Setelah dicuci, pakaian harus dijemur sampai kering.

After being washed, the clothes must be dried until they are dry.

Breakdown of Setelah dicuci, pakaian harus dijemur sampai kering.

• harus: must
• setelah: after
• sampai: until
• pakaian: the clothes

Questions & Answers about Setelah dicuci, pakaian harus dijemur sampai kering.

What does Setelah dicuci mean, and how does it function in the sentence?

Setelah means “after” and dicuci is the passive form of cuci (“to wash”). So Setelah dicuci literally means “after (it has been) washed.” It forms an adverbial time clause indicating sequence: first washing, then drying.

Why is dicuci passive with di-, and why isn’t the actor specified?

Indonesian uses the prefix di- to create the passive voice. Dicuci means “is/was washed.” The actor is often omitted when it’s unknown, irrelevant, or obvious from context. To specify the doer, you can add oleh, e.g. dicuci oleh saya (“washed by me”).

Can you explain the word order, particularly why pakaian comes after Setelah dicuci?

Indonesian allows time clauses (like Setelah dicuci) to appear at the beginning of a sentence. This fronting emphasizes the order of actions. You could also say Pakaian harus dijemur setelah dicuci, but starting with the time clause makes the sequence clear immediately.

What is the role of harus in pakaian harus dijemur?

Harus means “must” or “have to.” It expresses obligation or necessity. In pakaian harus dijemur, it tells us that drying the clothes is mandatory.