Breakdown of Ember kosong disimpan di bawah wastafel.
kosong
empty
di bawah
under
disimpan
to be stored
ember
the bucket
Questions & Answers about Ember kosong disimpan di bawah wastafel.
Is this sentence in the passive voice? How would I say it actively, and what’s the difference between disimpan and menyimpan?
Yes. disimpan is the passive form of the root simpan (to store/keep). It means is kept/stored (by someone).
- Active: Saya menyimpan ember kosong di bawah wastafel. (I keep the empty bucket under the sink.)
- Passive with an explicit agent (formal): Ember kosong disimpan oleh saya di bawah wastafel.
- Colloquial passive (agent with sama): Ember kosong disimpan sama saya di bawah wastafel.
- “Passive type 2” (very common): Ember kosong saya simpan di bawah wastafel. Difference:
- menyimpan = active, the subject does the keeping.
- disimpan = passive, focuses on the bucket; the doer is unknown/irrelevant.
Do I need the word adalah for is here?
No. disimpan is already a verb, so no copula is needed. Indonesian also generally omits a copula with adjectives and nouns:
- Natural: Embernya kosong.
- Not used here: Embernya adalah kosong. Use adalah mainly to equate two nouns, often in formal writing (e.g., Tujuan kami adalah efisiensi.).
How do I say the or an in Indonesian for this sentence?
Indonesian has no articles. Context usually covers it, but you can mark definiteness/indefiniteness:
- The: Ember kosong itu disimpan di bawah wastafel. / Ember kosongnya disimpan di bawah wastafel.
- An: (sebuah literally means one (item), often used like an).