# Indonesian: lah



## sufler

Hello!
I'm learning Indonesian language and I very often encounter the use of "lah" particle as a suffix, but also as a separate word. Majority of dictionaries and liguistic sources claims that the function of the particle is to indicate a soft imperative mood when attached to a verb. But I often see that word attached to other parts of speech like nouns or adjectives.

For example, in one Indonesian story that I was reading I came across a sentence: "Tersebutlah kisah seorang guru agama yang hidup di tepi sungai disebuah desa di Sumatera Barat". I know tersebut is an adjective and it means "mentioned", but what's the meaning of "tersebutlah" ? 

And another example "Di dalam sebuah gua besar tergoleklah Aminah." I know "bergolek" means "to lie down", so the sentence would mean "Inside a big cave Aminah was laid", however google translate gets it as "was lying". May "lah" particle along with "ter-" prefix indicate progressive tense?


----------



## Mauricet

In these two examples, _-lah_ works as a particle that points at where the emphasis is in the sentence. It's like highlighting the word or phrase it is added on. "_To be mentioned_ is the story of a guru/professor of religion who lived by a riverside in a village in West Sumatra". "Inside a big cave did Aminah lie".





> May "lah" particle along with "ter-" prefix indicate progressive tense?


----------



## sufler

Ah, thanks  And one more question: you translated "tergoleklah" as "lie". And I thought the prefix ter- is used to indicate passive voice, so it would be "was laid". If "tergoleklah" meant "lie" what a difference would be to use "bergoleklah" ?


----------



## Mauricet

You are right, _tergolek_ means "having been laid", so to speak. I translated _did Aminah lie_ to get some of the emphasis of _-lah_. My dictionary has _bergolek_ to mean "tourner" (to roll, I guess). Normally the passive voice is constructed with _di-_. Progressive forms (to be <verb>+ing) use _sedang_, as you probably know.


----------



## theo1006

sufler said:


> Ah, thanks  And one more question: you translated "tergoleklah" as "lie". And I thought the prefix ter- is used to indicate passive voice, so it would be "was laid". If "tergoleklah" meant "lie" what a difference would be to use "bergoleklah" ?



According to the Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, _golek_ has two meanings: (1) to roll, like in _bola bergolek_; (2) to lie (down), like in _ia bergolek di tempat tidurnya_.

While the prefix _di-_ and the prefix _ter-_ may both be said to indicate passive voice, there is a difference in meaning.  _Ter-_ is used when a state of affairs came about unintentionally or accidentally.  Thus:
_Sumardi bergolek di tempat tidurnya_ implies that Sumardi at some time previously willfully lay down.
_Sumardi tergolek di tempat tidurnya _may imply that Sumardi was struck down by illness.
_Tergoleklah Sumardi di tempat tidurnya _emphasizes Sumardi lying prostrate and powerless.

Other examples of the use of _ter-_
_tersandung_ = touched or hit accidentally, like in _kakiku tersandung batu.
tertidur_ = fell asleep, which is by nature unintentional as implied by the use of 'fell' in English.
_terbengkalai_ = neglected, left unfinished, like in _proyek bangunan itu terbengkalai karena kekurangan biaya_.

Theo


----------

