Guru menentukan aturan sebelum ujian.

The teacher sets the rules before the exam.

Breakdown of Guru menentukan aturan sebelum ujian.

• guru: the teacher
• sebelum: before
• aturan: the rule
• ujian: the exam
• menentukan: to set

Questions & Answers about Guru menentukan aturan sebelum ujian.

Does this sentence indicate past, present, or future?

Indonesian verbs don’t inflect for tense. menentukan just means “determine/set.” Time comes from context or time words: past = tadi, kemarin, sudah; future = akan, nanti; habitual = selalu, biasanya. sebelum only gives a relative time (“before”).

Is guru “the teacher” or “a teacher”?

Indonesian has no articles. guru can be “a” or “the” depending on context. To be explicit: seorang guru = a teacher; guru itu/tersebut = that/the teacher; plural “teachers” = para guru or guru-guru.

Is aturan singular or plural?

Nouns aren’t marked for number, so aturan can mean “rule” or “rules.” To force plural: aturan-aturan, beberapa aturan, semua aturan. With numbers: dua aturan, etc.

Why use menentukan here? How is it different from similar verbs?

• menentukan: determine/decide on specifics; neutral–formal.
• menetapkan: set/stipulate officially; more formal/authoritative; commonly with peraturan.
• membuat: make/create rules; everyday, less formal.
• menyusun: draft/compile rules.
• mengatur: regulate/manage (focus on enforcing). The sentence is fine, though many would also say Guru menetapkan (per)aturan….

What’s going on morphologically in menentukan?

It’s meN- + tentu + -kan. With roots starting with t, meN- surfaces as men- and the initial t is dropped: menentu. Adding -kan makes it causative (“make certain”) → “determine/set.”

Can I move sebelum ujian to the front?

Yes: Sebelum ujian, guru menentukan aturan. A comma is natural. You can also expand it to a clause: Sebelum ujian dimulai, …

Is menentukan transitive? Does it need an object?

Yes, it normally takes a direct object (what is being determined). Without an object it sounds incomplete. Typical objects include aturan, tanggal, tempat, nilai, etc.

How do I make this passive?

Aturan ditentukan (oleh) guru sebelum ujian. oleh (by) is optional. Colloquial speech may use sama: Aturan ditentuin sama guru… Very formal: Aturan ditetapkan guru…

What’s the difference between sebelum and sebelumnya?

• sebelum = before (preposition/conjunction): sebelum ujian, sebelum ujian dimulai.
• sebelumnya = previously/earlier, or “the previous”: Sebelumnya, guru…; hari sebelumnya = the previous day.

Do I need pada before ujian?

No. sebelum already functions as the preposition, so sebelum ujian is correct. sebelum pada ujian is ungrammatical.

Difference between aturan, peraturan, and ketentuan?

• aturan: rule(s), general/everyday.
• peraturan: regulation(s), a formal/official set of rules.
• ketentuan: provisions/terms/conditions, often legal/administrative. So a more formal version is Guru menetapkan peraturan sebelum ujian.

What’s the nuance of ujian vs tes vs ulangan?

• ujian: exam (larger/official).
• tes: test (any test; general loanword).
• ulangan: quiz/unit test (school context).

How do I say “set the rules for the exam” (not time-related “before”)?

Use aturan ujian or aturan untuk ujian: Guru menentukan aturan ujian. / Guru menentukan aturan untuk ujian.

How can I make “the rules” explicit?

Use definiteness markers: menentukan aturannya (the/its rules), menentukan aturan itu/tersebut. For “these/those rules”: aturan ini/itu.

Any pronunciation tips for these words?

• guru: GU-ru (g as in “go”; r tapped/trilled).
• menentukan: mə-nən-TU-kan (first e is a schwa; stress tends to be penultimate).
• aturan: a-TU-ran.
• ujian: u-JI-an (j as in “jam”).