Program magang itu penting bagi pengangguran muda di kota.

That internship program is important for young unemployed people in the city.

Breakdown of Program magang itu penting bagi pengangguran muda di kota.

• adalah: to be
• itu: that
• di: in
• penting: important
• bagi: for
• kota: the city
• muda: young
• pengangguran: the unemployed (people)
• program magang: the internship program

Questions & Answers about Program magang itu penting bagi pengangguran muda di kota.

What does itu do in program magang itu? Is it like the or that in English, or something else?

Itu is a demonstrative that often corresponds to that or the, but it also has a "topic-marking" feel.

In Program magang itu penting..., itu can mean:

• that internship program (a specific program already known in context), or
• the internship program(s) as a general topic you’re talking about.

So:

• Program magang itu penting...
  ≈ That / The internship program is important... or Internship programs are important... (as a topic).

Without itu:

• Program magang penting bagi pengangguran muda di kota.
  This is more neutral and can feel slightly more generic, like a plain statement: Internship programs are important...

With itu, you’re pointing to something (specific or a known topic), not just stating a bare fact.

Why is there no adalah before penting? Can I say Program magang itu adalah penting?

In Indonesian, adjectives can function directly as predicates without a linking verb.

• Program magang itu penting.
  Literally: Internship program that important.
  Natural meaning: The internship program is important.

Using adalah before an adjective like penting is usually not natural in standard Indonesian. So:

• ❌ Program magang itu adalah penting. (sounds awkward / unidiomatic)
• ✅ Program magang itu penting.

Adalah is mainly used:

• Between a subject and a noun phrase:
  
  • Dia adalah dokter. (He/She is a doctor.)
• In more formal, written definitions:
  
  • Demokrasi adalah sistem pemerintahan ...

But for subject + adjective (like is important, is big, is smart), just put the adjective directly after the subject.

What exactly is magang? Is it a noun (internship) or a verb (to intern)?

Magang can function both as a verb and as a noun, depending on context.

As a verb (to intern / to do an internship):

• Saya magang di sebuah perusahaan IT.
  I’m interning at an IT company.

As a noun (internship / apprenticeship):

• Program magang = internship program
• Pengalaman magang = internship experience

In Program magang itu penting..., magang is acting like a noun that modifies program:
program (of) internship → internship program.

What does bagi mean here, and how is it different from untuk? Could I say penting untuk pengangguran muda di kota instead?

Bagi and untuk both can mean for, but they have slightly different nuances.

Bagi:

• Often emphasises the perspective or beneficiary: in the eyes of / for (someone) as a group.
• Common in written or slightly more formal language.

Untuk:

• Very common, can mean for, in order to, to (purpose).
• Neutral and versatile.

In your sentence:

• ✅ Program magang itu penting bagi pengangguran muda di kota.
• ✅ Program magang itu penting untuk pengangguran muda di kota.

Both are correct. Bagi here lightly emphasises "from the point of view of unemployed youth" or "as far as unemployed youth are concerned." Untuk would sound a bit more neutral and is also very natural.

In many everyday sentences, bagi and untuk are interchangeable, but untuk is more frequent in casual speech.

What exactly does pengangguran muda mean? Is it youth unemployment or young unemployed people?

Pengangguran comes from nganggur (to be unemployed / not working) with the prefix peN-, which often makes nouns:

• nganggur → penganggur = unemployed person
• pengangguran = unemployment (the condition / phenomenon) or unemployed people (collectively), depending on context.

In everyday usage, pengangguran is often understood as unemployed people (a group), especially when modified by an adjective like muda.

So:

• pengangguran muda most naturally means young unemployed people.

If you specifically mean the abstract phenomenon youth unemployment (as a statistic / problem), you might say:

• pengangguran di kalangan anak muda (unemployment among young people)
• pengangguran usia muda (unemployment in the young age group)

In your sentence, it’s very natural to understand pengangguran muda di kota as young unemployed people in the city.

Does kota here mean a city, the city, or cities in general? Why is there no plural ending?

Indonesian does not usually mark singular vs plural on the noun itself. Kota can mean:

• a city
• the city
• cities (in general)

Context tells you which reading makes most sense.

In pengangguran muda di kota, possible readings:

• young unemployed people in the city (a particular city you have in mind), or
• young unemployed people in cities (urban areas in general).

If you want to clearly show plural/general, you can say:

• di kota-kota (in cities)
• di kota-kota besar (in big cities)

But in many real sentences, di kota alone is enough, and listeners infer from context whether you mean "in the city" (specific) or "in cities" (urban areas generally).

Why is the word order Program magang itu penting, not Penting program magang itu?

The basic Indonesian statement order is:

Subject + Predicate

Here:

• Subject: Program magang itu
• Predicate: penting (an adjective)

So: Program magang itu penting.

You can put the adjective first (penting) in some contexts, but it changes the feel:

• Penting, program magang itu, bagi pengangguran muda di kota.
  This sounds like emphasis or a more "spoken / rhetorical" style:
  Important, that internship program, for young unemployed people in the city.

For a neutral declarative sentence, Subject + Adjective is the default.

Could I say Program magang penting bagi pengangguran muda di kota without itu? How would the meaning change?

Yes, you can say that, and it’s grammatically correct:

• Program magang penting bagi pengangguran muda di kota.

Difference in nuance:

• Program magang itu penting...
  → Points to a known/specific program or a known topic ("that/the internship program").
• Program magang penting...
  → Feels more general and descriptive: "Internship programs are important..."

In many contexts the actual translation might be the same (Internship programs are important for young unemployed people in the city), but itu adds a sense of "that/the (one we’ve been talking about)" or frames it as a more specific topic.

Why is muda after pengangguran and not before it, like in English (young unemployed people)?

In Indonesian, adjectives usually come after the noun they modify.

Pattern:

• noun + adjective

Examples:

• rumah besar = big house
• anak pintar = smart child
• kota kecil = small city

So:

• pengangguran muda
  = unemployed (people) + young
  = young unemployed (people)

Putting muda before pengangguran (muda pengangguran) is incorrect; it would sound wrong to native speakers. The adjective position is simply reversed compared to English.

Is pengangguran muda di kota a single unit (like one long noun phrase), or is di kota separate?

Yes, pengangguran muda di kota functions as one noun phrase:

• pengangguran (head noun: unemployed people / unemployment)
• muda (adjective: young)
• di kota (prepositional phrase modifying the noun phrase: in the city)

So it groups like this:

• [pengangguran muda di kota]
  → young unemployed (people) in the city

You could reorder or expand this:

• pengangguran muda di kota-kota besar
  (young unemployed people in big cities)
• pengangguran muda di kota ini
  (young unemployed people in this city)

All of those are still one noun phrase describing the group that bagi applies to.