Pemandu menjelaskan dasar-dasar astronomi dengan bahasa sederhana.

The guide explains the basics of astronomy in simple language.

Breakdown of Pemandu menjelaskan dasar-dasar astronomi dengan bahasa sederhana.

• bahasa: the language
• dengan: with
• sederhana: simple
• menjelaskan: to explain
• pemandu: the guide
• dasar: the basis
• astronomi: the astronomy

Questions & Answers about Pemandu menjelaskan dasar-dasar astronomi dengan bahasa sederhana.

What does pemandu mean exactly? Is it always a tour guide?

Pemandu is a noun that means guide — someone who leads, directs, or explains things to others.

It is often used for:

• a tour guide: pemandu wisata
• a museum guide: pemandu museum
• more generally, any facilitator/guide in an activity

It is not limited to tourism; context tells you what kind of guide is meant. In your sentence, it’s most naturally understood as a tour or museum guide, but grammatically it’s just guide.

How is the word pemandu formed? What is its root?

The root is pandu, a verb meaning to guide / to lead.

From that root:

• memandu = to guide (verb)
• pemandu = guide (noun, the person who guides)

So pe- + pandu → pemandu, where pe- is a prefix that often turns verbs into agent nouns (the person who does the action), similar to -er in English (teach → teacher, guide → guider/guide).

What is the difference between jelas and menjelaskan in menjelaskan dasar-dasar astronomi?

• jelas = clear (adjective) or to be clear (stative verb)

  • Penjelasannya jelas. = The explanation is clear.

• menjelaskan = to explain (active verb, meN- + jelas + -kan)

  • Ia menjelaskan materi itu. = He/She explains that material.

In your sentence, you need an action verb (“explained”), so Indonesian uses menjelaskan, not just jelas. Menjelaskan literally means “to make something clear”, which maps well to English explain.

What does the suffix -kan do in menjelaskan?

The pattern is:

• jelas (clear)
• menjelaskan X = to make X clear / to explain X

The suffix -kan often:

• turns an adjective or noun into a transitive verb (with an object)
• adds a sense of causation (“to cause to be …”)

So menjelaskan dasar-dasar astronomi literally feels like “to make the basics of astronomy clear” → to explain the basics of astronomy.

Why is it dasar-dasar astronomi and not just dasar astronomi?

Reduplication (dasar-dasar) is a common way in Indonesian to express plural or various items of the same type.

• dasar astronomi = the basic/fundamental aspect of astronomy (could be singular or general)
• dasar-dasar astronomi = the basics / basic principles of astronomy (clearly more than one)

In English, you see that as basic vs basics. Indonesian often uses reduplication instead of a separate plural marker like -s.

Does dasar-dasar have to be plural here? Could you say dasar astronomi instead?

You can say dasar astronomi; it would still be understood. The nuance:

• dasar astronomi – more general; “the basic foundation of astronomy” (may sound a bit more abstract or singular)
• dasar-dasar astronomi – highlights that there are several basic points/concepts being explained

Both are grammatically correct; dasar-dasar just fits the English idea of “the basics” more precisely.

What does dengan bahasa sederhana literally mean, and why use dengan?

Literally:

• dengan = with / by / using
• bahasa = language
• sederhana = simple

So dengan bahasa sederhana = “with simple language” or “using simple language.”

Dengan is often used to indicate the means or manner of doing something:

• menulis dengan pensil = write with a pencil
• berbicara dengan suara pelan = speak in a soft voice

Here, dengan bahasa sederhana expresses the way the guide explains: by using simple language.

Could we say dalam bahasa sederhana instead of dengan bahasa sederhana? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say both:

• dengan bahasa sederhana
• dalam bahasa sederhana

They are both natural and commonly used. The nuance is small:

• dengan leans slightly to “using” that language as a tool/means.
• dalam leans slightly to “in” that language as a medium/container.

In practice, for this sentence, they are almost interchangeable:

• Pemandu menjelaskan … dengan bahasa sederhana.
• Pemandu menjelaskan … dalam bahasa sederhana.

Both sound normal and idiomatic.

Why is it bahasa sederhana, not sederhana bahasa? What is the normal word order?

In Indonesian, the normal order is:

• Noun + Adjective
  
  • bahasa sederhana = simple language
  • mobil merah = red car
  • buku baru = new book

So:

• bahasa (noun) + sederhana (adjective) → bahasa sederhana

Putting sederhana bahasa would be ungrammatical in standard Indonesian.

Is there any article like a or the in pemandu or dasar-dasar? How do we know if it means “a guide” or “the guide”?

Indonesian does not have dedicated articles like a/an or the. The bare noun pemandu can mean:

• a guide
• the guide
• guides (in some contexts)

Context tells you which is intended. If you really need to specify:

• seorang pemandu = a (single) guide
• pemandu itu = that/the guide (the one already known or mentioned)

In your sentence, Pemandu menjelaskan … will usually be read as “The guide explained …” in a narrative context, but grammatically it’s just guide with no explicit article.

How do we know this sentence is past tense (“explained”) when the verb menjelaskan doesn’t change form?

Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense. Menjelaskan can mean:

• explains / is explaining
• explained
• will explain

The time is understood from:

• context
• time words: tadi (earlier), kemarin (yesterday), besok (tomorrow), sedang (currently), etc.

For example:

• Tadi pemandu menjelaskan… = Earlier the guide explained… (past)
• Sekarang pemandu menjelaskan… = Now the guide is explaining… (present)
• Besok pemandu akan menjelaskan… = Tomorrow the guide will explain… (future)

Your sentence, by itself, is tense-neutral; in English we usually pick past in a story context: The guide explained…

If I want to say “The guide is explaining the basics of astronomy in simple language (right now),” how can I make that clear?

You can add sedang to mark an ongoing action:

• Pemandu sedang menjelaskan dasar-dasar astronomi dengan bahasa sederhana.

Sedang ≈ “currently / in the middle of doing,” so this strongly suggests present continuous:
is explaining / is in the middle of explaining.

Can I omit the word bahasa and just say dengan sederhana?

Yes, but the nuance changes slightly:

• dengan bahasa sederhana – emphasizes the language/wording is simple.
• dengan sederhana – emphasizes the manner is simple (could refer to style, structure, not only word choice).

Both are acceptable:

• Pemandu menjelaskan dasar-dasar astronomi dengan sederhana.
  = The guide explains the basics of astronomy in a simple way.

If you specifically want to highlight simple language, dengan bahasa sederhana is clearer.

Is the sentence formal, informal, or neutral in tone?

The sentence is neutral and fits:

• written explanations (textbooks, articles)
• spoken narration (storytelling, documentary voice-over)
• everyday conversation, especially slightly careful speech

None of the words are slang or very formal. It’s standard Indonesian.

How do you pronounce pemandu and sederhana?

Approximate pronunciation (Indonesian is mostly phonetic):

• pemandu: /pə-man-doo/

  • pe = like the e in “sofa” (schwa)
  • man = like “man”
  • du = doo

• sederhana: /sə-dər-ha-na/

  • se = schwa again (like “a” in “about”)
  • der = dər with a light r
  • ha = hah
  • na = nah

Stress is usually fairly even, slightly stronger near the end: pe-MAN-du, se-der-HA-na or se-DER-ha-na, but not as strong-stressed as in English.