Saya lupa bawa buku.

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Breakdown of Saya lupa bawa buku.

• buku: the book
• saya: I
• lupa: to forget
• bawa: to bring

Questions & Answers about Saya lupa bawa buku.

What does lupa mean in this sentence?

Lupa translates to forgot in English. It indicates that the speaker did not remember to do something—in this case, to bring the book.

Why is the verb written as bawa instead of the full form membawa?

In everyday Indonesian, especially in informal speech, it's common to drop the me- prefix in certain contexts. When lupa (or other verbs expressing mental states such as mau for "want") is used, the following verb often appears in its bare root form, so bawa is acceptable instead of membawa.

How does the word order in this sentence work?

The sentence follows the common Indonesian Subject-Verb-Object order. Saya (I) is the subject, lupa (forgot) is the verb, and bawa buku (bring a book) is the object, clearly conveying who is doing what.

Does the sentence indicate past tense, and how is that expressed in Indonesian?

Indonesian verbs do not change form to indicate tense like in English. Context or time-indicating words are used instead. In this sentence, even though lupa implies that the forgetting happened before the moment of speaking, the tense is understood from context rather than verb conjugation.

Is there a need for an additional linking word like untuk before bawa buku?

No, Indonesian grammar often allows verbs to directly follow certain expressions without extra linking words. In this case, lupa is immediately followed by the bare form bawa buku. That construction is standard in colloquial Indonesian, so adding untuk isn’t necessary.