The paper is an attempt to describe the "bare verb" constructions in informal Indonesian, as exemplified by the data below (taken from a transcribed natural conversation).

Gua denger lu buka toko? Dulu Yuli pernah cerita, tapi gua belum kenal elu, kan, waktu itu? ' I heard you opened up a store. Yuli told me some time ago, but I didn't know you at that time, right?'

The first verb is to be distinguished from the other three in that the first is also "bare verb" in formal Indonesian (gua denger -> saya dengar), while the three are prefixed verbs:

   lu buka -> kamu membuka
   pernah cerita -> pernah bercerita
   kenal elu -> mengenal kamu

It is also possible for gua denger to be a prefixed verb (i.e. saya mendengar) and kenal elu as a bare verb (i.e. kenal) in a context other than the one quoted above . Potentially, in formal Indonesian, verbs like dengar and kenal may have three verb forms (meN-, di- and zero prefix), verbs like buka may have four (meN-, di-, zero prefix, and affixless (like pergi 'go', jatuh 'fall')), and verbs like cerita only have one form (i.e. ber-). The present paper, in describing the bare verbs, does not only take into account the related verb forms, but also the lexical semantics, syntax, and intonation.