Saya mencetak dokumen penting di kantor.

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Breakdown of Saya mencetak dokumen penting di kantor.

• di: at
• kantor: the office
• penting: important

Questions & Answers about Saya mencetak dokumen penting di kantor.

What does the prefix meN- do in mencetak, and why is it mencetak rather than menetak or mecetak?

meN- is the active-verb prefix in Indonesian. It turns the root cetak (“print”) into the verb “to print.” The nasal sound in meN- assimilates to the first consonant of the root:

• With c (as in cetak), meN- becomes men-, yielding mencetak.
• (As a side note, with t or k you’d see meng-, and with s you’d see meny-, each following similar assimilation rules.)

Why are there no words for “a” or “the” in Saya mencetak dokumen penting di kantor?

Indonesian does not use articles. Nouns stand alone, and definiteness or indefiniteness is inferred from context. If you really need “a,” you can add sebuah or satu, and for “the” you can sometimes follow a noun with itu (“that”).

How do I express past or progressive aspects? For example, “I printed” or “I am printing.”