Indonesian -kan and -i verbs do not conjugate. Separate preverbal particles create completion, progression, prospect, possibility, negation, and prohibition, while each derived verb keeps its suffix and object frame: sudah mengirimkan surat kepada Rina still privileges the letter, and sudah mengirimi Rina surat still privileges Rina. Time and modality never authorize swapping the two suffixes.
This page covers particle placement and scope. Formation, arguments, discourse choice, and advanced lexical restrictions are treated on the other four pages; general combinations appear in aspect and modal ordering.
Stable predicates under separate particles
The neutral actor-voice order is:
actor + aspect / modal / negator + meN-base-kan/i + selected object
| Function | -kan sequence | -i sequence |
|---|---|---|
| realized aspect | sudah mengirimkan surat kepada Rina | sudah mengirimi Rina surat |
| progressive aspect | sedang memasukkan barang ke kotak | sedang memenuhi kotak dengan barang |
| prospective | akan mengirimkan surat kepada Rina | akan mengirimi Rina surat |
| possibility | bisa memasukkan barang ke kotak | bisa memenuhi kotak dengan barang |
| plain negation | tidak mengirimkan surat kepada Rina | tidak mengirimi Rina surat |
| not-yet | belum memasukkan barang ke kotak | belum memenuhi kotak dengan barang |
Maya sudah mengirimkan surat konfirmasi kepada Rina.
Maya has already sent the confirmation letter to Rina.
Maya sudah mengirimi Rina surat konfirmasi.
Maya has already sent Rina a confirmation letter.
Petugas sedang memasukkan barang bukti ke kotak bernomor tujuh.
The officer is putting evidence into box number seven.
Petugas sedang memenuhi kotak bernomor tujuh dengan berkas lama.
The officer is filling box number seven with old files.
Kami bisa mengirimkan salinan itu kepada Rina hari ini.
We can send that copy to Rina today.
Kami bisa mengirimi Rina salinan baru tanpa biaya.
We can send Rina a new copy free of charge.
Maya tidak mengirimkan draf pertama kepada Rina.
Maya did not send the first draft to Rina.
Maya belum mengirimi Rina surat balasan.
Maya has not yet sent Rina a reply letter.
Every marker is separate. Mengirimkan, mengirimi, memasukkan, and memenuhi remain solid words with normal meN- allomorphy.
Sudah: realization and bounded results
Sudah presents the event or relevant result as realized before a contextual reference point.
Sebelum rapat dimulai, sekretaris sudah mengirimkan agenda kepada Rina.
Before the meeting began, the secretary had already sent the agenda to Rina.
Sebelum rapat dimulai, sekretaris sudah mengirimi Rina dua lampiran tambahan.
Before the meeting began, the secretary had already sent Rina two additional attachments.
Pada pukul empat, pekerja sudah memasukkan semua buku ke tiga kardus.
By four o'clock, the workers had put all the books into three boxes.
Menjelang sore, pekerja sudah memenuhi ketiga kardus dengan buku sumbangan.
Toward evening, the workers had filled all three boxes with donated books.
Plural and exhaustive objects supply a natural endpoint. Sudah marks its realization; it does not itself decide which participant is object.
Sedang and lexical event shape
Dynamic sending, inserting, and filling can unfold in time.
Kurir sedang mengirimkan dokumen asli kepada Rina melalui layanan khusus.
The courier is sending the original documents to Rina through a special service.
Bagian layanan sedang mengirimi pelanggan pesan satu per satu.
The service department is sending customers messages one by one.
Anak-anak sedang memasukkan mainan ke kotak penyimpanan.
The children are putting toys into the storage box.
Mereka sedang memenuhi rak pajangan dengan kerajinan lokal.
They are filling the display shelves with local crafts.
The progressive reading differs by frame. Sedang mengirimkan dokumen can profile one dispatch in progress; sedang mengirimi pelanggan pesan readily describes a series across recipients. Sedang memenuhi rak views a gradual approach to coverage or fullness.
Lexicalized stative uses resist sedang. Memenuhi syarat “meet requirements” normally describes satisfaction of a condition, not an unfolding filling event.
Perusahaan itu memenuhi semua syarat keselamatan yang berlaku.
That company meets all applicable safety requirements. (formal)
Tim sedang melengkapi dokumen agar perusahaan memenuhi semua syarat.
The team is completing the documents so that the company meets all requirements.
Do not force sedang memenuhi syarat unless a marked context genuinely construes compliance as temporary or developing. Lexical aspect can limit a grammatically available particle.
Akan: prospect without suffix change
Besok kami akan mengirimkan kontrak akhir kepada Rina.
Tomorrow we will send the final contract to Rina.
Besok kami akan mengirimi Rina kontrak akhir beserta lampirannya.
Tomorrow we will send Rina the final contract and its attachments.
Staf akan memasukkan data baru ke sistem setelah pemeriksaan.
The staff will enter new data into the system after verification.
Berkas baru itu akan memenuhi seluruh lemari setelah proses pemindahan selesai.
The new files will fill the entire cabinet after the transfer process finishes.
Akan scopes over the whole event. No future ending attaches to either suffix.
Bisa: ability, possibility, and passive availability
Anda bisa mengirimkan dokumen itu kepada Rina lewat portal.
You can send that document to Rina through the portal.
Sistem bisa mengirimi Rina pengingat secara otomatis.
The system can send Rina a reminder automatically.
Barang ini bisa dimasukkan ke kotak tanpa dilipat.
This item can be put into the box without being folded.
Kotak besar itu bisa dipenuhi dengan dua puluh paket kecil.
That large box can be filled with twenty small packages.
In the passives, bisa presents practical possibility for the selected patient. Attached di- and the suffix form one verb: dimasukkan, dipenuhi.
Tidak, belum, and quantifier scope
Tidak denies an event, habit, state, or possibility. Belum says that an expected event is not realized up to now.
Kami tidak mengirimkan semua surat pada hari yang sama.
We did not send all the letters on the same day. (possibly some, not all)
Kami belum mengirimkan surat terakhir kepada Rina.
We have not yet sent the final letter to Rina.
Kantor tidak mengirimi semua pelanggan kartu baru.
The office did not send every customer a new card. (possibly some, not all)
Kantor belum mengirimi Rina kartu pengganti.
The office has not yet sent Rina a replacement card.
With semua, tidak commonly yields partial negation: not all. To deny every item or recipient, use satu pun.
Kami tidak mengirimkan satu surat pun selama sistem mati.
We did not send a single letter while the system was down.
Kantor tidak mengirimi satu pelanggan pun pesan promosi bulan ini.
The office did not send a single customer a promotional message this month.
The suffix distinction remains visible under both scopes.
Particle order changes meaning
Rina belum bisa dikirimi surat karena alamatnya belum dikonfirmasi.
Rina cannot yet be sent a letter because her address has not been confirmed.
Surat itu tidak bisa dikirimkan karena lampirannya rusak.
That letter cannot be sent because its attachment is corrupted.
Kolom catatan bisa tidak diisi jika tidak relevan.
The notes field may be left blank if it is not relevant.
Kotak itu sudah tidak lagi dipenuhi berkas cetak sejak sistem digital digunakan.
That box is no longer filled with printed files since the digital system was adopted.
Belum bisa means availability has not arrived; tidak bisa denies possibility; bisa tidak diisi permits non-filling; sudah tidak signals a change to “no longer.” Reordering is not stylistic freedom.
Jangan and control
Imperatives omit actor-voice meN- but retain the suffix.
Jangan kirimkan draf itu kepada Rina sebelum diperiksa.
Do not send that draft to Rina before it is checked.
Jangan kirimi Rina pesan yang sama dua kali.
Do not send Rina the same message twice.
Jangan masukkan barang basah ke kotak kardus.
Do not put wet items into the cardboard box.
Jangan penuhi kotak ini dengan terlalu banyak barang sampai tutupnya tidak bisa dipasang.
Do not fill this box with so many items that its lid cannot be fitted.
These are controllable acts, so direct jangan is natural. With a stative lexical use such as memenuhi syarat, command the controllable preparation instead of commanding the state itself.
Lengkapi dokumennya agar permohonan memenuhi syarat.
Complete the documents so that the application meets the requirements.
Bukan marks correction, not ordinary verbal negation
Mereka tidak mengirimkan surat itu kepada Rina.
They did not send that letter to Rina.
Mereka bukan mengirimkan surat, melainkan mengantarkannya langsung.
They did not send the letter; rather, they delivered it directly. (explicit correction)
Use tidak or belum for ordinary event negation. Bukan can contrast one activity or constituent with another, but it is not a substitute for tidak before these verbs.
Common Mistakes
Moving aspect after the derived verb
❌ Kami mengirimi sudah Rina surat pemberitahuan.
Incorrect neutral order — sudah precedes the whole predicate.
✅ Kami sudah mengirimi Rina surat pemberitahuan tentang jadwal baru.
We have already sent Rina a notification letter about the new schedule.
Detaching the suffix after a modal
❌ Petugas akan masuk kan barang itu ke gudang.
Incorrect spelling — -kan remains attached to the stem.
✅ Petugas akan memasukkan barang itu ke gudang setelah diperiksa.
The officer will put the goods into the warehouse after inspection.
Using bukan for simple event negation
❌ Kantor bukan mengirimi Rina kartu baru bulan ini.
Incorrect as an ordinary denial — use tidak.
✅ Kantor tidak mengirimi Rina kartu baru bulan ini.
The office is not sending Rina a new card this month.
Forcing sedang onto a stable requirement reading
❌ Perusahaan sedang memenuhi persyaratan perizinan itu selama sepuluh tahun.
Aspectual mismatch — long-standing qualification is not an unfolding event.
✅ Perusahaan sudah memenuhi persyaratan perizinan itu selama sepuluh tahun.
The company has met those licensing requirements for ten years.
Dropping a suffix in an imperative
❌ Jangan kirim Rina surat rahasia itu.
Incorrect for the intended recipient-oriented double-object frame.
✅ Jangan kirimi Rina surat rahasia itu tanpa izin direktur.
Do not send Rina that confidential letter without the director's permission.
Key Takeaways
- Separate preverbal particles build time, modality, and negation around unchanged -kan/-i frames.
- Sedang requires an unfolding event; lexical statives such as memenuhi syarat resist a neutral progressive.
- Tidak denies, belum marks nonrealization, and bukan is reserved for explicit contrast.
- Quantifiers and particle order create scope contrasts without changing object selection.
- Imperatives omit meN- but retain -kan or -i: kirimkan, kirimi, masukkan, penuhi.
Related Topics
- -kan versus -i: Overview and FormationB2 — Recognize how -kan and -i select different affected participants in transfer, caused-motion, container, and surface-oriented lexical families.
- -kan versus -i: Subjects, Objects, and Argument OrderB2 — Track theme, recipient, moving object, and affected container across actor voice, passive, pronoun-agent object voice, pronouns, and omission.
- -kan versus -i: Choosing This ConstructionB2 — Choose between theme-oriented -kan and target-oriented -i, then select voice according to topicality, definiteness, animacy, and genre.
- Ordering Aspect and Modal MarkersB2 — Build and interpret Indonesian marker chains by reading each word's scope over what follows, especially around negation, prospect, ability, and aspect.
- Negation Scope with Aspect, Modals, and FocusB2 — Use word order and focus constructions to control whether Indonesian negation targets necessity, probability, frequency, completion, or one constituent.
- Choosing Voice Across a Discourse: Aspect, Modality, and NegationC2 — Place Indonesian aspect, modal, and negative particles around actor voice, di- passive, object voice, and ter- while preserving pivot and scope.