Breakdown of Guru menjelaskan aturan dasar di kelas.
Questions & Answers about Guru menjelaskan aturan dasar di kelas.
Indonesian normally does not use articles like the or a/an.
Whether you understand guru, aturan dasar, and kelas as the teacher / a teacher, the basic rules / some basic rules, or the classroom / a classroom depends on context, not on a separate word.
If you really need to specify, Indonesian often uses:
- seorang guru = a teacher (one teacher, non-specific)
- guru itu = that/the teacher (previously known or specific)
- aturan-aturan dasar itu = those basic rules (specific, plural, emphasized)
Indonesian verbs usually do not change form for tense. Menjelaskan itself is neutral; it just means to explain / explaining / explains.
The actual time is inferred from context or added with time words:
- Kemarin guru menjelaskan aturan dasar di kelas.
= Yesterday the teacher explained the basic rules in class. - Sekarang guru menjelaskan aturan dasar di kelas.
= Now the teacher is explaining the basic rules in class. - Besok guru akan menjelaskan aturan dasar di kelas.
= Tomorrow the teacher will explain the basic rules in class.
So the base sentence is timeless: you choose the English tense that fits the situation.
The basic structure is S – V – O – (place), similar to English.
- Guru = subject (the teacher)
- menjelaskan = verb (explains / is explaining / explained)
- aturan dasar = direct object (the basic rules)
- di kelas = place phrase (in the classroom / in class)
So: Guru (S) menjelaskan (V) aturan dasar (O) di kelas (place).
The root is jelas = clear.
The pattern meN- + root + -kan often makes a transitive verb meaning to make [root] or to cause [root].
- jelas = clear
- menjelaskan = to make something clear → to explain (something)
So menjelaskan naturally takes an object (what is being explained), here aturan dasar.
This meN-…-kan pattern appears in many verbs, for example:
- bersih (clean) → membersihkan (to clean something)
- baik (good) → membaikkan (to improve something)
Yes, Guru menjelaskan tentang aturan dasar di kelas is also grammatical.
Subtle difference:
- menjelaskan aturan dasar = the rules themselves are what is being made clear (direct object).
- menjelaskan tentang aturan dasar = explain about the basic rules (aturan dasar is inside a tentang phrase, not the direct object of the verb).
In practice, both are often used similarly, but many speakers prefer menjelaskan [object] when the thing explained is clearly the direct object, as in this sentence.
- aturan = rule
- dasar = basic, fundamental
So aturan dasar = basic rule(s) or fundamental rule(s).
Indonesian does not always mark plural. aturan dasar can mean:
- a basic rule / the basic rule, or
- basic rules / the basic rules.
If you want to clearly show plurality, you can say:
- aturan-aturan dasar (reduplication for plural)
- beberapa aturan dasar (several basic rules)
di usually means in / at / on (location).
di kelas = in the classroom / in class (location where the explaining happens).
ke usually means to (movement toward a place).
- Guru pergi ke kelas. = The teacher goes to the classroom.
In the original sentence, we’re talking about where the explaining happens (a location), not movement toward the classroom, so di is correct.
Here di is a preposition meaning in/at, followed by a noun (kelas).
You can tell because:
- It is written separately: di kelas, not dikelas.
- It is followed by a place noun, not a verb.
The di- that marks the passive voice is a prefix attached to a verb, for example:
- menjelaskan (active) → dijelaskan (is explained / was explained).
So in di kelas, di is just the location preposition.
Yes, Guru menerangkan aturan dasar di kelas is acceptable and very close in meaning.
- menjelaskan (from jelas, clear) = to make something clear; to explain
- menerangkan (from terang, bright/clear) = to illuminate / clarify; also to explain
In many everyday contexts, they are interchangeable. Some speakers feel:
- menjelaskan is slightly more common and neutral,
- menerangkan can feel a bit more formal or old-fashioned in some regions.
Functionally, both work here.
Yes. Word order is fairly flexible for adverbials like place and time.
You can say:
- Di kelas, guru menjelaskan aturan dasar.
This is still correct and means the same thing.
Placing di kelas at the front can give a bit of emphasis to the setting (in class), similar to English: In class, the teacher explained the basic rules.
Yes, it is implied. Indonesian often omits things that are obvious from context.
In English you might say:
- The teacher explained the basic rules to the students.
In Indonesian, you can keep it simple:
- Guru menjelaskan aturan dasar di kelas.
If you want to mention the students explicitly, you can add:
- Guru menjelaskan aturan dasar kepada murid-murid di kelas.
(The teacher explained the basic rules to the students in class.)
It is neutral and can be used in both spoken and written Indonesian.
It fits:
- school reports,
- narratives,
- everyday conversation about what happened in class.
To make it more clearly part of a narrative, you might add a time word, but the level of politeness and formality is already appropriate for most situations.
You can add seorang before guru to show a / one (teacher) in a non-specific way:
- Seorang guru menjelaskan aturan dasar di kelas.
This clearly means a teacher (not a particular, previously known teacher), while the rest of the sentence stays the same.