Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Untuk infeksi bakteri, kadang perlu diberikan antibiotik sesuai resep. - For a bacterial infection, sometimes antibiotics need to be given according to the prescription.

In Untuk infeksi bakteri, kadang perlu diberikan antibiotik sesuai resep, the phrase Untuk infeksi bakteri is a fronted prepositional phrase, similar to:

For bacterial infections, antibiotics sometimes need to be given according to a prescription.

It sets the context: we are talking specifically about the case of bacterial infections. Putting untuk infeksi bakteri at the start is natural in Indonesian when you want to frame the situation first. You could also say:

Kadang, untuk infeksi bakteri, perlu diberikan antibiotik sesuai resep.

Both are correct; the original just emphasizes the condition (bacterial infection) first.

Is infeksi bakteri a correct way to say bacterial infection, or should it be infeksi bakteri-al or something else?

Infeksi bakteri is the standard, natural way to say bacterial infection.

In Indonesian, a common pattern is:

[disease/condition] + [cause/organism]
- infeksi bakteri = infection (of/by) bacteria → bacterial infection
- infeksi virus = viral infection
- radang tenggorokan = inflammation (of the) throat → sore throat

You do not add an English-style suffix like -al. Indonesian rarely forms adjectives this way. So infeksi bakteri is both correct and idiomatic.

What is the difference between kadang and kadang-kadang?

Both kadang and kadang-kadang mean sometimes.

Kadang-kadang is the full, slightly more emphatic form.
Kadang is a shortened, very commonly used form in both spoken and written Indonesian.

In this sentence, kadang perlu diberikan... is completely natural and does not sound informal or incorrect. You could also say:

Kadang-kadang perlu diberikan antibiotik sesuai resep.

The meaning is essentially the same; kadang-kadang may feel a bit more rhythmic or emphatic, but there is no big grammatical difference.

How does perlu diberikan work grammatically?

Perlu diberikan combines:

perlu = need to / necessary
diberikan = to be given (passive form of memberikan = to give)

So perlu diberikan antibiotik literally is:

antibiotics need to be given / it is necessary that antibiotics are given

Key points:

There is no explicit subject in the Indonesian sentence. English would usually supply one:
- (It is) sometimes necessary (that) antibiotics are given.
perlu here behaves like an impersonal necessary, not like to need with a clear subject.

A more explicit version could be:

Pada pasien dengan infeksi bakteri, kadang perlu diberikan antibiotik sesuai resep.
For patients with bacterial infections, it is sometimes necessary to give antibiotics according to a prescription.

Why is diberikan used instead of memberikan? What is the role of the di- prefix?

Diberikan is the passive form of memberikan.

Base verb: beri = give
Active: memberikan (me- + beri + -kan) = to give (something to someone)
Passive: diberikan (di- + beri + -kan) = to be given

In this sentence:

... perlu diberikan antibiotik ...
= antibiotics need to be given

We focus on the antibiotics (what is given), not on who gives them. That is why the passive is used. In many medical or formal explanations, Indonesian prefers this kind of passive structure.

An active version would look like:

Dokter kadang perlu memberikan antibiotik sesuai resep.
The doctor sometimes needs to give antibiotics according to a prescription.

Here we explicitly name dokter as the subject.

Could we also say perlu diberi antibiotik instead of perlu diberikan antibiotik?

Yes, perlu diberi antibiotik is also grammatically correct and understandable.

Differences:

diberi = passive form of memberi = to give
diberikan = passive form of memberikan (with -kan)

In many contexts, diberi and diberikan overlap in meaning. In this sentence:

Kadang perlu diberi antibiotik sesuai resep.
Kadang perlu diberikan antibiotik sesuai resep.

Both mean antibiotics sometimes need to be given according to a prescription.

Nuance:

diberikan is often felt as slightly more formal or more complete.
Medical or written formal Indonesian tends to prefer memberikan / diberikan.

What does sesuai mean in sesuai resep, and why is there no dengan?

Sesuai means according to / in accordance with / matching.

In full form, you often see:

sesuai dengan = in accordance with

So you could say:

antibiotik sesuai resep
antibiotik sesuai dengan resep

Both are correct and very common. In many modern sentences, dengan is simply dropped after sesuai without changing the meaning.

So sesuai resep = according to the prescription / as prescribed.

What exactly does resep mean here? Do we need to say resep dokter?

Resep on its own can mean recipe (for cooking) or prescription (from a doctor). The meaning is determined by context.

In a medical context:

resep is automatically understood as doctor’s prescription.

You can make it more explicit:

resep dokter = doctor’s prescription

So:

antibiotik sesuai resep
antibiotik sesuai resep dokter

Both are natural. The second is just more explicit, but often unnecessary if everyone already knows we are talking about medical treatment.

Why is there no subject like dokter or pasien in the sentence?

Indonesian frequently omits the subject when it is obvious or not important.

In Kadang perlu diberikan antibiotik sesuai resep, possible underlying meanings are:

Sometimes doctors need to give antibiotics according to a prescription.
Sometimes patients need to be given antibiotics according to a prescription.
Sometimes it is necessary to give antibiotics according to a prescription.

The sentence is impersonal and general. Indonesian grammar allows this kind of subjectless, passive construction quite naturally, especially in explanations, instructions, or general truths.

If you want to be explicit, you can add a subject:

Pada infeksi bakteri, dokter kadang perlu memberikan antibiotik sesuai resep.
Pada infeksi bakteri, pasien kadang perlu diberikan antibiotik sesuai resep.

Is the word order antibiotik sesuai resep fixed, or could it be sesuai resep antibiotik?

The natural order is:

antibiotik sesuai resep

Here we have:

antibiotik = noun (antibiotics)
sesuai resep = descriptive phrase (according to prescription) modifying the noun

So the pattern is: [noun] + [describing phrase], which is the usual order in Indonesian.

Sesuai resep antibiotik would mean according to the antibiotic prescription, but then resep antibiotik is a separate noun phrase (antibiotic prescription). It changes the structure and nuance, not just the order.

So to say antibiotics according to a prescription, you should keep:

antibiotik sesuai resep

Is this sentence formal, neutral, or informal Indonesian?

Untuk infeksi bakteri, kadang perlu diberikan antibiotik sesuai resep. sounds neutral to formal.

Reasons:

Uses perlu diberikan (passive, impersonal), common in explanations or professional/medical contexts.
No slang or colloquial particles.
Vocabulary like infeksi, antibiotik, resep is standard medical terminology.

You could make it more explicitly formal, for example:

Pada infeksi bakteri, terapi kadang memerlukan pemberian antibiotik sesuai resep dokter.

But as it stands, the original sentence is already appropriate for written information leaflets, explanations by health workers, or educational texts.