Breakdown of Pintu timur sekolah selalu terbuka di pagi hari.
di
in
pagi hari
the morning
sekolah
the school
selalu
always
pintu
the door
timur
east
terbuka
to be open
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Questions & Answers about Pintu timur sekolah selalu terbuka di pagi hari.
Why is there no word for the or a in “Pintu timur sekolah selalu terbuka di pagi hari.” How do Indonesian speakers express definiteness?
Indonesian doesn’t use articles like the or a. Definiteness is inferred from context, word order, or possessive constructions. Here, pintu timur sekolah automatically means “the east door of the school” because both speaker and listener know which door is meant.
What does pagi hari mean, and why not just pagi?
Both pagi and pagi hari mean “morning.” However, di pagi hari (“in the morning”) is a common time expression. You can say pagi ini (“this morning”) with just pagi, but many fixed phrases use pagi hari for clarity.
What role does di play in di pagi hari?
di is a preposition that marks location or time. In di pagi hari, it means “in” or “at” that time: “in the morning.”
Why is selalu placed before terbuka rather than at the end of the sentence?
selalu is an adverb of frequency (“always”). In Indonesian, adverbs typically appear immediately before the verb or adjective they modify. So the pattern is: subject + adverb + predicate, yielding pintu… selalu terbuka.
What is the difference between buka, terbuka, and dibuka?
- buka is the root verb “to open.”
- terbuka (with prefix ter-) indicates the resulting state or condition: “to be open.”
- dibuka (with prefix di-) is passive: “to be opened (by someone).”
Here, terbuka describes the door’s state (“is open”) without specifying who opened it.
What does the prefix ter- indicate in terbuka?
The prefix ter- can signal either an involuntary/accidental action or a resultant state. In terbuka, it marks the resultant state “open” (i.e., the door remains in that condition).
How do we get “east door of the school” from pintu timur sekolah?
Indonesian uses the order: noun + modifier + related noun. So:
- pintu = “door”
- timur = “east”
- sekolah = “school”
Combined, pintu timur sekolah literally reads “door east school,” which we interpret as “the east door of the school.”
Could you say pintu di timur sekolah instead? What’s the difference?
- pintu timur sekolah is a standard label: “the east door of the school” (a built-in part).
- pintu di timur sekolah means “a door located to the east of the school,” focusing on location rather than naming that door as part of the school.
Can I replace di pagi hari with setiap pagi or di setiap pagi?
Yes.
- setiap pagi = “every morning.”
- di setiap pagi = “in each morning” (more wordy but correct).
All three convey the idea that something happens each morning.