Telepon itu diperbaiki kemarin.

that

Breakdown of Telepon itu diperbaiki kemarin.

• kemarin: yesterday
• telepon: the telephone
• diperbaiki: to be repaired

Questions & Answers about Telepon itu diperbaiki kemarin.

What does the word itu mean here—“that” or “the”?

In Indonesian, itu after a noun often marks definiteness and can mean either that or the, depending on context. So Telepon itu can be understood as either that phone (deictic, pointing to a specific one) or the phone (a known, specific phone). If you want “this,” use ini: telepon ini.

Is this sentence in the passive voice? How would I say it in the active voice?

Yes, diperbaiki is passive. The active counterpart is:

• Teknisi memperbaiki telepon itu kemarin. = The technician repaired the phone yesterday. Passive focuses on the phone; active focuses on the agent.

How is diperbaiki formed?

diperbaiki = di- (passive prefix) + perbaiki (verb base).
The active verb is memperbaiki (to repair/fix/improve). Switching to passive replaces mem- with di- and keeps the same base: diperbaiki.

Why is it -i (diperbaiki) and not -kan (diperbaikan or diperbaikkan)?

• The correct verb is memperbaiki / diperbaiki with -i.
• -kan is not used here; memperbaikkan / diperbaikkan is not standard.
• (with ) is a noun meaning . For example: = under repair. Don’t confuse the noun with the passive verb.