Conjunctions
Coordinating and subordinating conjunctions: dan, atau, tetapi, karena, kalau, supaya, ketika, sebelum, sesudah, sambil
Can connect ideas using coordinating and subordinating conjunctions in everyday sentences
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
Saya suka teh dan kopi.
I like tea and coffee.
Dia tidak datang karena sakit.
He/she didn't come because of illness.
Kalau hujan, saya di rumah.
If it rains, I stay at home.
Dia makan sambil membaca buku.
She eats while reading a book.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
Kata Hubung — Conjunctions
Kata hubung menghubungkan dua kata, frasa, atau kalimat. Bahasa Indonesia memiliki kata hubung koordinatif (menghubungkan bagian setara) dan kata hubung subordinatif (menghubungkan anak kalimat dengan induk kalimat).
Kata Hubung Koordinatif
| Kata Hubung | Arti | Contoh |
|---|---|---|
| dan | and | Saya suka teh dan kopi. |
| atau | or | Mau makan atau minum? |
| tetapi / tapi | but | Dia pintar tetapi malas. |
Kata Hubung Subordinatif
| Kata Hubung | Arti | Contoh |
|---|---|---|
| karena / sebab | because | Dia tidak datang karena sakit. |
| kalau / jika | if | Kalau hujan, saya di rumah. |
| supaya / agar | so that | Saya belajar supaya lulus ujian. |
| ketika / waktu | when | Ketika hujan, kami di dalam. |
| sebelum | before | Cuci tangan sebelum makan. |
| sesudah / setelah | after | Sesudah makan, kami tidur siang. |
| sambil | while (simultaneously) | Dia makan sambil membaca. |
Urutan kalimat: Anak kalimat bisa di depan atau di belakang: "Saya belajar karena ada ujian." = "Karena ada ujian, saya belajar." Jika anak kalimat di depan, biasanya ditambahkan koma.
Perbedaan tapi/tetapi: Tapi adalah bentuk informal dari tetapi. Dalam penulisan formal, gunakan tetapi.
Common Error Patterns
Changed word order after subordinating conjunction (transfer from German/English)
Indonesian word order stays the same after conjunctions like 'karena', 'kalau'. No verb movement!
Used 'sambil' when meaning 'ketika' (point in time) or vice versa
'Sambil' = two actions happening simultaneously. 'Ketika' = at the time when. 'Dia datang ketika saya makan' (he came when I was eating) vs 'Dia makan sambil berbicara' (he eats while talking).
Mixed formal/informal synonyms inappropriately (e.g., 'jika' in casual speech)
Casual: tapi, karena, kalau, waktu. Formal: tetapi, sebab, jika, ketika. Don't mix registers in one sentence.
Saya suka teh dan kopi.
I like tea and coffee.
'Dan' is the most common coordinating conjunction, equivalent to English 'and'. It connects words, phrases, or clauses of equal status.
Dia tidak datang karena sakit.
He/she didn't come because of illness.
'Karena' introduces a reason clause. Unlike German 'weil', it does NOT change the word order in the clause that follows.
Kalau hujan, saya di rumah.
If it rains, I stay at home.
'Kalau' (informal) or 'jika' (formal) introduces conditional clauses. The subordinate clause can come first or second.
Dia makan sambil membaca buku.
She eats while reading a book.
'Sambil' means doing two things at the same time — not just 'when' but 'while simultaneously'. Different from 'ketika' which marks a point in time.
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises