Learning Indonesian : Verbs with the "memper-" prefix

The prefix memper- is, in fact, made up from two prefixes: the primary prefix mem- and the secondary prefix per-. In combination, this double-barrelled

prefix has a number of effects.

The first thing that you should remember about the memper- prefix is that it creates verbs, all of which are transitive-and you know what that means: they must be followed by a direct object. Let's look at some uses of the memper- prefix.

Verbs used ·n e"ther the 'me-' o 'memper-· form

There are some verbs which are commonly used in either the me- form or the memper- form. In these cases, there is normally no difference in meaning.

~------

Contoh

1menggunakan                                                             atau                             mempergunakan

Untuk mengerjakan latihan bahasa mereka di Semarang, Sally, Gino dan Matt

harus menggunakan sebuah alat perekam.

a tau

Untuk mengerjakan latihan bahasa mereka di Semarang, Sally, Gino dan Matt harus mempergunakan sebuah alat perekam.

2 mengenalkan                                               atau                memperkenalkan

lbu Simpson mengirimkan sebuah surat kepada kepala sekolah SMU2 di

Semarang untuk mengenalkan siswanya, Sally, Gino dan Matt.

a tau

lbu Simpson mengirimkan sebuah surat kepada kepala sekolah SMU2 di

Semarang untuk memperkenalkan siswanya, Sally, Gino dan Matt.

3 menghentikan                                             atau                 memperhentikan

Polisi itu sedang menghentikan lalu lintas karena ada kecelakaan di jalan.

a tau

Polisi itu sedang memperhentikan lalu lintas karena ada kecelakaan di jalan.

Do not assume that for any verbs which have the me- prefix you can add the secondary prefix per-. Use only those memper- verbs which you have seen and learnt.

'Memper-' + adjective

Verbs formed by combining the memper- prefix with an adjective are similar in nature to those formed by the combination of me- + adjective + -kon. Notice, however, that if the memper- prefix is used, the -kon suffix is not used. The difference which exists in meaning between these two forms of the verb is not readily distinguishable in the English translation. By way of example, membesorkon means 'to enlarge' or 'to make bigger' and it implies that we started with a small object and made it larger. Similarly, memperbesar also means 'to enlarge' or 'to make bigger', but implies that we started with an object that was already quite large and made it even larger.

Obviously, in English, we do not normally imply the original size of the object. In English, then, both words would simply be translated as 'to enlarge'.

Contoh

• lbu Simpson ingin memperkuat persahabatan antara sekolahnya di Australia dan sekolah SMU2 di kota Semarang.
• Waktu tinggal landas Kapten Hartono mempercepat pesawat Garuda itu.
• Maksud Sally, Gino dan Matt pergi ke Indonesia ialah untuk memperluas dan memperdalam pengertian mereka tentang cara hidup di Indonesia dan untuk memperlancar Bahasa Indonesia mereka.

'Memper-' verbs + '-i' suffix

A few memper- verbs take the suffix -i.

Contoh

• memperbarui

      Kita harus memperbarui paspor kita lima tahun sekali 

• memperbaiki

      Ahli teknik itu sedang memperbaiki pesawat itu.

• mempelajari

          Sally ingin mempelajari kesusasteraan Indonesia di universitas sesudah tamat sekolah.

Note: The stem word ajar is something of an exception. When you studied the uses of the ber- prefix in  you learnt that for ajar the prefix was modified to become bel-. Similarly, the memper- prefix is modified to become mempel- when attached to the stem word ajar. Notice, also, that there is a slight difference between belajar, meaning simply 'to study', and mempelajari, meaning 'to make a detailed, in-depth study of something:

Verbs used only in 'memper-' form

A few verbs are only used in the memper- form.

Memperbarui and memperbaiki, which you have just seen, are only ever used in the memper- form. Another example is memperhatikan; that is, there is no such word as menghatikan or menghati.

'Memper-' verbs in the object-focus and imperative forms

You know that when verbs are used in object-focus form (either first, second or third person) and also in the imperative form (commands), the me- prefix must be dropped. It is important to remember that, when dropping the me- prefix from memper- verbs, the per- prefix is retained.

Contoh

• Pesawat terbang yang rusak itu harus diperbaiki.
• SIM harus saya perbarui di kantor polisi.
• Lalu lintas diperhentikan polisi karena ada kecelakaan di jalan.
• Perhatikan tanda jalan itu!
• Guru kami berkata 'Perhatikanlah!'.

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