Botol plastik itu kosong sekarang.

to be

Breakdown of Botol plastik itu kosong sekarang.

• itu: that
• sekarang: now
• kosong: empty

Questions & Answers about Botol plastik itu kosong sekarang.

What does itu mean in this sentence? Is it that or the?

Itu basically means that, but in context it often works like English the.

• Botol plastik itu can be understood as that plastic bottle (pointing/known from context).
• In many real situations, it just means the plastic bottle (we both know which one).

So itu marks that the speaker assumes the listener knows which bottle is being talked about, either because it was mentioned before or is visible/obvious.

Why is there no word for is in Botol plastik itu kosong sekarang?

Indonesian usually drops a separate “to be” verb (like is/are) when describing a noun with an adjective:

• Botol plastik itu kosong. → The/That plastic bottle is empty.
• Dia tinggi. → He/She is tall.
• Makanan ini enak. → This food is tasty.

You can insert adalah in very formal or written language, but it sounds stiff in this simple sentence:

• Botol plastik itu adalah kosong sekarang. → grammatically possible, but unnatural in normal conversation.
  Use the shorter version.

Why does itu come after botol plastik, not before it like that plastic bottle in English?