Log inSign up

Sekolah di desa itu kecil.

Sekolah di desa itu kecil.
The school in that village is small.
FromLesson 12inHardcore Indonesian

Questions & Answers about Sekolah di desa itu kecil.

What does di mean in this sentence?
Di is a preposition meaning “in” or “at” that marks a static location. In Sekolah di desa itu kecil, it tells us where the school is situated.
Why does itu come after desa instead of before?
In Indonesian, demonstratives like ini (“this”) and itu (“that”) typically follow the noun they modify. So desa itu literally means “that village.” You wouldn’t say “itu desa” for “that village” in standard Indonesian.
Why is kecil placed at the end of the sentence?

Indonesian word order for a simple descriptive sentence is:
Subject + (adverbial/other modifiers) + predicate.
Here:

  • Subject = Sekolah (“the school”)
  • Adverbial/location = di desa itu
  • Predicate adjective = kecil (“small”)
    So kecil comes last as the adjectival predicate.
How do you express “the” in Indonesian? There’s no “the” before Sekolah.
Indonesian does not have articles like “a,” “an,” or “the.” Definiteness is often implied or indicated with demonstratives. In this sentence, the noun sekolah can be understood as definite (“the school”) because context or added words (like itu, ini, or tersebut) make it clear.
Could I say Sekolah desa itu kecil instead?

Sekolah desa itu could be interpreted as “that village’s school” or “the village school,” but it slightly shifts meaning:

  • Sekolah di desa itu = “the school in that village” (focus on location)
  • Sekolah desa itu = “the village school” (a compound noun, more general)
    Native speakers choose based on whether they want to emphasize location or the concept of a village school.
Can I add adalah and say Sekolah di desa itu adalah kecil?
While adalah can serve as a linking verb in formal or literary style, it’s usually dropped when the predicate is an adjective. The natural way is simply Sekolah di desa itu kecil. If you really need emphasis or formality, you could say Sekolah di desa itu memang kecil, where memang reinforces the adjective rather than inserting adalah.
What if I start with the location and say Di desa itu sekolah kecil?

You can topicalize the location—Di desa itu…—but without a verb it sounds like a fragment. If you want to say “In that village there is a small school,” you’d normally insert ada:
Di desa itu ada sekolah kecil.
That clearly means “In that village there is a small school.” Without ada, listeners expect a predicate right after and might find Di desa itu sekolah kecil incomplete.

AI Language TutorTry it ↗
“What's the best way to learn Indonesian grammar?”
Indonesian grammar becomes intuitive with practice. Focus on understanding the core patterns first — how sentences are structured, how verbs change form, and how words relate to each other. Our course breaks these concepts into small lessons so you can build understanding step by step.

Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor

Start learning Indonesian

Master Indonesian — from Sekolah di desa itu kecil to fluency

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
  • ✓ Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
  • ✓ Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
  • ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions
Open the Indonesian course →