Linking Words: and, but, because, although…

A2Kata penghubung: dan, tetapi, karena, meskipun

Dipakai untuk menyambung ide supaya kalimat dan email mengalir: menambah (and), kontras (but, although), alasan (because), akibat (so), dan waktu (when, before, after). Kuncinya, although/because diikuti kalimat lengkap, sedangkan despite/because of diikuti kata benda atau V-ing.

ANALOGI GOGO

Kata penghubung itu seperti lampu sein di jalan. Sebelum belok, kamu menyalakannya supaya orang di belakangmu tahu arahmu. But memberi tanda "arahnya berlawanan", so memberi tanda "ini akibatnya", dan because memberi tanda "ini alasannya". Satu belokan cukup satu sein, jadi kalau sudah ada although di depan, but tidak perlu ikut menyala.

Rumus Linking Words: and, but, because, although…

Bentuk	Rumus	Contoh
Menyambung dua kalimat	`S + V …, and / but / or / so + S + V …`	The client liked the design, but she wants a lower price.Klien suka desainnya, tetapi dia ingin harga yang lebih rendah.
Alasan	`S + V … + because + S + V …`	I'm late because the KRL was delayed.Saya terlambat karena KRL-nya tertunda.
Waktu	`When / Before / After / While + S + V …, S + V …`	After the meeting finished, we went for lunch.Setelah rapat selesai, kami pergi makan siang.
Kontras + kalimat	`Although / Even though + S + V …, S + V …`	Although the price is high, the quality is excellent.Meskipun harganya tinggi, kualitasnya sangat bagus.
Kontras + kata benda	`Despite / In spite of + N / V-ing, S + V …`	Despite the rain, everyone came to the event.Meskipun hujan, semua orang datang ke acara itu.
Antar kalimat	`S + V … . However, / Therefore, S + V …`	Sales went up. However, our costs also increased.Penjualan naik. Namun, biaya kita juga meningkat.

Kapan dipakai? Lima kata penghubung dasar

Kata penghubung membuat tulisanmu mengalir, tidak patah-patah jadi kalimat pendek. Mulai dari lima yang paling sering:

and = dan (menambah): I wrote the report and sent it to Pak Ari.
but = tetapi (kontras): The office is small, but it is comfortable.
or = atau (pilihan): We can meet on Monday or Tuesday.
so = jadi / sehingga (akibat): The printer was broken, so I printed it at home.
because = karena (alasan): I took a taxi because it was raining.

The meeting was long, but it was very useful.Rapatnya lama, tetapi sangat bermanfaat.
The client didn't reply, so I called her.Kliennya tidak membalas, jadi saya meneleponnya.
We chose this vendor because their delivery is faster.Kami memilih vendor ini karena pengiriman mereka lebih cepat.

Tips:

so menunjukkan akibat, because menunjukkan sebab. It rained, so I was late sama artinya dengan I was late because it rained.

Kata penghubung waktu: when, before, after, while

when = ketika / kalau: Call me when you arrive.
before = sebelum: Check the numbers before you send the email.
after = setelah: After I finish this report, I will call the client.
while = sambil / selagi, untuk dua hal yang terjadi bersamaan: I listen to podcasts while I commute.

Kalau kata penghubung waktu ada di awal kalimat, pasang koma setelah bagian pertama. Untuk masa depan, bagian setelah when / before / after tetap simple present, bukan will.

When the client arrives, please take her to the meeting room.Kalau kliennya datang, tolong antar dia ke ruang rapat.
I read the news while I was waiting for the train.Saya membaca berita sambil menunggu kereta.

Kesalahan umum: I will call you when I will arrive at the office. → I will call you when I arrive at the office.

Rencananya memang nanti, tapi setelah when cukup simple present: when I arrive. Will cukup sekali, di bagian utama kalimat.

Although vs despite: lihat apa yang mengikutinya

Keduanya berarti meskipun, tapi pasangannya berbeda:

although / even though + kalimat lengkap (S + V): Although the price was high, we bought it.
despite / in spite of + kata benda atau V-ing: Despite the high price, we bought it. · Despite being tired, she finished the slides.

Even though lebih kuat daripada although, sedangkan though lebih santai.

Pola yang sama berlaku untuk alasan: because + kalimat, because of + kata benda.

ANALOGI GOGO

Ingat kabel charger? USB-C dan micro-USB sama-sama mengisi daya, tapi colokannya beda, jadi yang salah tidak akan masuk. Although dan despite juga sama-sama berarti "meskipun", tapi colokannya beda. Although masuk ke kalimat lengkap (although the price was high), despite masuk ke kata benda atau V-ing (despite the high price).

Kata	Diikuti oleh	Contoh
although / even though	S + V	Although it rained, we went.
despite / in spite of	N / V-ing	Despite the rain, we went.
because	S + V	We stayed because it rained.
because of	N	We stayed because of the rain.

Kesalahan umum: Despite of the traffic, she arrived on time. → Despite the traffic, she arrived on time.

Despite tidak pernah memakai of. Kalau ingin pakai of, pilih in spite of.

Tips:

Ingin memakai despite dengan kalimat lengkap? Tambahkan the fact that: Despite the fact that it rained, we went.

However, therefore, whereas: perhatikan tanda baca

However (namun) dan therefore (oleh karena itu) menghubungkan dua kalimat terpisah. Biasanya keduanya duduk di awal kalimat kedua, diikuti koma:

The product is good. However, it is too expensive for us.
The supplier was late again. Therefore, we are looking for a new one.

Titik koma juga boleh (…good; however, it is…), tapi jangan cuma koma.

whereas (sedangkan) membandingkan dua hal yang berbeda dalam satu kalimat. Contohnya: The Jakarta team works from Monday to Friday, whereas the Bali team also works on Saturdays.

Kesalahan umum: The hotel was nice, however the Wi-Fi was slow. → The hotel was nice. However, the Wi-Fi was slow.

However tidak bisa menyambung dua kalimat dengan koma saja. Pakai titik atau titik koma sebelum However, lalu koma sesudahnya, atau ganti dengan but.

Tips:

Di email santai, but dan so sudah cukup. However dan therefore lebih resmi, jadi simpan untuk laporan dan email formal.

Kesalahan khas orang Indonesia

Dalam bahasa Indonesia kita biasa bilang "Meskipun …, tetapi …" atau "Karena …, maka …". Bahasa Inggris cukup satu kata penghubung:

Although it was late, but we continued ✗ → Although it was late, we continued ✓
Because the price is high, so we chose another vendor ✗ → Because the price is high, we chose another vendor ✓
Despite it was raining ✗ → Although it was raining atau Despite the rain ✓

Kesalahan umum: Although the deadline was tight, but we finished on time. → Although the deadline was tight, we finished on time.

Pilih although atau but, jangan dua-duanya. The deadline was tight, but we finished on time juga benar.

Ingat!

and (dan), but (tetapi), or (atau), so (jadi), because (karena).
although / because + S + V. despite / because of + kata benda / V-ing. Despite tanpa of.
Cukup satu kata penghubung (ingat lampu sein tadi): Although …, but … ✗, Because …, so … ✗.
However, dan Therefore, memulai kalimat baru dan diikuti koma.
Setelah when / before / after untuk masa depan, pakai simple present: when I arrive, bukan when I will arrive.

Contoh soal Linking Words: and, but, because, although… dan pembahasannya

1. It was raining heavily, ___ I took a taxi to the office.

because
although
so
or

Lihat jawaban

Jawaban: so

Hujan deras adalah sebabnya, naik taksi akibatnya. Untuk menyambung ke akibat, pakai so; because justru menunjuk ke alasan.

2. ___ the traffic, Rina arrived on time.

Although
Because
However
Despite

Lihat jawaban

Jawaban: Despite

Sesudah titik-titik cuma ada kata benda (the traffic), tanpa kata kerja. Jadi Despite, karena although butuh kalimat lengkap seperti although the traffic was bad.

3. Pilih kalimat yang benar.

Although the deadline was tight, but we finished on time.
Despite the deadline was tight, we finished on time.
Although the deadline was tight, we finished on time.
However the deadline was tight, we finished on time.

Lihat jawaban

Jawaban: Although the deadline was tight, we finished on time.

Although sudah cukup sebagai penghubung, jadi but tidak perlu ikut. Despite butuh kata benda, dan However tidak bisa menggantikan although di posisi itu.

4. Pilih tanda baca yang benar.

Sales increased. However, profits fell.
Sales increased, however, profits fell.
Sales increased however profits fell.
Sales increased. However profits, fell.

Lihat jawaban

Jawaban: Sales increased. However, profits fell.

However memulai kalimat baru, jadi sebelumnya titik dan sesudahnya koma: Sales increased. However, profits fell.

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