Saya menyerahkan paspor saya kepada petugas keamanan.

I hand over my passport to the security staff.

Breakdown of Saya menyerahkan paspor saya kepada petugas keamanan.

• saya: I
• saya: my
• kepada: to
• paspor: the passport
• petugas keamanan: the security staff
• menyerahkan: to hand over

Questions & Answers about Saya menyerahkan paspor saya kepada petugas keamanan.

Why is saya used twice in Saya menyerahkan paspor saya kepada petugas keamanan?

In Indonesian, the first saya functions as the subject pronoun “I,” while the second saya attaches to paspor to show possession (“my passport”). Unlike English, Indonesian doesn’t inflect nouns for possession, so you repeat the pronoun.

Can we omit the second saya and say Saya menyerahkan paspor kepada petugas keamanan?

Yes. If it’s obvious you’re handing over your own passport, dropping saya is grammatically fine. However, keeping paspor saya is more explicit and common in formal or ambiguous contexts.

Why use menyerahkan instead of memberikan?

Menyerahkan means “to hand over” or “to submit,” and carries a formal or official nuance—ideal for checkpoints or offices. Memberikan simply means “to give” and is more general. You could say memberikan paspor saya, but menyerahkan emphasizes the formal transfer of control.

How does the me-…-kan construction work in menyerahkan?

The root is serah (“give/submit”). Adding the prefix me- and suffix -kan turns it into a transitive verb meaning “to cause something to be submitted.” Phonetic rule: when me- meets an s-initial root, s changes to ny, yielding menyerahkan.

Why is kepada used instead of ke?

Both can translate as “to,” but kepada is specifically used when directing something toward a person or role (the recipient). Ke is more general for locations or directions (e.g., ke bandara “to the airport”).

Is petugas keamanan singular or plural?

Indonesian nouns don’t change form for number. Petugas keamanan can refer to one security officer or several, depending on context. To explicitly mark plural, you could add para: para petugas keamanan (“the security officers”).

What is the difference between menyerah and menyerahkan?

Menyerah (meN- + serah) without -kan means “to give up” or “to surrender.” Menyerahkan (with -kan) is causative/transitive: “to hand something over.”

Can we swap the objects and say Saya menyerahkan kepada petugas keamanan paspor saya?

Yes—Indonesian has relatively free word order, so this is still grammatical. However, the most natural and common order places the direct object (paspor saya) right after the verb, then the indirect object (kepada petugas keamanan).