Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Menurut pengajar, memahami kalimat pasif membantu kami mengerti berita yang seringkali ditulis secara formal. - According to the instructor, understanding passive sentences helps us understand news that is often written in a formal way.

It’s used before a person or source to show whose opinion or statement you’re referring to:
- Menurut pengajar = According to the instructor/teacher
- Menurut saya = In my opinion / according to me
- Menurut berita itu = According to that news report

The structure is:

Menurut + noun/pronoun, then the rest of the sentence.

So Menurut pengajar, … is a natural way to start a sentence with “According to the teacher, …”

What is the difference between pengajar and guru?

Both are commonly translated as “teacher”, but there are nuances:

guru
- Very common, everyday word for teacher.
- Often used for school teachers, but can also mean spiritual teacher or expert in some contexts (e.g. guru spiritual, guru yoga).
pengajar
- More general and a bit more formal or neutral.
- Literally “someone who teaches” (from ajar = to teach).
- Often used for instructors, lecturers, tutors, especially in course descriptions, formal writing, or institutions.

In this sentence, pengajar emphasizes the role as an instructor in a learning context; guru could also work, but might feel a bit more like a school teacher.

Why is it memahami kalimat pasif and not memahami tentang kalimat pasif?

In Indonesian, many verbs that mean “understand / know / learn” take their object directly, without tentang (about).

memahami kalimat pasif = understand passive sentences (natural)
memahami tentang kalimat pasif sounds wordy or slightly off in standard written Indonesian.

Compare:

mempelajari bahasa Indonesia (study Indonesian), not mempelajari tentang bahasa Indonesia
mengerti masalah ini (understand this problem), not mengerti tentang masalah ini (except in some specific emphatic contexts)

So memahami kalimat pasif is the normal structure: memahami + direct object.

What is the difference between memahami and mengerti when both mean “to understand”?

Both can be translated as “to understand”, but they’re used a bit differently:

memahami
- From paham = to comprehend.
- Often suggests a deeper, more thorough understanding of a concept or system.
- Common in more formal or academic contexts.
- Example: memahami tata bahasa (understand grammar deeply).
mengerti
- More everyday and general.
- Can mean to get it / to understand (not necessarily very deeply).
- Used a lot in conversation.
- Example: Saya mengerti = I understand / I get it.

In the sentence:

memahami kalimat pasif = having a good grasp of passive sentences (as a concept)
membantu kami mengerti berita = helps us understand the news (actually applying that understanding in real texts)

So the writer is contrasting understanding the concept (memahami) with being able to understand actual news content (mengerti).

Why is it membantu kami mengerti, not membantu kami untuk mengerti?

Both structures are possible:

membantu kami mengerti
membantu kami untuk mengerti

The version without untuk is:

Very common
A bit more concise and natural in many contexts

In Indonesian, membantu can be followed by:

someone + verb
- membantu kami mengerti = help us understand
someone + untuk + verb
- membantu kami untuk mengerti = also help us to understand (slightly more formal/emphatic)

So the sentence uses the simpler, very natural pattern: membantu + (object) + (verb).

Why is kami used instead of kita?

Indonesian distinguishes two types of “we”:

kami = we (but NOT including the listener)
kita = we (INCLUDING the listener)

So:

membantu kami mengerti = helps us (not including you) understand
If the speaker wanted to include the listener (for example, the teacher speaking to the class including themselves), they might use:
- membantu kita mengerti (helps us all understand, including you).

In many textbooks or explanations, kami is used when the writer is talking about the learners or a group and the imagined reader is not part of that group.

Can you explain the structure berita yang seringkali ditulis secara formal?

Breakdown:

berita = news
yang = a marker introducing a relative clause (like “that/which”)
seringkali = often, frequently
ditulis = is written / are written (passive form of menulis)
secara formal = in a formal way, formally

So:

berita yang seringkali ditulis secara formal
= news that is often written in a formal way

Grammar pattern:

noun + yang + [description/verb phrase]
→ berita + yang + seringkali ditulis secara formal

What is the difference between sering and seringkali?

Both generally mean “often” and are largely interchangeable.

sering
- Very common, neutral.
- Used in both spoken and written Indonesian.
seringkali
- Slightly more emphatic or formal-sounding.
- Often seen in writing, essays, or more careful speech.
- Can feel a bit “stronger,” like “very often / quite often” in some contexts.

In this sentence, seringkali fits the slightly formal tone of talking about news writing. Sering would still be correct and natural:
berita yang sering ditulis secara formal.

How does the passive form ditulis work here?

ditulis is the passive form of menulis (to write):

menulis = to write (active)
- Mereka menulis berita = They write the news.
ditulis = is written / are written (passive)
- Berita itu ditulis secara formal = That news is written in a formal way.

Pattern:

di- + verb root → basic passive form
- tulis → ditulis
- buat → dibuat
- baca → dibaca

In the sentence:

berita yang seringkali ditulis secara formal
focuses on the news itself (the result), not on who writes it. That’s why the passive is natural here.

Why is the phrase secara formal used, and can it be replaced?

secara formal means “in a formal way / formally”.

secara + adjective is a common way to form an adverbial phrase in Indonesian:
- secara resmi = officially
- secara perlahan = slowly
- secara jelas = clearly

Here:

ditulis secara formal = written in a formal way

You could replace it with similar expressions:

ditulis dengan bahasa formal = written with formal language
ditulis dengan cara formal = written in a formal manner
ditulis secara resmi (slightly different nuance: officially, not just formal style)

But secara formal is short, neutral, and natural.

Why is a passive form (ditulis) used instead of an active one like menulis?

Using the passive here matches how Indonesian typically talks about texts and writing:

The focus is on the text (berita), not on the writer.
Often, the writer is unknown, unimportant, or obvious from context (journalists, editors).

Contrast:

Wartawan menulis berita secara formal.
Journalists write the news in a formal way. (focus on the writers)
Berita seringkali ditulis secara formal.
The news is often written in a formal way. (focus on the news itself)

Since the sentence is about understanding news, it makes sense to highlight how the news is written, not who writes it.

Is the comma after menurut pengajar necessary?

In writing, the comma after Menurut pengajar is:

Standard and recommended, because Menurut pengajar is an introductory phrase.
It mirrors a natural pause in speech:
- “According to the teacher, [pause] understanding passive sentences …”

So:

Menurut pengajar, memahami kalimat pasif…
is the normal, well-punctuated version.
Without the comma, it’s still understandable, but less standard in careful writing.