A direct quotation presents wording as the speaker's own, while a reporting clause identifies who said it and often how, when, or with what evidential status. Indonesian permits the reporting clause before, after, or inside the quotation, but capitalization and punctuation depend on that order.
Quotation preserves the quoted speaker's register. The surrounding report remains the narrator's language and makes the source—not the narrator—responsible for the words inside the quotation marks.
For the orthographic inventory beyond reporting clauses, see quotation-mark spelling and punctuation.
Reporting clause before the quotation
A reporting clause can introduce a full quoted sentence. Use a comma before the opening quotation mark when a verb of saying directly frames the quote, and capitalize the first word of the complete quotation.
Mira berkata, “Saya akan menunggu di lobi.”
Mira said, 'I will wait in the lobby.'
Petugas menjelaskan, “Pintu keberangkatan dibuka pukul enam.”
The officer explained, 'The departure gate opens at six.'
Ibu bertanya, “Kamu sudah membawa obat?”
Mother asked, 'Have you brought the medicine?'
Pelatih berteriak, “Terus berlari sampai garis akhir!”
The coach shouted, 'Keep running to the finish line!'
The question mark and exclamation mark belong to the quoted sentence. Do not add a comma after them before the closing quotation mark.
Reporting clause after the quotation
When a declarative quotation comes first and a reporting clause follows, replace the quotation's final period with a comma inside the closing quotation mark. The reporting clause begins with lowercase unless its first word is a proper name that is independently capitalized.
“Saya belum menerima jadwal baru,” kata Nisa.
'I haven't received the new schedule,' Nisa said.
“Semua kursi sudah diperiksa,” ujar ketua panitia.
'All chairs have been inspected,' the committee chair said. (formal)
“Kami akan kembali sebelum malam,” kata Rendi.
'We will return before nightfall,' Rendi said.
A question or exclamation keeps its own punctuation, and the following reporting verb remains lowercase:
“Kapan loket ini ditutup?” tanya seorang penumpang.
'When does this counter close?' a passenger asked.
“Awas, lantainya licin!” seru petugas kebersihan.
'Careful, the floor is slippery!' the cleaner exclaimed.
The reporting clause is grammatically integrated with the quote, so tanya and seru do not begin new sentences merely because the quote contains ? or !.
Interrupted quotation
A reporting clause can interrupt one quoted sentence. Put a comma before the closing quotation mark of the first segment, commas around the reporting clause, and lowercase the continuation when it continues the same sentence.
“Besok pagi,” kata Rina, “kita berangkat sebelum jalan ramai.”
'Tomorrow morning,' Rina said, 'we leave before the roads get busy.'
“Kalau hujan berhenti,” ujar Damar, “pertandingan akan dimulai pukul empat.”
'If the rain stops,' Damar said, 'the match will start at four.'
“Menurut saya,” ujar Bu Ratih, “rencana kedua lebih aman.”
'In my opinion,' Ms. Ratih said, 'the second plan is safer.'
The quoted parts form one sentence: Besok pagi, kita berangkat... Therefore kita remains lowercase after the interruption.
If the reporting clause falls between two complete quoted sentences, the second quotation begins with a capital:
“Saya sudah membaca laporannya,” kata Bima. “Besok saya akan mengirim komentar tertulis.”
'I have read the report,' Bima said. 'Tomorrow I will send written comments.'
Do not treat every interruption as the same punctuation pattern; decide whether the quote continues one sentence or starts another.
Dialogue
In written dialogue, each change of speaker normally begins a new paragraph. The following components show separate turns:
“Kamu mau duduk di dalam atau di teras?” tanya Lala.
'Do you want to sit inside or on the terrace?' Lala asked.
“Di teras saja. Udara di dalam terlalu panas,” jawab Reza.
'On the terrace. The air inside is too hot,' Reza replied.
“Baik, saya ambilkan dua gelas air dulu,” kata Lala.
'All right, I'll get two glasses of water first,' Lala said.
Repeated speaker tags are not required when turn order is obvious, but reintroduce them when an action intervenes or more than two people are speaking.
“Saya setuju,” kata Wina sambil menutup buku catatannya.
'I agree,' Wina said while closing her notebook.
Rafi menggeleng. “Kita perlu memeriksa datanya sekali lagi.”
Rafi shook his head. 'We need to check the data one more time.'
The action sentence in the last example identifies the next speaker, so no additional kata Rafi is necessary.
Reporting verbs and what they frame
Different reporting verbs characterize the speech act. They should match what the quote actually does.
| Verb/frame | Typical function | Register |
|---|---|---|
| berkata / kata | neutral saying | neutral |
| mengatakan | state content | neutral/formal |
| bertanya / tanya | ask | neutral |
| menjawab / jawab | answer | neutral |
| menjelaskan | explain | neutral/formal |
| menegaskan / tegas | emphasize or reaffirm | formal |
| ujar | say in reporting prose | journalistic/literary |
Direktur menegaskan, “Tidak ada perubahan pada jadwal pembayaran.”
The director emphasized, 'There is no change to the payment schedule.' (formal)
“Saya hanya menyampaikan data yang tersedia,” ujar juru bicara itu.
'I am only presenting the available data,' the spokesperson said. (journalistic)
Bare postposed kata/tanya/jawab/ujar belongs to a conventional quotative frame. Do not assume every root can replace a fully derived reporting verb in every clause position.
A news quotation
Journalistic writing often leads with the newsworthy statement, then identifies the source. The quote makes wording attributable while the reporting clause frames responsibility.
“Jalur utara akan dibuka kembali setelah pemeriksaan selesai,” kata Kepala Balai Jalan Arman Suteja dalam konferensi pers.
'The northern route will reopen after the inspection is complete,' Road Agency Head Arman Suteja said at a press conference. (journalistic)
Arman menambahkan, “Kami masih menunggu hasil pemeriksaan dua jembatan.”
Arman added, 'We are still waiting for the inspection results for two bridges.' (journalistic)
The title before the personal name is capitalized as part of the specific official designation. Generic occupational nouns remain lowercase.
News reports may quote only a short phrase inside an otherwise indirect sentence:
Arman menyebut kerusakan itu “cukup serius, tetapi masih dapat diperbaiki”.
Arman called the damage 'quite serious but still repairable.' (journalistic)
Because the embedded words are not a complete independent quoted sentence, cukup begins lowercase. The sentence's period follows the closing quotation mark in this embedded-phrase pattern.
Particles and speaker register inside quotation
Direct quotation can preserve particles, forms of address, and colloquial spellings that belong to the original voice.
Dika berkata, “Kamu jadi datang, kan?”
Dika said, 'You are coming after all, right?' (informal quoted speech)
Maya berbisik, “Aku nggak enak kalau pulang duluan, nih.”
Maya whispered, 'I'd feel bad leaving first, you know.' (informal quoted speech)
Petugas berkata, “Bapak silakan menunggu sebentar, ya.”
The officer said, 'Sir, please wait a moment, all right?'
Write independent particles separately (kan, nih, ya) and keep clitics attached. Outside the quotation, use the narrator's chosen standard: the report says berbisik, not a casual spelling merely because Maya spoke casually.
Spoken fidelity and edited writing
Real speech contains pauses, repairs, repetitions, and fillers. A transcript may preserve them; a news quotation often selects a faithful, coherent excerpt without claiming to reproduce every hesitation.
“Saya, anu, masih perlu membaca lampirannya dulu,” kata Deni.
'I, um, still need to read the attachment first,' Deni said. (verbatim informal speech)
Deni mengatakan bahwa ia masih perlu membaca lampirannya.
Deni said that he still needed to read the attachment. (indirect normalized report)
Use the second form when exact hesitation and wording do not matter. Quotation marks should not be used to make a polished paraphrase look verbatim.
A quotation inside a quotation
Use single quotation marks for quoted material inside a double-quoted direct quotation.
“Dia hanya menjawab, ‘Nanti saja,’ lalu menutup telepon,” jelas Sari.
'He only answered, “Later,” and then hung up,' Sari explained.
The inner words belong to another speech event; the single marks keep the two quotation levels visible.
Common Mistakes
Leaving a declarative period before a following report
❌ “Saya akan menunggu di luar.” kata Rudi.
Incorrect boundary — a declarative quote followed by its reporting clause takes a comma, not a period.
✅ “Saya akan menunggu di luar,” kata Rudi.
'I will wait outside,' Rudi said.
Adding a comma after a quoted question
❌ “Kapan bus berikutnya tiba?,” tanya Rani.
Incorrect punctuation — the question mark replaces the boundary comma.
✅ “Kapan bus berikutnya tiba?” tanya Rani.
'When does the next bus arrive?' Rani asked.
Capitalizing a continuation after an interruption
❌ “Kalau cuaca cerah,” kata Bimo, “Kita berangkat pagi.”
Incorrect capitalization — kita continues the same quoted sentence.
✅ “Kalau cuaca cerah,” kata Bimo, “kita berangkat pagi.”
'If the weather is clear,' Bimo said, 'we leave in the morning.'
Lowercasing a complete quotation
❌ Ibu mengingatkan, “jangan lupa mengunci pintu.”
Incorrect — a complete quoted sentence begins with a capital letter.
✅ Ibu mengingatkan, “Jangan lupa mengunci pintu.”
Mother reminded us, 'Don't forget to lock the door.'
Presenting a paraphrase as an exact quote
❌ Wartawan mengubah semua kata pembicara lalu tetap menyebutnya kutipan langsung.
Incorrect practice — rewritten content is not an exact direct quotation.
✅ Wartawan menuliskan gagasan itu sebagai laporan tidak langsung.
The journalist presented the idea as an indirect report.
Key Takeaways
- A direct quote preserves wording and register; the reporting clause identifies the source and speech act.
- Reporting clauses can precede, follow, or interrupt a quotation, with different punctuation.
- Questions and exclamations retain ? or ! without an added comma.
- A continuation after an interrupted report stays lowercase when it belongs to the same quoted sentence.
- Quote colloquial forms only when preserving the speaker's actual voice; use indirect speech for normalized content.
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