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

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?