Breakdown of Pada malam hari, jalan di desa itu sangat gelap.
adalah
to be
itu
that
di
in
sangat
very
malam hari
the night
pada
at
jalan
the road
desa
the village
gelap
dark
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Questions & Answers about Pada malam hari, jalan di desa itu sangat gelap.
What role does pada play in pada malam hari?
pada is a preposition that marks a point in time. In this sentence, pada malam hari literally means “at night.” You could omit it in casual speech, but including pada makes the phrase clearer and slightly more formal.
What’s the difference between di malam hari, pada malam hari, and just malam?
- di malam hari and pada malam hari both mean “at night.”
- pada is a bit more formal than di, but the meaning is the same.
- malam by itself also means “night,” but it sounds more casual. Native speakers often keep di/pada to avoid confusion with other uses of malam (e.g. “evening”).
Why is it malam hari instead of simply malam?
Adding hari after malam emphasizes the time-of-day sense of “night” (as opposed to the noun “night” in a poetic or abstract sense). It’s a common pattern: pagi hari (morning), siang hari (afternoon), sore hari (late afternoon), malam hari (night).
Why does di desa itu come after jalan rather than before it?
In Indonesian, location phrases formed with a preposition (here di + noun) typically follow the thing being located. So jalan di desa itu means “the road in that village.” If you reversed it, it would sound unnatural.
Why is the demonstrative itu placed after desa?
Demonstrative pronouns in Indonesian (like ini, itu) usually follow the noun they modify. Thus desa itu = “that village.” Placing itu before the noun (e.g. itu desa) is not standard.
What does sangat mean, and why is it placed before gelap?
sangat means “very” and functions as an intensifier. In Indonesian, intensifiers almost always precede the adjective: sangat gelap = “very dark.” You cannot say gelap sangat.
Could I say gelap sekali instead of sangat gelap?
Yes. sekali (“extremely/very”) is another intensifier, but it follows the adjective: gelap sekali also means “very dark.” The nuance is minor: sangat is slightly more formal, while sekali is common in everyday speech.
Is the word order fixed, or can I move pada malam hari to the end?
You can move time expressions to the end without changing the meaning. For example:
Jalan di desa itu sangat gelap pada malam hari.
This is perfectly natural, though starting with the time phrase (Pada malam hari, …) highlights when the action happens.