Bantuan pemerintah terbatas.

Government aid is limited.

Breakdown of Bantuan pemerintah terbatas.

• adalah: to be
• pemerintah: the government
• bantuan: the aid
• terbatas: limited

Questions & Answers about Bantuan pemerintah terbatas.

What part of speech is terbatas in this sentence?

Terbatas here functions as an adjective (a descriptive word). In Indonesian, adjectives usually follow the noun they describe, and there’s no separate “to be” verb (like is in English) required. So bantuan pemerintah terbatas literally reads “government assistance limited.”

What is the root word of terbatas, and how does the prefix ter- work?

The root is batas, which means “limit” or “boundary.” Adding ter- turns it into terbatas, meaning “limited” or “having a limit.” In this case, ter- creates an adjective describing the state of being limited. Note this is different from the passive verb dibatasi (“is/are limited by someone”).

Why isn’t there an article like the or a in bantuan pemerintah terbatas?

Indonesian has no articles equivalent to English a, an, or the. Context tells you whether something is definite or indefinite. Here, bantuan pemerintah terbatas can mean “limited government assistance” or “the government’s assistance is limited,” depending on context.

How do you show possession in bantuan pemerintah? Why no word like dari (“from”)?

Bantuan pemerintah is a noun–noun construction where the second noun (pemerintah, “government”) modifies the first (bantuan, “aid/assistance”). It literally means “assistance of the government.” You could also say bantuan dari pemerintah (“assistance from the government”) but dropping dari is more concise and very common in formal writing or headlines.

Can bantuan be plural? How do you mark plurality?

Indonesian nouns are generally unmarked for singular/plural. Bantuan can mean one piece of assistance or multiple instances. If you want to stress plurality, you might reduplicate (bantuan-bantuan) or add quantifiers (“some,” beberapa bantuan), but in most cases context suffices.

Why is there no verb like adalah or itu in this sentence?

Verbs like adalah (to be) or demonstratives like itu (that) are optional. In headlines, signs, or concise statements, Indonesian often omits them for brevity. You could make it more explicit by saying Bantuan pemerintah adalah terbatas or Bantuan pemerintah itu terbatas, but it sounds more formal or redundant.

How would you express the opposite, “government assistance is unlimited”?

You can negate terbatas with tak or tidak:

• Bantuan pemerintah tak terbatas.
• Bantuan pemerintah tidak terbatas.
  Both mean “government assistance is unlimited,” though tak terbatas is slightly more colloquial, and tidak terbatas is neutral.

Is bantuan the same as sumbangan, or is there a nuance?

They overlap but differ in nuance:

• Bantuan is any form of help, aid, or assistance (often official or professional).
• Sumbangan is typically a donation or contribution, usually charitable or voluntary.
  So bantuan pemerintah implies official government aid programs, not just a one-off donation.