Breakdown of Perjalanan dimulai sebelum matahari terbit.
sebelum
before
dimulai
to be started
perjalanan
the journey
matahari terbit
the sunrise
Questions & Answers about Perjalanan dimulai sebelum matahari terbit.
What is the function of dimulai in this sentence? Is it passive or active and why
dimulai is the passive form of the verb mulai (to start), built with the prefix di-. It focuses on the fact that something is started rather than who starts it. Passive constructions like this are common in Indonesian to present events neutrally or when the actor is irrelevant.
Can I say Perjalanan mulai sebelum matahari terbit instead? What’s the difference
Yes. Perjalanan mulai sebelum matahari terbit is grammatically correct and more colloquial. Here:
- mulai acts as an intransitive/active verb (the journey starts)
- dimulai is its passive counterpart, sounding more formal and neutral
Use mulai in everyday speech and dimulai in formal contexts or reports.
Why isn’t there an article like the or a before perjalanan?
Indonesian has no articles. Nouns stand alone without a, an, or the. So perjalanan can mean a journey, the journey, or just journeys based on context. If you need specificity, you add:
- sebuah perjalanan = a journey
- perjalanan itu = that journey