Word
Betapa gelapnya langit mendung sebelum petir!
Meaning
How dark the overcast sky is before lightning!
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Betapa gelapnya langit mendung sebelum petir!
adalah
to be
sebelum
before
langit
the sky
gelap
dark
Questions & Answers about Betapa gelapnya langit mendung sebelum petir!
What does betapa do in this sentence?
It marks an exclamation of degree, roughly “How (adjective) …!” It doesn’t ask a question; it expresses strong feeling about how dark the sky is.
Why is -nya attached to gelap (forming gelapnya)?
The suffix -nya here:
- Turns the adjective into an exclamatory/nominalized form (“how dark it is / the darkness”).
- Is required with betapa in standard exclamations: Betapa + ADJ-ny(a) + (subject).
- It is not a possessive “its” here.
Compare:
- Betapa indahnya pemandangan ini! = “How beautiful this view is!”
Can I omit -nya and say Betapa gelap langit mendung …?
Not in standard usage. With betapa + adjective, Indonesian strongly prefers (and most style guides require) the -nya: Betapa gelapnya …. Omitting it can sound poetic or nonstandard.
Is betapa a question word like “how?” that expects an answer?
No. In this use it’s exclamatory, not interrogative. Don’t use a question mark. It can also introduce content clauses (e.g., “(I realized) how important …”), but it still doesn’t ask for information.