Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Materi dibagikan kepada tim sebelum rapat dimulai. - The material is distributed to the team before the meeting starts.

Indonesian often uses the passive when the receiver of the action is the focus and the doer is unknown, unimportant, or obvious from context. Here, the focus is on the materials being distributed. The active is also fine if you want to emphasize the actor:

Passive: Materi dibagikan kepada tim… (The materials were distributed to the team…)
Active: Kami membagikan materi kepada tim… (We distributed the materials to the team…)

How can I say who did the distributing?

You can add an agent with oleh, or switch to another voice:

With an explicit agent: Materi dibagikan kepada tim oleh manajer.
“Short” passive (type-2 passive): Materi kami bagikan kepada tim…
Active: Manajer membagikan materi kepada tim…

Can I use dibagi instead of dibagikan?

Sometimes, but there’s a nuance:

dibagi = divided/split (often into parts), or shared out in a neutral sense.
dibagikan = distributed/handed out to recipients (more recipient-oriented). With a recipient phrase (kepada tim), dibagikan is the default and most natural. Materi dibagi kepada tim is understandable but can suggest “split up” more than “handed out.”

What’s the difference between membagi, membagikan, and berbagi?

membagi [sesuatu] (menjadi …) = to divide/split something (e.g., membagi kue menjadi delapan).
membagikan [sesuatu] kepada [orang] = to distribute something to recipients (e.g., membagikan materi kepada peserta).
berbagi [sesuatu] (dengan [orang]) = to share (intransitive/reciprocal feel), e.g., kita berbagi materi dengan tim. Imperative: Bagikan materi itu!

Why is it kepada tim and not ke/pada/untuk tim?

kepada = to (a recipient, typically people). Best choice here.
ke = to (direction); used informally for recipients in speech: … dibagikan ke tim (casual).
pada = at/on/in/to (broad use); with recipients, kepada is preferred.
untuk = for (intended for), not necessarily “given to.” … untuk tim means “for the team,” not “to the team.”

Can I omit the preposition and say Materi dibagikan tim?

No. Without a preposition, tim becomes unclear (it might look like the agent). Use:

Recipient: … dibagikan kepada/ke tim
Agent: … dibagikan oleh tim

Is para tim correct to mean “the team members”?

No. para is used with plural human nouns (e.g., para siswa, para anggota). Since tim is a collective noun, say para anggota tim (“the team members”).

How do I express “the materials” or plural? Do I need plural marking for materi?

Indonesian doesn’t require plural marking. Materi can mean “material” or “materials.” To make it definite or specific:

materi itu / materi ini / materi tersebut / materinya To emphasize variety or plurality:
berbagai materi, materi-materi (reduplication is possible but not always necessary)

What does materinya mean if I add -nya?

-nya often marks definiteness (“the”) or something already known in context: materinya = “the material(s).” It can also mark possession depending on context (e.g., “its/his/her material”), but in many cases it simply makes it definite.

Why rapat dimulai instead of rapat mulai?

Both exist, with a register difference:

rapat dimulai = passive of memulai, common and more formal/natural in writing.
rapat mulai = treats mulai as intransitive; common in speech: Rapat mulai pukul 9.
In formal contexts, dimulai is safer.

Can I say sebelum mulai rapat or sebelum rapat mulai?

Yes, in casual speech:

Sebelum mulai rapat, … (elliptical, “Before starting the meeting, …”)
Sebelum rapat mulai, …
For neutral/formal style, Sebelum rapat dimulai, … is best.

Is the -i in dimulai a suffix?

No. The root is mulai (“to begin”). dimulai is di- (passive prefix) + mulai. It’s not mula + -i here.

How do I show past or future time?

Indonesian has no tense inflection. Use aspect markers and time words:

Completed: sudah (neutral) / telah (formal): Materi sudah/telah dibagikan…
Future/intended: akan: Materi akan dibagikan kepada tim sebelum rapat dimulai.
Add time adverbs: tadi, kemarin, nanti, etc.

Where can I place the sebelum clause? Do I need a comma?

Both positions are fine:

End: Materi dibagikan kepada tim sebelum rapat dimulai.
Fronted: Sebelum rapat dimulai, materi dibagikan kepada tim.
When fronted, use a comma after the clause.

How do I negate this—“not distributed” vs “not yet distributed”?

tidak = not (plain negation): Materi tidak dibagikan kepada tim.
belum = not yet: Sebelum rapat dimulai, materi belum dibagikan.
With “before,” belum is typically more natural if you mean it hadn’t happened yet at that time.

How can I turn this into a relative clause?

Use yang:

Materi yang dibagikan kepada tim sebelum rapat dimulai sangat membantu.
(“The materials that were distributed to the team before the meeting were very helpful.”)

Is there a more casual way to say the whole sentence?

Yes. For example:

Materinya udah dibagi ke tim sebelum rapat mulai.
Notes: udah = casual sudah, ke instead of kepada, rapat mulai (colloquial). You’ll also hear slang like dishare, but dibagikan is better style.

What’s a more formal version?

Materi tersebut telah dibagikan kepada para anggota tim sebelum rapat dimulai.
Here, tersebut and telah raise the formality; para anggota tim is explicit and formal.

Can I say Sebelum dimulainya rapat, …?

Yes. That’s a nominalized form and sounds formal:

Sebelum dimulainya rapat, materi dibagikan kepada tim.
Literally “Before the starting of the meeting…”

Is di here ever the preposition “in/at/on”? How do I know when to write it together?

There are two different di:

di- as a verb prefix (passive) is attached: di-mulai → dimulai. Never write di mulai.
di as a preposition is separate and followed by a noun: di kantor, di rumah.