Adjectives
Adjectives: after noun, no agreement, yang construction, predicate use without 'is'
Can use adjectives to describe people, places, and things in correct noun+adjective order
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
Kota ini sangat besar.
This city is very big.
Dia membeli baju baru.
He/She buys new clothes.
Cuaca hari ini panas sekali.
The weather today is very hot.
Saya mencari restoran yang murah.
I'm looking for a cheap restaurant.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
Indonesian adjectives come after the noun: 'rumah besar' (big house). They never change — no gender, number, or case agreement! As predicates, no 'is' needed: 'Rumah itu besar' (That house is big). Use 'yang' + adjective for emphasis: 'orang yang tinggi' (the tall person). Intensifiers: 'sangat' (very, before adj.) or 'sekali' (very, after adj.).
Common Error Patterns
Placing adjective before noun (English word order)
In Indonesian, adjectives come AFTER the noun: 'rumah besar' (big house), not 'besar rumah'. Think: NOUN first, then DESCRIBE.
Trying to change adjective form for gender/number/case
Indonesian adjectives NEVER change! 'besar' stays 'besar' regardless of noun's gender, number, or role in sentence.
Kota ini sangat besar.
This city is very big.
Adjective as predicate — no 'is' needed! 'ini' = this, 'sangat' = very, 'besar' = big.
Dia membeli baju baru.
He/She buys new clothes.
'baju baru' = new clothes (noun + adjective order). NOT 'baru baju'. No gender or number changes!
Cuaca hari ini panas sekali.
The weather today is very hot.
'cuaca' = weather, 'hari ini' = today, 'panas' = hot, 'sekali' = very (after adjective). No verb 'is' needed.
Saya mencari restoran yang murah.
I'm looking for a cheap restaurant.
'yang murah' = that is cheap. 'yang' creates a relative clause with the adjective for emphasis or specificity.
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises