Lalu lintas di depan sekolah pagi ini ramai.

The traffic in front of the school is busy this morning.

Breakdown of Lalu lintas di depan sekolah pagi ini ramai.

• adalah: to be
• sekolah: the school
• di depan: in front of
• pagi ini: this morning
• ramai: busy
• lalu lintas: the traffic

Questions & Answers about Lalu lintas di depan sekolah pagi ini ramai.

What does lalu lintas literally mean, and is it always two words?

Lalu lintas literally comes from:

• lalu – to pass, to go by
• lintas – to cross

Together they form a fixed expression meaning traffic (vehicles on the road).

Key points:

• It is always written as two words in modern standard Indonesian: lalu lintas, not lalulintas.
• Functionally it behaves like a single noun phrase:
  
  • Lalu lintas padat. – The traffic is dense.
  • Lalu lintas Jakarta. – Jakarta’s traffic.
• You don’t usually separate them or put other words between them (lalu sekali lintas would be wrong).

Why is there no word meaning “is” in the sentence?

Indonesian often does not use a separate word for “is/are/am” when linking a subject to an adjective.

• Lalu lintas … ramai.
  Literally: Traffic … crowded.

Here ramai (crowded/busy) acts as the predicate, like “is crowded” in English. Indonesian doesn’t need a verb like to be in this structure.

You only use adalah (often translated as “is/are”) in specific cases, mainly:

• When linking two nouns:
  
  • Dia adalah guru. – He/She is a teacher.
• For emphasis or in formal writing.

With adjectives, the normal pattern is simply:

[Subject] + [adjective]
Lalu lintas (itu) ramai. – The traffic is busy.

What is the structure of the middle part di depan sekolah pagi ini? Which part modifies which?

Let’s break it down:

• di – at / in / on (location preposition)
• depan – front
• sekolah – school
• pagi ini – this morning

Structure:

• di depan sekolah = in front of the school
  
  • di (at) + depan (front) + sekolah (school)
• Then pagi ini (“this morning”) is a time phrase modifying the whole situation:
  • Traffic (where?) in front of the school
  • (when?) this morning

So the rough structure is:

Lalu lintas (subject)
di depan sekolah (location)
pagi ini (time)
ramai (predicate: busy/crowded)

Can I change the word order of the time and place? For example, say Pagi ini lalu lintas di depan sekolah ramai?

Yes. Indonesian word order for time and place phrases is quite flexible.

Your original sentence:

• Lalu lintas di depan sekolah pagi ini ramai.

Alternative, also natural:

• Pagi ini lalu lintas di depan sekolah ramai.
  – This morning, the traffic in front of the school was busy.

Both are correct. Some common patterns:

1. [Subject] + [place] + [time] + [predicate]

   • Lalu lintas di depan sekolah pagi ini ramai.

2. [Time] + [subject] + [place] + [predicate]

   • Pagi ini lalu lintas di depan sekolah ramai.

3. [Place] + [time] + [subject] + [predicate]

   • Di depan sekolah pagi ini lalu lintas ramai. (more literary/emphatic)

Changing the order usually changes emphasis, not basic meaning.

What exactly is depan in di depan sekolah? Is it a noun or a preposition?

In di depan sekolah, depan is originally a noun meaning front.

The structure is:

• di (preposition “at/in/on”)
• depan (noun “front”)
• sekolah (noun “school”, here as a kind of “possessor”)

So literally: at the front of the school → in front of the school.

A few related examples:

• di belakang sekolah – behind the school
  (belakang = back)
• di samping rumah – beside the house
  (samping = side)

Note: depan on its own can also be used like an adjective in some contexts:

• rumah depan – the house in front / the front house

But in di depan sekolah, it’s functioning as a location noun after di.

What does ramai mean exactly here? Is it specifically about traffic?

Ramai is a very common adjective with meanings like:

• busy (with people/activity)
• crowded
• lively, bustling
• noisy (because of many people/activity)

In this sentence:

• Lalu lintas … ramai.
  → The traffic … is busy / crowded.

It doesn’t necessarily mean there is a complete traffic jam; for that you’d more often use macet:

• Lalu lintas macet. – The traffic is jammed.

Compare:

• Pasar itu ramai. – That market is busy/crowded.
• Pantai hari ini ramai sekali. – The beach is very crowded today.

So ramai can describe places, events, or traffic being full of people/activity.

How would I say “The traffic in front of the school this morning was very busy”?

You can add sangat or sekali to make ramai stronger:

1. Lalu lintas di depan sekolah pagi ini sangat ramai.
   – very standard / slightly formal

2. Lalu lintas di depan sekolah pagi ini ramai sekali.
   – very natural, common in speech and writing

Note:

• You still do not add a separate word for “was”.
  Indonesian doesn’t mark tense on the verb; pagi ini (this morning) already tells you it was in the past (earlier today).
• Context and time expressions show whether it’s past, present, or future.

If I want to say “the traffic” (definite), do I need to add itu or -nya?

You don’t have to, because definiteness is often clear from context. But you can add them for clarity or emphasis:

1. Lalu lintas di depan sekolah pagi ini ramai.
   – Usually understood as the traffic there this morning.

2. Lalu lintas di depan sekolah pagi ini itu ramai.
   – Literally “that traffic … is busy”, sounds a bit emphatic or contrastive.

3. Lalu lintasnya di depan sekolah pagi ini ramai.
   – “The traffic there in front of the school this morning is busy.”
   -nya here can mark something like “that/the mentioned”.

In many everyday sentences, Indonesians just say:

• Lalu lintas ramai. – The traffic is busy.

Context does the job of “the” most of the time.

How would I say “in front of the schools” (plural) instead of “in front of the school”?

Indonesian usually shows plurality by context or by repeating the noun.

To say in front of the schools, you could say:

1. di depan sekolah-sekolah
   – sekolah-sekolah = schools (plural by reduplication)

2. If the context is clear, you might just say di depan sekolah and let the situation tell you it’s plural. But if you really need to stress the plural, use sekolah-sekolah.

Complete sentence:

• Lalu lintas di depan sekolah-sekolah pagi ini ramai.
  – The traffic in front of the schools this morning was busy.

Can I drop ini and just say pagi? What is the difference between pagi and pagi ini?

Yes, you can drop ini; the meaning changes slightly:

• pagi – morning (in general, or “this morning” from context)
• pagi ini – this morning (very specific, today’s morning)

Compare:

• Lalu lintas di depan sekolah pagi ramai.
  – In the morning, traffic in front of the school is busy.
  (a general statement/habit)

• Lalu lintas di depan sekolah pagi ini ramai.
  – This morning, the traffic in front of the school was busy.
  (a specific event, today)

So:

• Use pagi ini for a specific morning (usually today).
• Use pagi alone for a general/habitual statement, unless context already makes it clearly “this morning”.