Remember this: - SPOK –

SPOK is the short of Subjek Predikat Objek Keterangan (or Subject Predicate Object Explanatory)

1. Subjek or Subject is the ones who do the action - usually pronoun or noun.
2. Predikat or Predicate is the action itself, conducted by a subject - verb.
3. Objek or Object is the person or thing to which a specified action is being directed.
4. Keterangan or Explanatory is additional information, can be related to either subject, predicate, or object – adjective/ adverb/ preposition + noun

SPOK is a common formula taught in school by Indonesian teacher. But you can use this formula partially.

SP (Subject Predicate)

Subject – kucing (cat)

Predicate – makan (eat)

Sentence (SP) – Kucing makan (cat eats)

SPO (Subjek Predicate Object)

Subject – kucing (cat)

Predicate – makan (eat)

Object – ikan (fish)

Sentence (SPO) = Kucing makan ikan (cat eats fish)

SPOK (Subject Predicate Object Explanatory)

Subject – kucing (cat)

Predicate – makan (eat)

Object – ikan (fish)

Explanatory – putih (white-adj)

Sentence (SPOK) – Kucing makan ikan putih (Cat eats white fish)

You can also create variation by adding Explanatory word to either Subject or Predicate, or even an additional Explanatory to the Explanatory word when it is noun.

SKPOK (Subject Explanatory Predicate Object Explanatory)

Subject – kucing (cat)

Explanatory to Subject – gemuk (fat)

Predicate – makan (eat)

Object – ikan (fish)

Explanatory – putih (white-adj)

Sentence (SKPOK) – Kucing gemuk makan ikan putih (Fat cat eats white fish)

SPOKK (Subject Predicate Object Explanatory Explanatory) – 2^nd explanatory for predicate

Subject – kucing (cat)

Predicate – makan (eat)

Object – ikan (fish)

Explanatory – putih (white-adj)

Explanatory 2 – dengan cepat (quickly)

Sentence (SPOKK) – Kucing makan ikan putih dengan cepat (Cat eats white fish quickly)

SPOKK (Subject Predicate Object Explanatory Explanatory) – 2^nd explanatory for 1^st explanatory

Subject – kucing (cat)

Predicate – makan (eat)

Object – ikan (fish)

Explanatory – di rumah (at house)

Explanatory 2 – kosong (empty)

Sentence (SPOKK) – Kucing makan ikan di rumah kosong (Cat eats white fish at an empty house)

Or you can put them all together

Kucing gemuk makan ikan putih di rumah kosong dengan cepat (Fat cat eats white fish at an empty house quickly)

You can insert as many as Explanatory words as you want, as long as you remember the basic formula.

SPOK

Remember this guy, then you remember how to create sentences in Indonesian.

Disclaimer: I’m not an Indonesian teacher; I just have habit to observe. If there is any mistake in this article, please remind and correct me in the comment below.