Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Guru menjelaskan peran dan tanggung jawab masing-masing agar jelas. - The teacher explains each person’s role and responsibility so it’s clear.

Masing-masing means each/respective. Placed at the end of the noun phrase (peran dan tanggung jawab masing-masing), it distributes over the whole coordinated phrase: “each person’s respective roles and responsibilities.” It modifies both peran and tanggung jawab together.

Can masing-masing go before the noun instead? What’s the difference between positions?

Yes:

Post-nominal (very common for “respective”): peran masing-masing, tanggung jawab masing-masing.
Pre-nominal (focuses on “each [X]” items): masing-masing siswa, masing-masing tugas. In your sentence, post-nominal is natural because it’s “respective roles and responsibilities.”

Do I need to add -nya (e.g., masing-masingnya or perannya) to show “their respective”?

Not necessary. Masing-masing already implies possession by the relevant group. Good options:

peran dan tanggung jawab masing-masing (as given)
If you want to be explicit: peran dan tanggung jawab mereka masing-masing Avoid attaching -nya to everything; masing-masingnya is usually used when standing alone as a pronoun (e.g., “Masing-masingnya diberi tugas” = “Each of them was given a task”).

Why is there no subject after agar? Is agar jelas grammatical?

Yes. Indonesian often drops an obvious subject. Agar jelas literally means “so that [it/they] is/are clear.” You could make it explicit: agar semuanya jelas, agar hal itu jelas. The short form is very natural.

What’s the difference between agar, supaya, biar, and untuk here?

All can express purpose, but:

agar: formal/neutral. Works well in writing.
supaya: neutral, common in speech and writing.
biar: informal/colloquial.
untuk: “for/to,” not used directly with an adjective; you’d pair it with a verb/noun: untuk memperjelas (“to clarify”), not “untuk jelas.”
All of these are fine with small register tweaks:
Guru menjelaskan … agar/supaya jelas.
Guru menjelaskan … biar jelas.
Guru menjelaskan … untuk memperjelas.

Why is it menjelaskan and not something like menjelas?

Base adjective: jelas (clear).
Causative/transitive verb: menjelaskan = to explain/make clear (meN- + jelas + -kan).
Indonesian typically uses -kan (or per-/memper-) to form “make X” verbs. Menjelas is not used.

What’s the difference between menjelaskan and memperjelas?

menjelaskan: to explain (give an explanation, make something clear by explaining).
memperjelas: to clarify/make clearer (increase clarity). Both are transitive. You might choose untuk memperjelas in a purpose phrase; otherwise menjelaskan is the standard verb for “explain.”

Do I need to say who the teacher explained it to? How do I add that?

Optional. To add the audience, use kepada:

Guru menjelaskan peran dan tanggung jawab masing-masing kepada para siswa. Pattern: menjelaskan [thing] kepada [person].

Can I move the agar clause to the front?

Yes:

Agar jelas, guru menjelaskan peran dan tanggung jawab masing-masing. When the purpose clause comes first, add a comma. No comma is needed when it comes after the main clause.

Could I use sehingga instead of agar?

No—different meanings:

agar/supaya/biar = purpose (“so that”).
sehingga = result (“so that/as a result”). Example:
Purpose: Guru menjelaskan … agar jelas.
Result: Guru menjelaskan … sehingga menjadi jelas. (It ended up clear.)

Is menjelaskan tentang … acceptable, or should it be just menjelaskan …?

In careful/formal style, prefer transitive menjelaskan [object] without tentang:

Better: menjelaskan peran dan tanggung jawab …
Common but less formal: menjelaskan tentang peran dan tanggung jawab … If you want a preposition, use a different verb: menerangkan tentang … is fine.

Is tanggung jawab one word or two? What about related forms?

It’s two words: tanggung jawab (responsibility). Related forms:

bertanggung jawab (to be responsible; responsible)
pertanggungjawaban (accountability; one word here)

Does peran dan tanggung jawab mean singular or plural here?

Indonesian doesn’t mark number. With masing-masing, it’s understood as plural/distributive: “respective roles and responsibilities.” You don’t need any plural marker.

Could I use the passive voice here?

Yes:

Peran dan tanggung jawab masing-masing dijelaskan (oleh guru) agar jelas. More formal/impersonal. You can include oleh guru or omit it if obvious.

Any nuance difference between agar jelas, agar lebih jelas, and agar menjadi jelas?

agar jelas: so that it is clear (baseline clarity).
agar lebih jelas: so that it is clearer (improving clarity).
agar menjadi jelas: so that it becomes clear (focus on the change to a clear state). All are natural; choose based on nuance.

How definite is Guru? Does it mean “the teacher” or “a teacher”?

Indonesian has no articles. Guru can mean “the teacher” or “a teacher,” decided by context. To force readings:

Indefinite: Seorang guru (a teacher)
Definite/specific: Guru itu (that/the teacher), or honorific Sang guru
Plural: Para guru (the teachers)