Log inSign up

Film dokumenter tentang perjuangan kemerdekaan membuat saya lebih menghargai pahlawan nasional.

Film dokumenter tentang perjuangan kemerdekaan membuat saya lebih menghargai pahlawan nasional.
The documentary film about the struggle for independence makes me appreciate national heroes more.
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Indonesian grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning Indonesian now

Questions & Answers about Film dokumenter tentang perjuangan kemerdekaan membuat saya lebih menghargai pahlawan nasional.

In this sentence, what is the grammatical role of Film dokumenter tentang perjuangan kemerdekaan? Is it the subject?

Yes.

Film dokumenter tentang perjuangan kemerdekaan is the subject of the sentence.
The structure is:

  • Subject: Film dokumenter tentang perjuangan kemerdekaan
  • Verb: membuat
  • Object: saya
  • Complement: lebih menghargai pahlawan nasional

So literally:
Film dokumenter about the independence struggle makes me appreciate national heroes more.

What does tentang mean, and where does it usually go in a sentence?

Tentang means about / regarding / concerning.

In this sentence:

  • Film dokumenter tentang perjuangan kemerdekaan
    = A documentary film about the struggle for independence

Typical pattern:

  • X tentang Y = X about Y
    • buku tentang sejarah = a book about history
    • pidato tentang pendidikan = a speech about education

Tentang normally comes before the thing it refers to (Y) and directly after the noun it modifies (X).

What exactly does perjuangan kemerdekaan mean, and why not say perjuangan untuk kemerdekaan?

  • Perjuangan kemerdekaan literally: the struggle of independence
    → idiomatically: the independence struggle / the struggle for independence

  • Perjuangan untuk kemerdekaan literally: the struggle for independence

Both are grammatically correct. The difference is nuance:

  • Perjuangan kemerdekaan

    • More compact and idiomatic.
    • Often used as a fixed phrase in history/politics.
    • Feels slightly more formal and “title-like.”

  • Perjuangan untuk kemerdekaan

    • Emphasizes the purpose: a struggle for independence.
    • A bit more explanatory/explicit.

In most historical contexts, perjuangan kemerdekaan is the standard expression.

How is the word perjuangan formed, and what nuance does it add compared to the root?

The root is juang = to struggle / to fight (for a cause).

Perjuangan is formed as:

  • per- + juang + -an → perjuangan

Meaning and nuance:

  • juang (verb-ish root): to struggle, to fight (for something)
  • perjuangan (noun): struggle, fight, especially for an ideal or cause

So:

  • mereka berjuang = they are fighting/struggling
  • mereka melanjutkan perjuangan = they continue the struggle

The per- -an pattern often turns a root into an abstract noun (process/act/state).

How is kemerdekaan formed, and how is it related to merdeka?

Root: merdeka = free / independent

Kemerdekaan is formed as:

  • ke- + merdeka + -an → kemerdekaan

Meaning:

  • merdeka: free, independent
    • Indonesia merdeka = Indonesia is independent
  • kemerdekaan: freedom, independence (noun)
    • memproklamasikan kemerdekaan = to proclaim independence
    • hari kemerdekaan = independence day

The ke- -an pattern here forms an abstract noun from an adjective.

What is the function of membuat in this sentence? Is it like English “to make someone do/feel something”?

Yes.

Membuat literally means to make / to create, but in a causative structure it works like English “to make (someone) [verb/adjective]”.

Pattern in this sentence:

  • X membuat Y Z
    = X makes Y (become) Z

Applied here:

  • Film dokumenter … = X
  • membuat = makes
  • saya = Y (me)
  • lebih menghargai pahlawan nasional = Z (what I “become” / do more)

So it is very similar to:

  • The documentary made me appreciate national heroes more.
Why is it lebih menghargai instead of something like menghargai lebih banyak?

Lebih is the standard word for more in comparisons.

The normal order is:

  • lebih + verb/adjective
    • lebih menghargai = to appreciate more
    • lebih suka = to like more
    • lebih baik = better

Menghargai lebih banyak would sound odd here, because:

  • lebih banyak usually modifies nouns (more things/people), not the degree of appreciation.
    • lebih banyak buku = more books
    • lebih banyak orang = more people

Here we’re talking about the degree of appreciation, so lebih menghargai is the natural choice.

There is lebih (“more”), but I don’t see “than what”. How is this comparison understood?

In Indonesian, lebih doesn’t always need an explicit “than X” (daripada X).
Context can supply the comparison.

In this sentence, it’s understood as:

  • lebih menghargai (daripada sebelumnya)
    = appreciate more than before

So the implied comparison is before vs. after watching the documentary.

If you wanted to be very explicit, you could say:

  • … membuat saya lebih menghargai pahlawan nasional daripada sebelumnya.
    = … made me appreciate national heroes more than before.

But it’s usually unnecessary; Indonesian often leaves that part implied.

Why is it saya and not aku here? Would aku be wrong?

Both saya and aku mean I / me, but they differ in register:

  • saya

    • More formal, polite, or neutral
    • Common in writing, speeches, talking to strangers, or in professional settings.

  • aku

    • More informal, intimate
    • Used with friends, family, or in casual speech.

In this sentence, saya is completely natural because the tone feels fairly neutral or formal (talking about a documentary and national heroes).

You could say:

  • … membuat aku lebih menghargai pahlawan nasional.

Grammatically fine, but it sounds a bit more personal/informal. Choice depends on context and relationship to the listener/reader.

Could I say membuatku instead of membuat saya? How does that work?

Yes, you can.

Indonesian often attaches the 1st person singular -ku as a clitic to verbs or nouns:

  • membuat saya → membuatku
    (makes me)

So you can say:

  • Film dokumenter … membuatku lebih menghargai pahlawan nasional.

Nuance:

  • membuat saya
    • More neutral / formal
  • membuatku
    • More informal, personal, often in writing (diaries, lyrics, fiction) or casual speech.

Grammar-wise, both are correct; it’s mostly about style and register.

Why isn’t there any plural marker on pahlawan nasional even though it means “national heroes”?

Indonesian does not require a plural marker the way English does.

  • pahlawan nasional can mean:
    • a national hero, or
    • national heroes, depending on context.

Plurality is usually understood from:

  • the broader context, or
  • adding a quantifier, like:
    • banyak pahlawan nasional = many national heroes
    • para pahlawan nasional = (all/the) national heroes (formal, collective)

If you really want to stress plurality, you can also use reduplication:

  • pahlawan-pahlawan nasional = (emphatic) national heroes

But in most natural sentences, especially general statements like this one, pahlawan nasional alone is enough.

What is the function of nasional here, and why does it come after pahlawan?

Nasional is an adjective meaning national.

In Indonesian, adjectives normally come after the noun they describe:

  • pahlawan nasional
    = national hero(es)
  • bendera nasional
    = national flag
  • sejarah nasional
    = national history

So the pattern is:

  • noun + adjective
    • pahlawan (hero) + nasional (national)

In English the adjective goes first; in Indonesian it goes after.

Can I replace menghargai with mengapresiasi or something similar? Any nuance difference?

You can, but the nuance changes slightly.

  • menghargai

    • Core meaning: to value, to appreciate, to respect
    • Very common and natural with pahlawan, jasa, usaha, pendapat
    • lebih menghargai pahlawan nasional = to value / respect national heroes more

  • mengapresiasi

    • Borrowed from English “appreciate”
    • Often used in more formal or educated contexts, especially for:
      • karya seni (artworks), kinerja (performance), kontribusi (contributions)
    • lebih mengapresiasi pahlawan nasional is understandable, but feels slightly more bookish/technical.

In this sentence, lebih menghargai pahlawan nasional is the most natural and idiomatic.

Could I rearrange the sentence to start with saya instead of the film? Would that change the meaning?

Yes, you can rearrange it, and the basic meaning stays the same, though the focus shifts slightly.

Original (focus on the film as cause):

  • Film dokumenter tentang perjuangan kemerdekaan membuat saya lebih menghargai pahlawan nasional.
    → Emphasis: The documentary is what made this happen.

Alternative (focus on me / my feeling):

  • Saya lebih menghargai pahlawan nasional setelah menonton film dokumenter tentang perjuangan kemerdekaan.
    = I appreciate national heroes more after watching a documentary about the independence struggle.

Differences:

  • Original uses membuat (cause-effect: film → me).
  • Alternative uses setelah menonton (time relationship: after watching).

Both are correct; you simply highlight different parts of the situation.

Is there any tense marker here? How do we know if this is past or present?

Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense. There’s no equivalent of English -ed, -s, or will.

The sentence:

  • Film dokumenter … membuat saya lebih menghargai pahlawan nasional.

can mean:

  • The documentary makes me appreciate national heroes more. (general/present)
  • The documentary made me appreciate national heroes more. (past)
  • A documentary will make me appreciate national heroes more. (future, in the right context)

Tense is usually made clear by time expressions or context, for example:

  • Kemarin, film dokumenter … membuat saya… = Yesterday, the documentary made me…
  • Akan ada film dokumenter … yang akan membuat saya… = There will be a documentary … that will make me…

Since no time word is given, the default reading is neutral; many learners naturally interpret it as a general or recent-past statement.