Pertandingan debat dimulai pukul delapan malam ini.

The debate match starts at eight o'clock tonight.

Breakdown of Pertandingan debat dimulai pukul delapan malam ini.

• pukul delapan: eight o'clock
• dimulai: to start
• malam ini: tonight
• pertandingan debat: the debate match

Questions & Answers about Pertandingan debat dimulai pukul delapan malam ini.

What exactly does pertandingan debat mean, and how is this phrase structured?

Pertandingan debat literally means debate match / debate competition.

• pertandingan = match, contest (often for sports or competitive events)
• debat = debate

In Indonesian, a common pattern is [general noun] + [more specific noun], so:

• pertandingan (match) + debat (debate) → a match whose type is debate

It’s similar to “soccer match” or “debate competition” in English, but the order is like “match debate” literally.

Why is it pertandingan debat and not debat pertandingan?

In Indonesian, when you have two nouns together, the first noun is usually the main category, and the second noun specifies what kind.

• pertandingan debat = a match of the type debate
• debat pertandingan would sound wrong or unnatural; it would suggest something like a debate about a match, which is not the intended meaning.

So the natural order is pertandingan (match) + debat (what kind of match).

What is the role of dimulai in this sentence?

dimulai is the passive form of the verb mulai (to start, to begin).

• mulai = to start/begin (active)
• di-
  • mulai → dimulai = to be started / is started (passive)

So Pertandingan debat dimulai… is literally:

• The debate match is started… → natural English: The debate match starts…

Indonesian often uses the passive like this when the subject is the thing undergoing the action (here, the match).

Could you say Pertandingan debat mulai pukul delapan malam ini instead of dimulai?

Yes, you can.

• Pertandingan debat dimulai pukul delapan malam ini.
• Pertandingan debat mulai pukul delapan malam ini.

Both are grammatically correct and common.

Nuance:

• dimulai (passive) emphasizes the event being started (more formal / neutral).
• mulai (active/intransitive) is simpler, also quite common.

In many everyday contexts, the difference in meaning is very small, and both will be understood the same way.

Why do we use pukul instead of jam before the time?

Both pukul and jam can be used to talk about clock time, but there’s a nuance:

• pukul delapan → more formal / standard way of stating a clock time, often used in announcements, written notices, and formal speech.
• jam delapan → more informal / everyday speech.

In a sentence like an announcement about a debate match, pukul delapan sounds appropriate and slightly more formal or neutral.

Is pukul mandatory? Could we say Pertandingan debat dimulai jam delapan malam ini?

You can absolutely say:

• Pertandingan debat dimulai jam delapan malam ini.

This is natural and commonly used in spoken Indonesian.

Differences:

• pukul delapan → sounds neutral–formal, a bit more “announcement-like.”
• jam delapan → everyday, casual.

Both are correct; choice depends on context and formality.

What does malam ini add, and how is it different from just saying pukul delapan?

malam ini means this evening / tonight.

• pukul delapan = at eight o’clock
• pukul delapan malam ini = at eight o’clock tonight

Without malam ini, you’d lose the indication that it’s tonight and not some other day. So malam ini specifies which day’s 8 p.m. you’re talking about.

Can we say ini malam instead of malam ini?

For the meaning tonight / this evening, you should say malam ini, not ini malam, in standard Indonesian.

• malam ini → natural, means this night / tonight
• ini malam → sounds odd or ungrammatical in this context

The normal pattern is [time word] + ini:

• hari ini (today)
• pagi ini (this morning)
• malam ini (tonight)

Where can the time phrase go? Can we move pukul delapan malam ini to the front?

Yes, Indonesian is flexible with time expressions. All of these are possible:

1. Pertandingan debat dimulai pukul delapan malam ini.
2. Pukul delapan malam ini, pertandingan debat dimulai.
3. Malam ini pukul delapan, pertandingan debat dimulai.

They all mean the same thing.
Putting the time at the front (Pukul delapan malam ini, …) emphasizes when the event happens.

There is no word for “will” or “is going to.” How do we know this is about the future?

Indonesian usually doesn’t mark tense with separate words like will or did. Time is understood from:

• context (e.g., you’re talking about a schedule)
• time expressions (e.g., malam ini = tonight)

So dimulai pukul delapan malam ini is naturally interpreted as “will start at eight tonight” because:

• the event is in the schedule
• malam ini clearly refers to tonight (future relative to now)

If you want to make the future explicit, you can add akan:

• Pertandingan debat akan dimulai pukul delapan malam ini.
  This is like saying “The debate match will start at eight tonight.”

Why doesn’t the sentence specify who starts the debate match?

Because dimulai is passive and Indonesian often omits the agent when it’s obvious or not important.

• Pertandingan debat dimulai pukul delapan malam ini.
  → Literally: The debate match is started at eight tonight.

The person or organization starting it (e.g., the committee, organizers) is not mentioned because it’s not needed.

If you wanted to include the agent, you could say:

• Pertandingan debat akan dimulai oleh panitia pukul delapan malam ini.
  → The debate match will be started by the committee at eight tonight.

But in most cases, the shorter version is preferred.

Could we use other words instead of pertandingan for this kind of event, like perlombaan or kompetisi?

Yes, you might also see:

• perlombaan debat = debate contest / competition
• kompetisi debat = debate competition

Nuance:

• pertandingan: very common for sports or head-to-head matches (soccer, badminton). It can also be used more broadly for competitive events like a debate.
• perlombaan: more general contest, often used for many kinds of competitions (singing contests, quizzes, children’s competitions, etc.).
• kompetisi: borrowed from English competition, often sounds a bit more formal or technical.

All are understandable; the “most natural” one can depend on the specific event and local usage.

Is this sentence formal, informal, or neutral? Could I say it in everyday conversation?

The sentence is neutral and slightly on the formal side because of pukul and the passive dimulai.

You could use it:

• in announcements
• in written schedules
• in formal or semi-formal speech

In casual spoken Indonesian, you might hear:

• Debatnya mulai jam delapan malam ini.
  
  • debatnya = the debate
  • mulai (instead of dimulai)
  • jam (instead of pukul)

Both versions are correct; the original is just a bit more “announcement-like.”