Guru menjelaskan teks itu di perpustakaan.

The teacher explains that text in the library.

Breakdown of Guru menjelaskan teks itu di perpustakaan.

• itu: that
• di: in
• guru: the teacher
• perpustakaan: the library
• menjelaskan: to explain
• teks: the text

Questions & Answers about Guru menjelaskan teks itu di perpustakaan.

Does guru mean a teacher or the teacher? Why is there no word like a/the in Indonesian?

Indonesian does not use articles like a, an, or the.

The bare noun guru can mean a teacher, the teacher, or even teachers in general, depending on context.

If you really need to be specific, Indonesian uses other ways:

• seorang guru = a teacher / one teacher
• guru itu = that teacher / the teacher (already known in the context)
• para guru = the teachers (plural, more formal)

In this sentence, Guru menjelaskan teks itu di perpustakaan, guru is best understood as the teacher from context, but grammatically it’s just teacher without any article.

Is menjelaskan present tense or past tense?

Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense. Menjelaskan itself has no tense; it just means to explain / explains / explained depending on context.

To show time more clearly, Indonesian adds time words:

• Kemarin guru menjelaskan teks itu... = Yesterday the teacher explained that text...
• Sekarang guru menjelaskan teks itu... = Now the teacher is explaining that text...
• Besok guru akan menjelaskan teks itu... = Tomorrow the teacher will explain that text...

Without a time word, you understand the tense from the surrounding context or from the English translation you’re given.

What is the structure of menjelaskan? What is the root word?

The root word is jelas, which means clear.

Menjelaskan is formed like this:

• jelas (clear)
• meN- + jelas + -kan → menjelaskan = to make something clear / to explain something

So:

• jelas = clear (adjective)
• menjelaskan = to make something clear, to explain (transitive verb, needs an object)

That’s why it’s followed by teks itu (that text) as the object being explained.

What exactly does itu do in teks itu? Why is it placed after the noun?

Itu is a demonstrative, like that in English. In Indonesian, demonstratives usually come after the noun:

• teks itu = that text / the text (already known)
• buku itu = that book / the book
• rumah itu = that house / the house

So:

• teks = text
• teks itu = that text / the (specific) text

Putting itu after the noun marks it as something specific that the speaker and listener both know about.

Could the sentence order be Di perpustakaan, guru menjelaskan teks itu? Is that still correct?

Yes, that word order is correct and natural:

• Guru menjelaskan teks itu di perpustakaan.
• Di perpustakaan, guru menjelaskan teks itu.

Both are grammatical.

The usual neutral order is Subject – Verb – Object – Place (as in the original sentence). Moving di perpustakaan to the front slightly emphasizes the location, something like: In the library, the teacher explained that text.

What is di in di perpustakaan? Is it the same as the prefix di- in passive verbs?

In di perpustakaan, di is a preposition meaning in/at/on (location). It is written separately from the noun:

• di perpustakaan = in/at the library
• di rumah = at home
• di sekolah = at school

The prefix di- is different: it marks passive voice and is attached directly to the verb:

• dijelaskan = is/was explained
• dibaca = is/was read
• ditulis = is/was written

So:

• di perpustakaan (with a space) = preposition in/at the library
• dijelaskan (no space) = passive verb is explained

Does di perpustakaan describe where the teacher is, or where the text is?

In this sentence, di perpustakaan naturally describes where the explaining happens:

• Guru menjelaskan teks itu di perpustakaan.
  → The teacher explained that text in the library.

If you wanted to say that the text is in the library, you would normally make that explicit, for example:

• Guru menjelaskan bahwa teks itu ada di perpustakaan.
  = The teacher explained that the text is in the library.

So by default, di perpustakaan is understood as the location of the action, not the location of the text itself.

Why is it menjelaskan teks itu, not menjelaskan tentang teks itu? Don’t we need about?

In Indonesian, many verbs can take their object directly, without a preposition. Menjelaskan is one of them:

• Guru menjelaskan teks itu.
  = The teacher explained that text.

Adding tentang (about) changes the nuance:

• Guru menjelaskan tentang teks itu.
  = The teacher explained about that text.
  (focuses more on the topic, not necessarily going through the text itself in detail)

In everyday use, menjelaskan + object is perfectly correct and often more natural than menjelaskan tentang + object when you are explaining that specific thing.

Could I drop itu and just say Guru menjelaskan teks di perpustakaan? What changes?

Yes, that is grammatical:

• Guru menjelaskan teks di perpustakaan.

The difference is specificity:

• teks itu = that (specific) text / the text we already know about
• teks = text(s) in general, or just some text, not specified

So with itu, the listener knows which text you mean. Without itu, it sounds more general or indefinite.

Could I also drop teks and just say Guru menjelaskan itu di perpustakaan?

Yes, but the meaning shifts:

• Guru menjelaskan itu di perpustakaan.

Here itu stands alone as a pronoun: that. It would be understood as that thing / that matter (we just talked about).

• Guru menjelaskan teks itu... = The teacher explained that text.
• Guru menjelaskan itu... = The teacher explained that (thing).

So Guru menjelaskan itu... is more vague unless the context already makes itu very clear.

Is this sentence formal, informal, or neutral?

The sentence Guru menjelaskan teks itu di perpustakaan. is neutral and acceptable in both spoken and written Indonesian.

In a real conversation or classroom, you might hear slightly more natural variants like:

• Guru sedang menjelaskan teks itu di perpustakaan.
  (explicitly in the middle of explaining)
• Pak guru menjelaskan teks itu di perpustakaan.
  (Pak = Mr./sir; used for a male teacher)
• Bu guru menjelaskan teks itu di perpustakaan.
  (Bu = Mrs./Ms.; used for a female teacher)

What is the difference between teks itu and teks tersebut?

Both point to a specific text, but the style is a bit different:

• teks itu

  • very common in everyday speech and writing
  • can be translated as that text / the text

• teks tersebut

  • more formal, often used in official or academic writing
  • literally the aforementioned text, the said text

So in casual or neutral sentences, teks itu is more natural. In a formal report or academic paper, teks tersebut might be preferred.