Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Saya mengirim dokumen ke kantor sekarang. - I am sending the document to the office now.

In Indonesian, dictionary verbs (roots) like kirim (“send”) often need an me- prefix to become active transitive verbs. The prefix me- (which assimilates to meng- before k) turns kirim into mengirim, meaning “to send” with a clear actor doing the sending.

How do you show tense or aspect if Indonesian verbs don’t change form?

Indonesian verbs do not inflect for past, present, or future. Instead, you add time indicators or rely on context. In this sentence, sekarang (“now”) tells you the action is happening in the present. If you wanted past, you might say kemarin (“yesterday”) or telah/sudah + mengirim; for future, akan + mengirim.

Why is sekarang placed at the end of the sentence? Can it go elsewhere?

Adverbials of time like sekarang are flexible in Indonesian. You can place sekarang at the beginning (Sekarang saya mengirim dokumen ke kantor) or after the subject (Saya sekarang mengirim dokumen ke kantor) without changing the meaning. Putting it at the end is just one of the natural word-order options.

What is the function of ke in ke kantor?

ke is a preposition meaning “to” or “toward.” It marks direction or destination when you send/bring/go somewhere. Here ke kantor means “to the office.”

Why is the direct object (dokumen) placed before the indirect object (ke kantor)?

The basic word order for transitive verbs in Indonesian is Subject – Verb – Direct Object – Indirect Object (SVDOi). So you get Saya (S) mengirim (V) dokumen (DO) ke kantor (IO). If you swapped them without changing the verb, it would sound unnatural.

Why aren’t there articles like “the” or “a” before dokumen or kantor?

Indonesian does not use articles. Nouns stand alone, and definiteness or indefiniteness is understood from context or added words (e.g., itu for “that”). So dokumen can mean “a document,” “the document,” or “documents,” depending on context.

What’s the difference between ke and kepada when indicating “to”?

Use ke when talking about physical movement toward places or things (ke kantor, “to the office”). Use kepada when indicating giving or sending something “to” a person or entity (mengirim surat kepada Pak Budi, “send a letter to Mr. Budi”).

Can you omit saya in this sentence?

Yes, pronouns are often dropped when context makes the subject clear. You could say Mengirim dokumen ke kantor sekarang in a note or casual context. However, in spoken or clear formal statements, including saya removes ambiguity and sounds more natural.