Breakdown of Buku sejarah itu dibaca di perpustakaan.
itu
that
di
in
perpustakaan
the library
buku sejarah
the history book
Questions & Answers about Buku sejarah itu dibaca di perpustakaan.
What exactly does itu mean in buku sejarah itu?
Itu literally means that, but in this position it often just marks the noun as definite, similar to the or that (specific one).
- buku sejarah itu ≈ that history book / the history book (that we both know about)
So itu points to a specific book that speaker and listener can identify from context.
Why is it buku sejarah itu and not itu buku sejarah?
In Indonesian, putting itu after the noun phrase (buku sejarah itu) is the normal way to say that/the history book.
- buku sejarah itu = “that history book / the history book” (neutral, common)
- itu buku sejarah is possible, but usually:
- sounds more like “that is a history book” (if said as a full sentence), or
- puts more contrastive/emphatic focus on itu in speech.
So for a simple noun phrase “that history book” used as the subject, buku sejarah itu is the standard word order.
What does dibaca mean, and how is it formed?