Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Dokumen penting itu sudah dikirim ke kantor. - That important document has been sent to the office.

Placed after a noun phrase, itu makes it definite: “that” (distal) or “the (aforementioned)”. So Dokumen penting itu = “that/the important document(s)” the speaker assumes you know.

Near vs far: ini = “this”, itu = “that”.
Formal “the aforementioned”: tersebut (e.g., dokumen penting tersebut).
Don’t confuse with topic/equative uses:
- Itu dokumen penting = “That is an important document.”
- Dokumen itu penting = “The document is important.”

Is dokumen here singular or plural?

Indonesian doesn’t obligatorily mark plural, so it’s context-dependent. Dokumen penting itu can mean “the important document” or “the important documents.”

To mark plural explicitly:
- Reduplication: dokumen-dokumen penting itu
- Quantifiers: banyak dokumen penting, semua dokumen penting itu, beberapa dokumen penting (no itu if it’s indefinite).

What does sudah add? Is it tense?

Sudah marks completed aspect (“already; has/have”). Indonesian has no tense inflection.

Neutral/common: sudah
Formal/written: telah
Colloquial: udah
Negative counterpart: belum (“not yet”): Dokumen penting itu belum dikirim.
Not the same as pernah (“ever/ever before”).

Why is penting after dokumen? Could I put it before?

Adjectives typically follow nouns: dokumen penting (“important document”). Before-noun order needs yang: dokumen yang penting (“the document(s) that are important,” often contrastive).

Attributive vs predicative:
- Dokumen penting itu = “that important document”
- Dokumen itu penting = “the document is important”

What is dikirim exactly?

Dikirim is the passive form (prefix di-) of kirim (“send”): “(is/was) sent.”

Active (with meN-): (Kami) sudah mengirim dokumen penting itu ke kantor.
Casual active without meN- (common in speech): Kami sudah kirim dokumen penting itu ke kantor.

How do I say who sent it?

Three natural options:

Passive + agent with oleh (more formal): Dokumen penting itu sudah dikirim ke kantor oleh kami/saya.
“Short passive” (very common): Dokumen penting itu sudah saya/kami kirim ke kantor.
Active: Kami sudah mengirim dokumen penting itu ke kantor. Choice depends on what you want to foreground (the document vs the sender) and formality.

Why ke kantor and not di kantor or kepada kantor?

ke = to/toward (destination): dikirim ke kantor = “sent to the office”
di = at/in (location): di kantor = “at the office”
kepada = to (a recipient, usually a person/title): dikirim kepada Pak Budi di kantor. You wouldn’t say kepada kantor for a physical destination.

Can I drop sudah?

You can, but you lose the “completed” meaning. Dokumen penting itu dikirim ke kantor could be read as generic/habitual (“important documents are sent to the office”) or rely on context for time. Use sudah when you want to assert it’s done; use time words if needed: tadi, kemarin, barusan.

Is the di in dikirim the same as di meaning “at/in”?

No. There are two different items:

di- (no space) is a passive verb prefix: dikirim, dibuat.
di (with a space) is a preposition “at/in”: di kantor, di rumah. Spacing matters: prefix joins the verb; preposition stands alone.

What’s the difference between dikirim and terkirim?

dikirim focuses on the sending event (often with an implicit/explicit agent): “(was) sent.”
terkirim highlights the result/state or an unintended/automatic outcome: “(has ended up) sent; is sent.” Examples:
Pesan sudah terkirim. = “The message has been sent (status).”
Dokumen itu sudah dikirim oleh kurir. = action by a sender. Both can appear with sudah, but they carry different nuances.

Do I need -kan (e.g., dikirimkan / mengirimkan)?

Often optional in this context; many speakers treat (meng)kirim and (meng)irimkan as interchangeable when the object is the thing sent.

Active: Kami mengirim/mengirimkan dokumen itu ke kantor.
Passive: Dokumen itu sudah dikirim/dikirimkan ke kantor. Subtlety: -kan can emphasize delivery to a recipient (especially with kepada), while -i (e.g., dikirimi) marks the recipient as the object: Kami dikirimi dokumen.

How do I make this a question or a negative?

Yes–no question:
- Neutral: Dokumen penting itu sudah dikirim ke kantor? (rising intonation)
- Formal: Apakah dokumen penting itu sudah dikirim ke kantor? / Sudahkah dokumen penting itu dikirim ke kantor?
Negative:
- Not yet: Dokumen penting itu belum dikirim ke kantor.
- Plain negation of the action (less common in this context): Dokumen penting itu tidak dikirim ke kantor. (use when denying that sending happens at all; otherwise prefer belum for “not yet”)