3.4. Grammar Focus

Circumfix pe(N)-an vs per-an

Circumfix pe(N)-an

Most pe(N)-an nouns are based on me(N)- verbs. They usually refer to the action expressed by the verb and are translated as “the act of doing what the verb refers to”. Thus “pembuatan” means “the act or process of making”: Pembuatan krupuk ini memakan waktu tiga hari. (The making of this cracker takes three days).

Note that the prefix pe(N)- changes according to the same rules as for me(N)-.

Circumfix per-an

These nouns often relate to verbs with prefix ber-, such as pertemuan “meeting” (bertemu “meet”), pergerakan “movement” (bergerak “move”). Some correspond to transitive verbs, such as peringatan “reminder, warning” (mengingatkan “remind, warn”), percobaan “experiment, attempt” (mencoba “try, attempt”).

A few per-an nouns are based on simple verbs, such as persetujuan “agreement” (setuju “agree”). While many per-an nouns have an abstract meaning, as in the above examples, others refer to a place where the action occurs, such as perhentian “stopping place” (berhenti “stop”), percetakan “printery” (mencetak “print”).

Some per-an nouns are based on nouns and mean either “having to do with what the base indicates, affairs dealing with the base”, such as permusuhan “enmity” (musuh “enemy”), or “place where a large number of what is indicated in the base are found”, such as perkebunan “plantation” (kebun “garden”).

Comparison between circumfix pe(N)-an and per-an

When per-an and pe(N)-an nouns have the same base, the former usually relates to a ber- verb while the latter relates to a transitive verb. Thus pertemuan (meeting) relates to bertemu (meet) while penemuan (discovery) relates to menemukan (discover).