This constructed notice regulates a shared reading room. It uses four directive frames—dilarang, wajib, tidak boleh, and harap—because public rules do not express every degree of authority in the same way. The institution never names an enforcer; impersonal predicates and passives make the rule itself sound continuously applicable.
The text is written directly in normalized EYD V spelling. Its numbered clauses are full sentences and therefore end in periods. The all-capital heading is conventional display typography, not a historical spelling convention or an abbreviated expansion hidden from the learner.
Complete public notice
TATA TERTIB RUANG BACA BERSAMA
- Pengunjung wajib menjaga kebersihan dan ketenangan.
- Dilarang merokok, makan, dan membawa minuman tanpa tutup di dalam ruang baca.
- Telepon genggam harus diatur ke mode senyap.
- Barang pribadi tidak boleh ditinggalkan tanpa pengawasan.
- Harap mengembalikan kursi ke tempat semula setelah digunakan.
- Kerusakan fasilitas wajib dilaporkan kepada petugas.
- Penggunaan ruang diskusi dibatasi paling lama dua jam.
Terima kasih atas kerja sama seluruh pengunjung.
Line-by-line English translation
TATA TERTIB RUANG BACA BERSAMA
RULES FOR THE SHARED READING ROOM
Pengunjung wajib menjaga kebersihan dan ketenangan.
Visitors must maintain cleanliness and quiet.
Dilarang merokok, makan, dan membawa minuman tanpa tutup di dalam ruang baca.
Smoking, eating, and carrying uncovered drinks inside the reading room are prohibited.
Telepon genggam harus diatur ke mode senyap.
Mobile phones must be set to silent mode.
Barang pribadi tidak boleh ditinggalkan tanpa pengawasan.
Personal belongings may not be left unattended.
Harap mengembalikan kursi ke tempat semula setelah digunakan.
Please return chairs to their original place after use.
Kerusakan fasilitas wajib dilaporkan kepada petugas.
Damage to the facilities must be reported to staff.
Penggunaan ruang diskusi dibatasi paling lama dua jam.
Use of the discussion room is limited to a maximum of two hours.
Terima kasih atas kerja sama seluruh pengunjung.
Thank you for every visitor's cooperation.
Numbered grammar and authority notes
1. Dilarang creates a categorical prohibition
Dilarang + activity is the most sign-like prohibition in the text. Grammatically, dilarang is a di- passive from melarang “prohibit,” but the omitted institution or authority is not the message. In a standing notice, it means the activity is prohibited under the rules now and whenever the notice applies.
Dilarang memasuki ruang penyimpanan tanpa izin petugas.
Entering the storage room without staff permission is prohibited. (formal public rule)
Dilarang memindahkan peralatan keselamatan dari tempatnya.
Moving safety equipment from its designated place is prohibited. (formal public rule)
It is not inherently past. Indonesian passives do not encode tense, and no past-time expression appears. The prohibition guide compares dilarang with personal jangan.
2. Wajib assigns a nonoptional duty
Wajib marks an obligation imposed by the rules. It can precede an active action by the responsible participant—pengunjung wajib menjaga—or a passive action required of an affected item—kerusakan wajib dilaporkan.
Setiap pengguna wajib menunjukkan kartu akses saat diminta.
Every user must show an access card when asked. (formal obligation)
Pintu darurat wajib dibiarkan bebas dari barang apa pun.
Emergency exits must be kept clear of all items. (formal obligation)
English must covers both, but Indonesian voice decides what the rule foregrounds: the responsible visitor or the condition/action required of an object.
3. Tidak boleh denies permission
Tidak boleh ditinggalkan says that leaving belongings unattended is not permitted. It is an enforceable rule, but its grammar frames the prohibition as denied permission rather than the categorical label dilarang.
Makanan dari luar tidak boleh dibawa ke area komputer.
Outside food may not be brought into the computer area.
Kartu anggota tidak boleh dipinjamkan kepada orang lain.
Membership cards may not be lent to another person.
Crucially, tidak harus means “not required/need not,” not “must not.” Negation has scope over the necessity itself.
Pengunjung tidak harus melepas sepatu sebelum memasuki ruang baca.
Visitors do not have to remove their shoes before entering the reading room.
4. Harap packages a polite institutional direction
Harap mengembalikan... is a formal request addressed to any reader. It is less categorical in wording than wajib, but venue and genre still give it directive force. There is no need to repeat Anda.
Harap menutup pintu perlahan agar tidak mengganggu pembaca.
Please close the door gently so as not to disturb readers. (formal direction)
Harap menunggu di luar sampai ruang diskusi tersedia.
Please wait outside until the discussion room becomes available. (formal direction)
Use harap for cooperative behavior and procedural courtesy; use wajib where compliance is explicitly nonoptional; use dilarang/tidak boleh to block an action.
5. Passives keep objects and required outcomes prominent
Diatur, ditinggalkan, digunakan, dilaporkan, and dibatasi are attached di- passives. Each places an affected item or outcome in focus: the phone's setting, personal belongings, the used chair, reported damage, and the time limit.
Lampu meja harus dimatikan sebelum pengunjung meninggalkan ruangan.
Desk lamps must be switched off before visitors leave the room.
Barang temuan akan disimpan oleh petugas selama tujuh hari.
Found property will be kept by staff for seven days.
Kursi yang telah digunakan harus dikembalikan ke posisi semula.
A chair that has been used must be returned to its original position.
This object-centered organization is characteristic of public rules because the desired state matters more than which particular employee enforces it.
6. Nominalizations turn actions and states into rule topics
Kebersihan, ketenangan, pengawasan, kerusakan, penggunaan, and kerja sama are nouns built from or related to predicates. They let the notice name institutional concerns compactly.
Penggunaan pengeras suara memerlukan izin pengelola gedung.
Use of loudspeakers requires permission from building management. (formal nominal style)
Kehilangan barang pribadi bukan tanggung jawab pengelola.
Loss of personal belongings is not the management's responsibility. (formal notice style)
Nominal style can become dense, but in a short rule it gives a stable label to an activity. Compare menggunakan ruang “use the room” with penggunaan ruang “use of the room.”
7. Numbering makes each rule independently retrievable
Each clause begins with an Arabic numeral followed by a period. The clauses are grammatically parallel enough to scan, but predicate choice varies with authority. Numbering allows staff to cite “aturan nomor 4” without repeating the entire notice.
Aturan nomor 3 berlaku di seluruh area belajar bersama.
Rule number 3 applies throughout the shared study area.
Ketentuan berikut mulai berlaku pada tanggal 1 September.
The following provisions take effect on September 1. (formal)
A very small sign may intentionally abbreviate a clause to DILARANG MEROKOK with no final period. This complete multi-rule notice does not use that compressed sign style; its sentences are punctuated as a list.
How the four directive choices compare
| Form | Institutional force | Typical reading |
|---|---|---|
| dilarang + action | categorical prohibition | the activity is prohibited |
| tidak boleh + action/passive | denied permission | the action is not allowed |
| wajib + action/passive | nonoptional duty | the action/state is required |
| harap + action | polite institutional direction | the reader is requested to comply |
These are not merely polite synonyms. Replacing dilarang merokok with harap tidak merokok can weaken the explicitly categorical presentation, even if both aim for the same behavior.
Vocabulary glosses
| Expression | Meaning | Formation/register |
|---|---|---|
| tata tertib | rules; code of conduct | formal fixed compound |
| ruang baca bersama | shared reading room | noun phrase heading |
| mode senyap | silent mode | device setting |
| tanpa pengawasan | unattended; without supervision | formal safety phrase |
| tempat semula | original/designated place | result location |
| kerusakan fasilitas | damage to facilities | nominalized rule topic |
| paling lama | for no longer than; maximum | upper time boundary |
| kerja sama | cooperation | two-word compound |
A natural translation preserving the register
SHARED READING ROOM RULES
- Visitors must keep the room clean and quiet.
- No smoking or eating. Drinks must have lids.
- Mobile phones must be set to silent.
- Do not leave personal belongings unattended.
- Please return chairs to their original place after use.
- Any damage to the facilities must be reported to staff.
- Use of the discussion room is limited to two hours.
Thank you for your cooperation.
The natural translation varies between no, must, do not, and please, preserving the Indonesian hierarchy of prohibition, obligation, denied permission, and courteous direction.
Common Mistakes
1. Using tidak harus for prohibition
❌ Pengunjung tidak harus merokok di dalam ruang baca.
Incorrect for ‘must not smoke’—tidak harus means there is no obligation to smoke.
✅ Pengunjung tidak boleh merokok di dalam ruang baca.
Visitors must not smoke inside the reading room.
2. Treating dilarang as inherently past
❌ Papan “Dilarang masuk” hanya berlaku untuk orang yang mencoba masuk kemarin.
Incorrect—without past-time context, the standing notice imposes a current rule.
✅ Papan “Dilarang masuk” berlaku selama pembatasan akses masih diterapkan.
The ‘No entry’ sign applies while the access restriction remains in force.
3. Separating passive di-
❌ Barang pribadi tidak boleh di tinggalkan di atas meja.
Incorrect spelling—passive di- attaches to tinggalkan.
✅ Barang pribadi tidak boleh ditinggalkan di atas meja.
Personal belongings may not be left on the table.
4. Confusing an action with its nominalized topic
❌ Mengguna ruang diskusi dibatasi selama dua jam.
Incorrect—the rule topic requires penggunaan, not the nonexistent form mengguna.
✅ Penggunaan ruang diskusi dibatasi selama dua jam.
Use of the discussion room is limited to two hours.
5. Combining harap with English infinitive syntax
❌ Harap untuk mengembalikan kursi setelah dipakai.
Incorrect in this concise notice frame—harap takes the requested action directly.
✅ Harap mengembalikan kursi setelah dipakai.
Please return the chairs after use.
6. Reduplicating a noun after seluruh
❌ Terima kasih atas kerja sama seluruh pengunjung-pengunjung.
Incorrect—seluruh already supplies comprehensive quantity; reduplication is redundant.
✅ Terima kasih atas kerja sama semua pengunjung selama kegiatan berlangsung.
Thank you for every visitor's cooperation throughout the activity.
Key Takeaways
- Dilarang gives a categorical prohibition; tidak boleh denies permission.
- Wajib assigns a nonoptional duty; harap frames a cooperative institutional request.
- Tidak harus means “need not,” never “must not.”
- Passives and nominalizations foreground regulated objects, actions, and outcomes without naming an enforcer.
- Numbered, fully punctuated clauses make a multi-rule notice easy to scan and cite.
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- Warnings, Safety Notices, and Prohibitive SentencesA2 — Choose among jangan, dilarang, tidak boleh, harap tidak, and awas according to authority, audience, and urgency.
- harus versus perlu versus bolehA2 — Choose strong harus, need-focused perlu, and permission-focused boleh—and distinguish optional, unnecessary, and prohibited actions under negation.
- boleh: Permission and AcceptabilityA1 — Use boleh to grant or request permission, judge an option acceptable, and recognize the fixed possibility expression boleh jadi.
- di- Passive: Overview and FormationA1 — Recognize and form the Indonesian di- passive, where an affected patient is subject and a third-person agent may follow or remain unspoken.
- Administrative and Bureaucratic IndonesianC2 — Decode and improve official Indonesian by tracing formulaic openings, nominal chains, defined roles, passive directives, and concealed institutional agency.