Breakdown of Rumah besar itu dekat sekolah.
adalah
to be
itu
that
rumah
the house
sekolah
the school
dekat
near
besar
big
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Questions & Answers about Rumah besar itu dekat sekolah.
Why is there no is in this sentence?
Indonesian typically drops the copula is in equational or location sentences. Instead of saying Rumah besar itu adalah dekat sekolah, you simply put the subject Rumah besar itu before the predicate dekat sekolah.
Why is the adjective besar placed after rumah instead of before it?
In Indonesian, adjectives follow the noun they modify. So rumah besar literally reads house big, which corresponds to big house in English.
What does itu do in Rumah besar itu dekat sekolah?
Itu is a demonstrative that adds definiteness, similar to that or functioning like the. Placed after the noun phrase, rumah besar itu means that/the big house.
Can I omit itu and still be correct?
Yes. Dropping itu makes the sentence more indefinite:
Rumah besar dekat sekolah = a big house is near school, without pointing to any specific one.
How would I say this big house instead of that big house?
Replace itu with ini. So:
Rumah besar ini dekat sekolah = this big house is near school.
Why aren’t there words for a, an, or the in Indonesian?
Indonesian doesn’t use separate articles. Indefiniteness is implied, and definiteness is shown by context or demonstratives like ini/itu.
What part of speech is dekat, and do I need di before it?
Dekat is a preposition meaning near or close to. You don’t need di in everyday speech.
- Natural: Rumah besar itu dekat sekolah
- More formal/emphatic (optional): Rumah besar itu di dekat sekolah
Could I use a verb like adalah, ada, or berada here?
Yes, but it’s often unnecessary in casual conversation.
- You generally don’t use adalah with prepositional predicates; it’s for nouns/adjectives.
- You could say Rumah besar itu ada dekat sekolah or Rumah besar itu berada dekat sekolah, but most speakers prefer the concise Rumah besar itu dekat sekolah.