Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Petugas mencatat nama murid yang absen di formulir. - The staff records the names of absent students on the form.

Petugas is a general word for a person on duty responsible for a task: staffer, attendant, clerk, officer, etc. It doesn’t specify rank. You can clarify with a modifier: petugas administrasi (admin staff), petugas piket (teacher/staff on duty), petugas keamanan (security guard). If you specifically mean a teacher, say guru; a civil servant is pegawai negeri.

Why use "mencatat" instead of "menulis"? Are they interchangeable?

Mencatat = to record/note down (information, data, minutes).
Menulis = to write (general).
Menuliskan emphasizes writing something for someone or onto something.
Mencatatkan is more formal/causative (“to have something officially recorded/registered”).
Here, mencatat fits best because it’s about recording data.

What is the root of "mencatat," and how does the prefix work?

The root is catat (“note”). With the active prefix meN-, it becomes men + catat → mencatat. The nasal in meN- assimilates to the first consonant of the root (e.g., menulis from tulis, membaca from baca, mengirim from kirim). Passive voice uses di-: dicatat (“recorded”).

Is "nama murid yang absen" singular or plural?

Indonesian doesn’t require plural marking, so it can be either. To make plurality explicit, use:

nama-nama murid (yang absen)
nama para murid (yang absen) You can also pluralize the human noun: nama murid-murid, though speakers more often pluralize the head noun nama or use para.

Which is more natural: "nama-nama murid" or "nama murid-murid"?

Both are acceptable, but nama-nama murid or nama para murid are more natural. Reduplicating the possessor (the second noun) is less common than reduplicating the head noun.

Does "yang absen" modify "murid" or "nama"?

It modifies murid. Yang introduces a relative clause that describes the immediately preceding noun phrase: murid. So it means “the students who are absent,” not “names that are absent.”

Is "di formulir" the best preposition? What about "pada" or "di atas"?

di formulir is very common and natural for “on the form.”
pada formulir is a bit more formal/official.
di atas formulir (literally “on top of the form”) is used for a physical location on the surface and is not typical for the act of filling out a form. For “in the form” (e.g., inside fields), you may also see dalam/di dalam formulir.

Could "di formulir" be read as modifying "yang absen" (…students who are absent on the form)? How do I avoid ambiguity?

Potentially, yes. To make it clearly modify “record,” rephrase:

Petugas mencatat di formulir nama-nama murid yang absen.
Pada formulir, petugas mencatat nama-nama murid yang absen.
Passive: Nama-nama murid yang absen dicatat petugas di formulir.

How do I say “take attendance” in Indonesian?

Common options:

mengabsen (murid-murid) = to call the roll
melakukan absensi / memeriksa kehadiran = to take/check attendance
Nouns: absensi, daftar hadir (attendance list), lembar absensi (attendance sheet)

Is "absen" here an adjective or a verb? What are related forms?

Here absen functions as a predicate adjective/verb meaning “to be absent.” Related words:

tidak hadir (neutral: not present)
bolos (colloquial: to skip, cut class)
alpa (formal: absent without notice)
absensi (attendance), mengabsen (to take attendance)

What’s the difference between "murid", "siswa", "mahasiswa", and "pelajar"?

murid: pupil/student (often primary–secondary; also disciple/apprentice)
siswa: school student (primary–secondary), somewhat more formal in some regions
mahasiswa: university student
pelajar: learner/student (usually secondary-school-aged); appears in official terms like visa pelajar

How can I say “the names of the students who were absent today”?

Add a time word; Indonesian doesn’t mark past tense:

nama-nama murid yang absen hari ini
For yesterday: nama-nama murid yang absen kemarin

Indonesian has no articles. How do I express “the form” vs “a form”?

Neutral/unspecified: di formulir
Definite/previously mentioned: di formulir itu or di formulirnya
Indefinite/new: di sebuah formulir (“on a form”)

If I specifically mean an attendance sheet, what should I say?

Use a more precise noun:

di daftar hadir
di lembar absensi
di buku absensi These are clearer than di formulir in school contexts.

How do I put this sentence in the passive?

Nama-nama murid yang absen dicatat di formulir (oleh petugas).
You can omit oleh petugas if it’s obvious who did it.

Where should time words go in this sentence?

Flexible, but common placements are:

After the clause they modify: Petugas mencatat nama-nama murid yang absen hari ini di formulir.
At the beginning for emphasis: Hari ini, petugas mencatat... Keep murid yang absen together; don’t split the noun and its relative clause.

What’s the difference between "di" and the similar-looking passive prefix "di-"?

di (separate word) = preposition “at/in/on”: di formulir.
di- (attached) = passive prefix: dicatat (“recorded”).
Never attach the preposition di to the following noun.

Do I need "seorang" before "petugas"?

Not necessary. Petugas already works as an indefinite subject. Use seorang petugas (“a/one staff member”) if you want to emphasize there was exactly one person.

Is "pada formulir" significantly more formal than "di formulir"?

Yes—pada is more bookish/official. In everyday speech and most writing, di formulir is perfectly natural; legal/official documents often prefer pada.

Can "yang absen" refer to future absence?

By itself, it usually refers to current/past context. Add a time word for future: murid yang akan absen besok (“students who will be absent tomorrow”).