Pabrik itu sangat besar.

Indonesian often leaves out the verb to be when linking a subject to an adjective or noun.

So:

• Pabrik itu = the factory / that factory
• sangat besar = very big

Together, they naturally mean The factory is very big or That factory is very big.

Using adalah here would usually sound unnatural. Adalah is used more in formal definitions or classifications, not before plain adjectives like besar.

Itu literally means that, but in sentences like this it can also work a lot like the in English.

So pabrik itu can mean:

• that factory
• the factory (when the factory is already known from context)

This is very common in Indonesian. A learner may expect itu to always be strictly demonstrative, but in real usage it often also helps mark something as specific or already identified.

Yes. Pabrik itu is a noun phrase.

• pabrik = factory
• itu = that / the

So the subject of the sentence is pabrik itu.

Then the rest of the sentence, sangat besar, says something about that subject.

In this sentence, besar is not directly modifying the noun inside the noun phrase. It is the predicate adjective of the whole sentence.

Structure:

• Pabrik itu = subject
• sangat besar = predicate

So this is not the same as saying big factory. It is saying the factory is very big.

Compare:

• pabrik besar = a big factory
• pabrik itu sangat besar = that factory is very big

In Indonesian, adjectives often come after nouns when they directly describe them, and they also appear after the subject when they function as the main description in a sentence.

Sangat means very. It intensifies an adjective or sometimes an adverb.

Here it comes before besar:

• sangat besar = very big

That is the normal placement. Indonesian degree words like sangat usually come before the adjective they modify.

Compare:

• besar = big
• sangat besar = very big

Yes, often you can.

For example:

• Pabrik itu sangat besar.
• Pabrik itu besar sekali.

Both mean The factory is very big.

A rough difference:

• sangat comes before the adjective
• sekali usually comes after the adjective

Both are common. Sangat can feel a bit more neutral or formal in some contexts, while sekali is very common in everyday speech too.

Yes. Besar is a general word for physical size, so it can often be translated as either big or large depending on the English style you want.

So this sentence could be translated as:

• That factory is very big.
• That factory is very large.

Both are fine.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

Pabrik itu sangat besar
PAH-brik EE-too SAH-ngat bə-SAR

A few notes:

• pabrik: the a is like a in father
• itu: sounds like ee-too
• sangat: the ng is like in sing
• besar: the final r is pronounced, usually lightly tapped or rolled depending on speaker

Stress in Indonesian is generally not as strong or contrastive as in English, so learners should focus more on clear vowels than on heavy stress.

Usually no, not for the same meaning.

Pabrik itu sangat besar is the natural way to say That/The factory is very big.

If you say Itu pabrik..., then itu is more likely acting as that is... or pointing something out, and the sentence structure changes.

So for a noun phrase like that factory, Indonesian normally uses:

• pabrik itu

not:

• itu pabrik

It is neutral and completely natural. You can use it in normal speech and writing.

Nothing in Pabrik itu sangat besar is especially formal or especially slangy. It is a good standard Indonesian sentence.