi hotel sejak pukul delapan.

We have been waiting in the hotel lobby since eight.

Setelah sarapan, kami berjalan ke museum kota.

After breakfast, we walked to the city museum.

Bus malam itu berangkat dari terminal lama.

That night bus departs from the old terminal.

English chooses among at, in, and on according to its own geometry; Indonesian often uses the single locative di.

Ponsel saya tertinggal di meja dekat pintu.

My phone was left on the table near the door.

Mereka bertemu di stasiun sebelum naik kereta.

They met at the station before boarding the train.

The verb “arrive” needs special attention. Tiba or sampai presents a reached endpoint; the resulting place is located with di, not goal ke.

Pesawat kami tiba di Makassar menjelang tengah malam.

Our plane arrived in Makassar close to midnight.

Saya sampai di rumah tepat sebelum hujan turun.

I arrived home just before the rain began.

By contrast, an ongoing journey uses ke: pergi ke Makassar. Sampai ke has another meaning, “as far as/all the way to.”

Air banjir naik sampai ke tangga paling atas.

The floodwater rose all the way to the top step.

Pada and kepada are not interchangeable to

Pada anchors a state, time, or abstract relation. Kepada directs an object, message, question, or attitude toward a socially salient recipient.

Acara dimulai pada pukul setengah sembilan.

The event begins at half past eight.

Keputusan akhir bergantung pada hasil pemeriksaan laboratorium.

The final decision depends on the laboratory examination results.

Manajer menyerahkan laporan itu kepada direktur.

The manager handed that report to the director.

Silakan sampaikan keluhan Anda kepada petugas layanan.

Please convey your complaint to the service officer.

Ke can lead to a person when the person metonymically identifies a destination or service: pergi ke dokter “go to the doctor.” But a doctor receiving a document is marked with kepada dokter.

Pagi ini saya pergi ke dokter untuk pemeriksaan rutin.

This morning I went to the doctor for a routine examination.

Saya menyerahkan hasil tes kepada dokter setelah pemeriksaan.

I handed the test results to the doctor after the examination.

In casual speech, ke also commonly extends to a human recipient. Neutral and formal prose favors kepada when the recipient role should be explicit.

Untuk expresses purpose or beneficiary; selama expresses duration

Untuk answers “for what purpose?” or “for whose benefit?” Selama answers “for how long?” or “during what interval?”

Saya membeli obat ini untuk ibu saya.

I bought this medicine for my mother. (beneficiary)

Ruangan kecil itu digunakan untuk menyimpan dokumen lama.

That small room is used to store old documents. (purpose)

Kami tinggal di Lombok selama dua minggu.

We stayed in Lombok for two weeks. (duration)

Pintu utama ditutup selama upacara berlangsung.

The main door is closed while the ceremony is in progress.

English for two weeks tempts learners to use untuk dua minggu. Neutral Indonesian normally uses selama dua minggu when the point is elapsed duration. Untuk may accompany a planned assignment or allocation, but it does not replace the general duration marker.

Compare beneficiary and recipient:

Buku ini untuk Rina; berikan kepadanya setelah rapat.

This book is for Rina; give it to her after the meeting.

Untuk Rina says who benefits or for whom it is intended. Kepadanya marks the person who actually receives the transfer.

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English for hides two questions: “for whose benefit?” takes untuk, while “for how long?” takes selama.

Tentang marks a topic only when the frame needs it

Use tentang after predicates that introduce a topic analytically, such as berbicara tentang and bertanya tentang.

Kami berbicara tentang rencana perjalanan setelah makan malam.

We talked about the travel plans after dinner.

Seorang peserta bertanya tentang biaya penginapan.

A participant asked about accommodation costs.

Transitive membahas and mendiskusikan take their topic directly. English discuss about is itself nonstandard in many varieties, but even English talk about cannot determine the Indonesian frame.

Tim akan membahas anggaran baru pada rapat berikutnya.

The team will discuss the new budget at the next meeting.

Para peneliti mendiskusikan hasil survei dengan warga setempat.

The researchers discussed the survey results with local residents.

The noun pembahasan can then use tentang or another linker: pembahasan tentang anggaran. Word class and derivation can change the frame.

Indonesian verbs often absorb an English preposition

Several common transitive verbs take a direct object where English uses verb + preposition:

English frame	Indonesian frame
look for a key	mencari kunci
wait for the bus	menunggu bus
listen to music	mendengarkan musik
enter the room	memasuki ruangan
visit the museum	mengunjungi museum

Saya mencari kunci cadangan sejak tadi pagi.

I have been looking for the spare key since this morning.

Puluhan penumpang menunggu bus terakhir di depan terminal.

Dozens of passengers are waiting for the last bus in front of the terminal.

Anak-anak mendengarkan cerita kakek dengan tenang.

The children listened quietly to Grandfather's story.

Kami memasuki gedung melalui pintu samping.

We entered the building through the side door.

Prefixes and suffixes help build these argument structures. For example, masuk ke gedung uses a goal phrase, while transitive memasuki gedung selects the location directly. The relation is encoded differently, not omitted carelessly.

Common Mistakes

1. Calquing arrive at with ke

❌ Kereta kami tiba ke Bandung pukul enam pagi.

Incorrect—tiba profiles arrival, and the resulting location takes di.

✅ Kereta kami tiba di Bandung pukul enam pagi.

Our train arrived in Bandung at six in the morning.

2. Calquing look for with untuk

❌ Saya mencari untuk dompet yang hilang.

Incorrect—mencari takes the sought object directly.

✅ Saya mencari dompet yang hilang di sekitar tempat parkir.

I am looking for the lost wallet around the parking area.

3. Adding tentang after membahas

❌ Panitia membahas tentang perubahan jadwal.

Incorrect—membahas is transitive and selects its topic directly.

✅ Panitia membahas perubahan jadwal sebelum menghubungi peserta.

The committee discussed the schedule change before contacting participants.

4. Using untuk for elapsed duration

❌ Kami sudah menunggu di klinik untuk tiga jam ketika dokter datang.

Incorrect for elapsed duration—English for was copied.

✅ Kami sudah menunggu di klinik selama tiga jam ketika dokter datang.

We had been waiting at the clinic for three hours when the doctor arrived.

5. Using casual ke in a formal recipient frame

❌ Surat dinas itu berbunyi, “Paspor diserahkan ke pemohon setelah verifikasi.”

✅ Surat dinas itu berbunyi, “Paspor diserahkan kepada pemohon setelah verifikasi.”

The official letter reads, “The passport is handed to the applicant after verification.”

6. Confusing beneficiary and recipient

❌ Saya memberikan hadiah itu untuk Rina kemarin malam.

Ambiguous for completed transfer—untuk marks intended benefit, not necessarily receipt.

✅ Saya memberikan hadiah itu kepada Rina kemarin malam.

I gave that gift to Rina last night.

7. Adding a preposition after menunggu

❌ Kami menunggu untuk bus di depan hotel.

Incorrect—menunggu takes the awaited entity directly.

✅ Kami menunggu bus bandara di depan hotel.

We are waiting for the airport bus in front of the hotel.

8. Using kepada for a time point

❌ Wawancara dimulai kepada pukul dua siang.

Incorrect—kepada marks a social recipient, not a time anchor.

✅ Wawancara dimulai pada pukul dua siang.

The interview begins at two in the afternoon.

9. Adding ke after an -i location verb

❌ Para tamu memasuki ke aula melalui pintu depan.

Incorrect—memasuki already selects the entered location directly.

✅ Para tamu memasuki aula melalui pintu depan.

The guests entered the hall through the front door.

10. Treating every about frame alike

❌ Kami berbicara anggaran, lalu membahas tentang tenggat waktu.

Both frames are reversed—berbicara needs a topic linker, while membahas takes a direct object.

✅ Kami berbicara tentang anggaran, lalu membahas tenggat waktu.

We talked about the budget and then discussed the deadline.

Key Takeaways

Choose di, ke, and dari by location, goal, and source—not English at/in/on/to.
Use pada for time or abstract anchoring and kepada for human recipients.
Use untuk for purpose/benefit and selama for duration.
Use tentang only with frames that require an explicit topic phrase.
Learn direct-object verbs such as mencari, menunggu, membahas, mendengarkan, memasuki, and mengunjungi as complete Indonesian frames.

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