Correlative Conjunctions | Indonesian Grammar

Correlative conjunctions work in pairs: baik...maupun, tidak hanya...tetapi juga, entah...entah, makin...makin, and jangankan...pun. The first element opens a grammatical and semantic frame; the second completes it.

Because both slots belong to one frame, their structures should be parallel and their boundaries should match the intended focus. The wider rhetorical consequences are developed in parallelism and balanced clauses; this page concentrates on the paired linkers themselves.

A map of the pairs

Pair	Core relation	Balanced noun phrase	Balanced clause or predicate
baik...maupun	inclusive coordination	baik guru maupun siswa	baik bekerja di kantor maupun bekerja dari rumah
tidak hanya...tetapi juga	addition with escalation	tidak hanya waktu, tetapi juga biaya	tidak hanya membaca data, tetapi juga memeriksa sumbernya
entah...entah	unresolved alternatives	entah Senin entah Selasa	entah ia lupa entah pesannya tidak terkirim
makin...makin	proportional change	—	makin lama menunggu, makin gelisah kami
jangankan...pun	scalar extreme	jangankan mobil, sepeda pun	jangankan menyelesaikan, memulai pun

The examples in each row balance like with like. Length may differ, but grammatical function and focus position remain comparable.

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Remove the paired words temporarily. If the two remaining constituents could occupy the same slot or form matching clauses, the correlative frame is probably well built.

Baik...maupun: both members included

Baik X maupun Y includes both X and Y in the same statement. It is common in careful speech and formal writing; ordinary conversation may simply use X dan Y.

Baik Rina maupun Damar sudah menyerahkan formulir pendaftaran.

Both Rina and Damar have submitted the registration form.

Layanan ini tersedia baik melalui aplikasi maupun melalui situs resmi.

This service is available both through the app and through the official website. (formal)

Perubahan itu memengaruhi baik biaya produksi maupun waktu pengiriman.

The change affects both production costs and delivery times. (formal)

The initial baik need not begin the whole sentence. It should sit immediately before the first focused member, and maupun before the second.

The pair can coordinate predicates or clauses:

Para relawan baik membersihkan pantai maupun mendata jenis sampah yang ditemukan.

The volunteers both clean the beach and record the types of waste found. (formal)

Baik ketika harga bahan baku naik maupun ketika pasokan terlambat datang, usaha kecil menanggung dampaknya.

Whether raw-material prices rise or supplies arrive late, small businesses bear the impact. (formal; two scenarios treated alike)

The last example approaches concessive “whether X or Y.” It remains possible because both clauses activate the same consequence, but baik...maupun is most transparent with constituents jointly included in one assertion.

Tidak hanya...tetapi juga: an added, stronger point

Tidak hanya X, tetapi juga Y means “not only X, but also Y.” X is true but insufficient; Y adds a further, often more striking claim.

Pelatihan itu tidak hanya gratis, tetapi juga terbuka bagi peserta dari luar kota.

The training is not only free but also open to participants from outside the city.

Sistem baru tidak hanya mempercepat pembayaran, tetapi juga mengurangi kesalahan pencatatan.

The new system not only speeds up payment but also reduces recording errors.

Banjir tersebut merusak tidak hanya rumah warga, tetapi juga jembatan utama desa.

The flood damaged not only residents' homes but also the village's main bridge.

The placement of tidak hanya controls focus. In the second example it scopes over two actor-voice predicates. In the third, it sits after merusak and scopes over two objects. Moving it changes what is paired.

Tidak hanya Mira yang mengeluh, tetapi juga beberapa pelanggan lama.

It was not only Mira who complained, but also several long-standing customers.

Mira tidak hanya mengeluh, tetapi juga mengajukan solusi tertulis.

Mira not only complained but also submitted a written solution.

The first pairs complainants; the second pairs Mira's actions. English word order may obscure this difference, so place the first correlative directly before the intended focus.

Bukan hanya...tetapi juga is also used, especially when the first member is noun-like or the contrast feels identificational. Tidak hanya is very common with verbal and adjectival material; real usage overlaps.

Masalahnya bukan hanya kekurangan dana, tetapi juga lemahnya koordinasi antarlembaga.

The problem is not only a lack of funds but also weak coordination between agencies. (formal)

Entah...entah: alternatives left unresolved

Repeated entah presents alternatives whose truth or identity the speaker does not know or does not settle.

Rapat berikutnya akan diadakan entah hari Rabu entah hari Kamis.

The next meeting will be held either Wednesday or Thursday; it is not yet settled.

Entah karena lelah entah karena kecewa, Arif tidak banyak bicara malam itu.

Whether from tiredness or disappointment, Arif did not say much that evening.

Entah dia tersesat entah teleponnya kehabisan daya, sampai sekarang belum ada kabar.

Whether he got lost or his phone ran out of power, there has been no news so far.

Entah disengaja entah tidak, komentar itu membuat suasana rapat berubah.

Whether intentional or not, the comment changed the mood of the meeting.

Unlike simple atau, entah...entah presents the alternatives as epistemically unresolved rather than merely offering a choice.

Pilih jadwal pagi atau sesi setelah makan siang.

Choose the morning schedule or the session after lunch. (ordinary choice)

Entah teh entah kopi, yang dipesannya selalu tanpa gula.

Whether tea or coffee, whatever he or she orders is always without sugar. (unresolved/generalized alternatives)

In edited prose, both entah elements remain separate words from what follows.

Makin...makin: two changing scales

Makin X, makin Y and the fuller semakin X, semakin Y express proportional change: as one scale changes, another changes with it. Semakin is frequent in careful and formal writing; makin is common across conversation and prose.

Makin sore, makin ramai pasar di dekat stasiun.

The later it gets, the busier the market near the station becomes.

Makin sering saya berlatih, makin jelas perbedaan kedua bunyi itu.

The more often I practice, the clearer the difference between the two sounds becomes.

Semakin panjang rantai pasoknya, semakin besar risiko keterlambatan.

The longer the supply chain, the greater the risk of delay. (formal)

Semakin banyak data yang tersedia, semakin hati-hati peneliti harus menafsirkan korelasinya.

The more data become available, the more carefully researchers must interpret the correlation. (academic)

Each member must present a gradable dimension: later time, frequency, length, amount, clarity, or caution. The two dimensions need not rise together; one may fall.

Makin tinggi harga tiket, makin sedikit penonton yang datang.

The higher the ticket price, the fewer spectators come.

Semakin dekat tenggatnya, semakin jarang anggota tim mengambil cuti.

The closer the deadline, the less often team members take leave. (formal)

Use a comma between the initial scale clause and the following scale clause.

Jangankan...pun: an extreme makes a weaker case obvious

Jangankan X, Y pun... places X and Y on a contextually ordered scale. In the common negative pattern, X is harder or less expected than Y: if even the easier Y cannot be achieved, X is ruled out more strongly. In a positive pattern, Y may instead name the more remarkable achievement, making X obvious by comparison.

Jangankan membeli rumah, membayar uang muka pun kami belum mampu.

Let alone buying a house, we cannot yet even afford a down payment.

Jangankan berlari, berdiri pun kakinya masih sakit.

Let alone running, even standing still hurts his or her leg.

Jangankan menjawab semua pertanyaan, membacanya pun dia belum selesai.

Let alone answering all the questions, he has not even finished reading them.

Jangankan tamu dari luar kota, tetangga dekat pun tidak diberi tahu.

Let alone guests from out of town, even the close neighbors were not informed.

In these negative examples, buying a house is harder than paying a down payment, and running is harder than standing. Attached focus pun is written separately from the preceding noun or predicate: uang muka pun, berdiri pun, tetangga pun.

Positive contexts are possible when the stronger achievement implies the easier one:

Jangankan laporan singkat, buku setebal itu pun mampu ia selesaikan dalam sebulan.

Not just a short report—even a book that thick she can finish in a month.

Parallelism and punctuation

Correlatives can pair noun phrases, adjective phrases, predicates, or whole clauses. They do not license an arbitrary category mixture.

Baik bekerja secara mandiri maupun berkolaborasi dengan tim memerlukan disiplin.

Both working independently and collaborating with a team require discipline.

Aplikasi itu tidak hanya mudah digunakan, tetapi juga cukup aman untuk menyimpan dokumen penting.

The application is not only easy to use but also secure enough to store important documents.

Short noun-phrase pairs normally take no internal comma: baik siswa maupun guru. Use a comma where the first member is a clause or where the second half, such as tetapi juga, connects substantial predicates. In jangankan X, Y pun... and makin X, makin Y, the comma marks the boundary between the two paired frames.

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Parallelism is about role and focus, not equal word count. A three-word noun phrase can balance a ten-word noun phrase if both are, for example, objects of the same verb.

Common Mistakes

Mixing a noun phrase with a verb phrase

❌ Tugasnya tidak hanya pemeriksaan tiket, tetapi juga membantu penumpang.

Faulty parallelism — pemeriksaan tiket is a noun phrase, while membantu penumpang is a verb phrase.

✅ Tugasnya tidak hanya memeriksa tiket, tetapi juga membantu penumpang lanjut usia.

The duties involve not only checking tickets but also helping elderly passengers.

Misplacing the first correlative and changing focus

❌ Tidak hanya Rendi memperbaiki komputer, tetapi juga mengganti kabelnya.

Wrong focus if the intended pair is two actions by Rendi — tidak hanya before Rendi sets up a contrast between people.

✅ Rendi tidak hanya memperbaiki komputer, tetapi juga mengganti kabel dayanya.

Rendi not only repaired the computer but also replaced its power cable.

Using entah for an ordinary offered choice

❌ Entah kartu entah tunai, silakan pilih cara pembayaran Anda.

Wrong linker for a direct offered choice — entah presents unresolved uncertainty.

✅ Anda dapat membayar dengan kartu atau tunai.

You can pay by card or cash.

Building makin...makin without two scales

❌ Makin hujan, makin payung ada di lemari.

Incorrect — the two members do not express coherent changing dimensions.

✅ Makin deras hujannya, makin panjang antrean taksi di depan mal.

The heavier the rain, the longer the taxi queue in front of the mall.

Attaching focus pun

❌ Jangankan makan malam, sarapanpun belum sempat.

Incorrect spelling — focus pun is written separately.

✅ Jangankan makan malam, sarapan pun belum sempat kami siapkan.

Let alone dinner, we have not even had time to prepare breakfast.

Key Takeaways

Correlatives open and close a paired grammatical frame.
Baik...maupun includes both members; tidak hanya...tetapi juga adds an escalated point.
Entah...entah leaves alternatives unresolved; makin...makin relates two changing scales.
Jangankan...pun orders alternatives on a contextually understood scale, and focus pun is separate.
Place each correlative immediately before its focus and keep the two focused structures parallel.

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