Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Tolong ambilkan pembersih lantai dari lemari. - Please get the floor cleaner from the cupboard.

Tolong softens an imperative into a polite request, roughly “please (help by)…”. It typically comes before the verb phrase: Tolong ambilkan …. Variants:

More formal: Mohon … or Mohon diambilkan …
Softer/casual: Bisa tolong …?, Tolong … ya/dong

Why is it ambilkan and not just ambil?

Ambil = “take/pick up.”
Ambilkan adds the suffix -kan, making it benefactive (“take/fetch something for someone”). Using ambilkan highlights you’re asking the person to do it for you. Tolong ambil … is fine, but Tolong ambilkan … is a touch more “helpful-for-me.”

Where is the “for me” part? It isn’t written—how is the beneficiary shown?

In Indonesian it’s often implied. If you want to say it explicitly, you can:

Tolong ambilkan saya pembersih lantai dari lemari.
Tolong ambilkan pembersih lantai dari lemari untuk saya. Use saya (neutral/formal) or aku (informal). Both are natural.

Is it acceptable to say Tolong ambil pembersih lantai dari lemari instead?

Yes, it’s grammatical and polite. The nuance is:

ambil: neutral “take/get”
ambilkan: “get (it) for me/us (as a favor)” Either works in everyday speech; ambilkan just makes the benefactive sense explicit.

Is the -kan in ambilkan the same as the casual particle kan I see in conversations?

No. Two different things:

-kan (attached) is a verb suffix with grammatical meaning (e.g., benefactive/causative): ambil + -kan → ambilkan.
kan (separate) is a discourse particle (often short for bukan or ya, kan? “right?”). It’s not part of the verb morphology.

Can I move dari lemari earlier in the sentence?

Default word order is Verb + Object + Prepositional Phrase: … ambilkan [object] dari [place].
You can front it for emphasis: Dari lemari, tolong ambilkan pembersih lantai, but that’s marked. Avoid Ambilkan dari lemari pembersih lantai in neutral speech; it sounds awkwardly scrambled.

Why dari and not di or dalam?

dari = from (source/origin): dari lemari “from the cupboard”
di = at/in (location): di lemari “in/at the cupboard” (doesn’t convey taking it out)
dalam = inside: dalam lemari “inside the cupboard” For extra clarity you can say dari dalam lemari (“from inside the cupboard”), but dari lemari is usually enough.

What exactly does pembersih lantai mean morphologically?

bersih = clean (adjective)
peN- + bersih → pembersih: “cleaner/cleaning agent” (instrument/agent noun)
pembersih lantai = “floor cleaner” (usually the product/liquid) Related forms:
membersihkan = to clean (something)
pembersihan = cleaning (the activity/process) For a person who cleans, say petugas kebersihan, not typically pembersih.

How do I say “the floor cleaner” (definite) rather than just “a floor cleaner”?

Indonesian has no articles; use:

pembersih lantai itu = “that/the floor cleaner” (pointed/definite)
pembersih lantainya can also mark definiteness (“the floor cleaner (in question)”), but itu is the clearest general choice.

Is lemari the best word for “cupboard/cabinet”? Are there alternatives?

Lemari is the general, most common word for cupboard/wardrobe/cabinet. Variants:

lemari pakaian (wardrobe)
lemari dapur/kabinet dapur (kitchen cabinet)
almari (older/variant spelling)
rak (shelf), laci (drawer), lemari es (refrigerator)

How do I specify quantity or type, like “a bottle of floor cleaner” or “liquid floor cleaner”?

Quantity classifiers: sebotol (a bottle), sekotak (a box), sebungkus (a packet). Example: Tolong ambilkan sebotol pembersih lantai dari lemari.
Type: pembersih lantai cair (liquid floor cleaner).
Colloquially, people often say obat pel for floor-cleaning liquid.

What are formal and informal variants of this request?

Neutral/polite: Tolong ambilkan pembersih lantai dari lemari.
More formal (service context): Mohon diambilkan pembersih lantai dari lemari. (passive avoids direct “you”)
Casual: Tolong ambilin pembersih lantai dari lemari, ya/dong. (ambilin is colloquial, common in Jakarta speech)

Any quick pronunciation tips for these words?

tolong: final -ng like in “sing”; both o are like “o” in “go.”
ambilkan: i like “ee” in “meet”; r in Indonesian is tapped/trilled (not in this word but useful to know).
pembersih: the first e is a schwa (like the “a” in “sofa”); final -h is audible in careful speech.
lantai: ai like “eye.”

Could I use bawakan instead of ambilkan?

Yes, with a nuance difference:

ambilkan = “fetch/take (it) for me (from somewhere)”
bawakan = “bring (it) to me” In many real situations both are fine: Tolong bawakan pembersih lantai dari lemari asks the person to bring it to you (implicitly also fetching it).