#The Verb Ada: existential, possessive, and emphatic uses


#This documents explores different types of constructions of the verb ada 'to be'.


#Ada 'to be' is an intransitive verb. It is used to show existence or presence.
 

#1

Tuhan ada

#God be
#God exists

#2

Bapak ada

#father be
#Father is here


#Explicit locative sentence:

#3

Orang itu ada di rumah

#person that be in house
#that person is at home


#4

Bapa saya sekarang ada di Jakarta

#father 1SG now be in Jakarta
#My father is now in Jakarta



#Existential sentence:

#5

Di kampung ini ada burung kasuari

#in village this be bird cassowary
#There are cassowary birds in this village


#6

Ada burung kasuari di kampung ini

#be bird cassowary in village this
#there are cassowary birds in this village


#When ada means 'there are/is', the prepositional phrases can occur either at
#the beginning or at the end of sentences. 



#There are three types of sentences which use ada 'to be'.


#First, ada is used as an intransitive verb meaning 'there is' or 'there are'  
#(when we are talking about what is located at a particular place, or what happens
#at a particular time).


#7

Ada orang di rumah saya

#be person LOC house 1SG
#There is someone in my hose

#8

ada kecelakaan di kota Kemarin 

#be KE-accident-AN LOC town yesterday 
#There was an accident in the town yesterday


#9

Tidak ada pertemuan besok

#NEG be PER-meet-AN tomorrow
#There is no meeting tomorrow



#Second, ada is used as an intransitive verb meaning to be 'in', 
#to be at home, to be on/at hand.


#10

Bapak ada?

#father be?
#Is father in?


#11

Samuel ada

#Samuel be
#Samuel is in



#Third, ada is used as an intransitive verb meaning 'to have'. 



#12

Saya ada uang

#1SG be money
#I have money


#13

Dia ada kemeja baru

#3SG be shirt new
#He has a new shirt


#14

Rumah ini ada tiga kamar tidur

#house this be three room sleep
#This house has three bedrooms


#The verb ada can be negated in the three types of sentences above. The negation
#precedes the verb ada.


#15

Tidak ada orang di rumah saya

#NEG be person LOC house 1SG
#There isn't anybody in my house


#16

Samuel tidak ada

#Samuel NEG be
#Samuel is not in


#17

Dia tidak ada kemeja baru

#3SG NEG be shirt new
#He does not have a new shirt


#Another use of the verb ada is to emphasise an action. In this type of sentence
#the verb ada is placed immediately before the verb. 


#18


Saya ada mengerjakan tugas

#1SG be MEN-do-kan task
#I did do a task


#19

Kamu ada melihat film itu

#2SG be ME-see film that
#You did see the film


#20

#Mereka ada menanam kelapa

#3PL be MEN-plant coconut
#They do plant coconut trees


#The verb ada cannot be negated when it is used to emphasise an action.


#Ungrammatical:


#21

Kamu tidak ada melihat film itu (0! 0 0 0)

#2SG NEG be ME-see film that
#You did not do see the film


#Ungrammatical:


#22

Mereka tidak ada menanam kelapa (0! 0 0 0)

#3PL NEG be MEN-plant coconut
#They do not do  plant coconut trees



#When ada is put at the beginning of a sentence, it means there is or there are. 
#In this case, ada is always followed by an indefinite nominal.


#23

Ada anjing di dapur

#be dog in kitchen
#there is a dog in the kithen


#24

Anjing ada di dapur

#dog be in kitchen
#the dog is in the kitchen



#25

Koran tidak ada di meja

#newspaper NEG be in table
#the newspaper is not on the table


#26

Tidak ada koran di meja

#NEG be newspaper in table
#There is not any newspaper on the table



#Ada occurs optionally between a nominal subject and adverb of place beginning with
#the preposition di 'in/at', or ke 'to'.


#27

Bapak ada ke kantor

#Father be to office
#Father is on the way to his office


#28

Mereka ada di rumah

#3PL be at home
#They are at home


#29

Bapak ke kantor

#Father to office
#Father is on the way to his office


#30

Mereka di rumah

#3PL at home
#They are at home

 

#References:

#Quinn, George. the Learner's Dictionary of Today's Indonesian, Allen and Unwin,
#2001 (pp. 550).

#Sarumpaet, J.P.The Structure of Bahasa Indonesia, Sahata Publications,
#Melbourne, 3rd. ed. 1977 (pp.87-97).

#Sarumpaet, J.P. and J.A.C. Mackie. Introduction to Bahasa Indonesia,
#Melbourne University Press, 1966 (pp. 14-15).

#Sneddon, James, N.INDONESIAN: A Comprehensive Grammar, Roudledge, London,
#1966 (pp. 263-265)