Film dokumenter tentang Inggris itu menarik.

That documentary film about England is interesting.

Breakdown of Film dokumenter tentang Inggris itu menarik.

• adalah: to be
• itu: that
• tentang: about
• film: the film
• dokumenter: documentary
• menarik: interesting
• Inggris: the English language

Questions & Answers about Film dokumenter tentang Inggris itu menarik.

What does itu mean here, and why is it at the end of the noun phrase?

Itu is a demonstrative that usually means that or sometimes the (for something already known in context).

In Film dokumenter tentang Inggris itu menarik, the structure is:

• Film dokumenter tentang Inggris = documentary film about England
• itu = that / the (known one)
• menarik = is interesting

In Indonesian, demonstratives like itu and ini normally come after the whole noun phrase they modify:

• film itu = that film
• film dokumenter itu = that documentary film
• film dokumenter tentang Inggris itu = that documentary film about England

So itu is placed at the end of the whole noun phrase to mark which film you are talking about: that documentary film about England.

Can I move itu to the front, like Itu film dokumenter tentang Inggris menarik?

You can say Itu film dokumenter tentang Inggris menarik, but the nuance changes slightly.

• Film dokumenter tentang Inggris itu menarik.
  Neutral statement: That documentary film about England is interesting.
  itu clearly attaches to the film.

• Itu film dokumenter tentang Inggris menarik.
  This feels more like: That England documentary film is interesting.
  itu is now more like “that one (as for that thing we’re talking about)”.

The second version can sound like you are introducing or emphasizing the topic:
Itu, film dokumenter tentang Inggris, menarik. (As for that: the documentary film about England is interesting.)

For most neutral sentences, keep itu where it is in the original: at the end of the noun phrase.

Why is there no word for is? Why not Film dokumenter tentang Inggris itu adalah menarik?

In Indonesian, you usually don’t need a verb like “to be” when you link a noun/pronoun to an adjective:

• Film itu menarik. = The film is interesting.
• Mereka sibuk. = They are busy.
• Rumah ini besar. = This house is big.

You just put the subject + adjective, and that already means “is/are …”.

Using adalah in front of an adjective (… adalah menarik) is usually unnecessary or sounds unnatural in everyday speech. Adalah is mainly used:

1. Before a noun:
   
   • Jakarta adalah ibu kota Indonesia. = Jakarta is the capital of Indonesia.
2. In more formal/written style, especially in definitions.

So:
✔ Film dokumenter tentang Inggris itu menarik.
✘ Film dokumenter tentang Inggris itu adalah menarik. (grammatical in some very formal styles, but not natural conversation)

What exactly is menarik here? Is it a verb or an adjective?

Menarik literally comes from the verb menarik = to pull, but in this kind of sentence it functions as an adjective meaning interesting.

Indonesian often uses the same form as both a verb and an adjective, depending on context:

• Verb: Film itu menarik perhatian saya.
  = The movie pulled/attracted my attention.

• Adjective/predicate: Film itu menarik.
  = The movie is interesting.

In Film dokumenter tentang Inggris itu menarik, menarik is best understood as an adjective: interesting.

What does tentang mean, and can I replace it with other words?

Tentang is a preposition meaning about / regarding / concerning.

• Film tentang musik. = A film about music.
• Buku tentang sejarah Indonesia. = A book about Indonesian history.

You can often replace tentang with:

• mengenai – about, regarding (a bit more formal)
• soal – about, on the topic of (more informal/conversational)

Example with the same meaning:

• Film dokumenter mengenai Inggris itu menarik.
• Film dokumenter soal Inggris itu menarik.

All of these keep the basic idea: the film is about England.

Does Inggris mean England or English (language) here? How do I say “about the English language” instead?

Inggris by itself can mean:

1. England (the country)
2. English (often understood as either the country or the language, depending on context)

In Film dokumenter tentang Inggris itu menarik, context suggests:

• tentang Inggris = about England (common interpretation)

  If you specifically want the English language, say:

• tentang bahasa Inggris = about the English language

Examples:

• Film dokumenter tentang Inggris itu menarik.
  The documentary film about England is interesting.

• Film dokumenter tentang bahasa Inggris itu menarik.
  The documentary film about the English language is interesting.

What is the structure of film dokumenter? Why not dokumenter film?

Film dokumenter is a noun + modifier structure:

• film = film
• dokumenter = documentary (as an adjective-like modifier here)

In Indonesian, the normal order is:

• Head noun
  • describing word
    
    • baju merah = red shirt
    • rumah besar = big house
    • film dokumenter = documentary film

So dokumenter film would be wrong for this meaning. You want film dokumenter to say documentary film.

Can I drop film and just say Dokumenter tentang Inggris itu menarik?

Yes, you can.

In everyday speech, dokumenter can be used as a noun meaning (a) documentary:

• Dokumenter itu menarik. = That documentary is interesting.

So:

• Dokumenter tentang Inggris itu menarik.
  also means: The/That documentary about England is interesting.

Using film dokumenter just makes it explicit that it’s a film, not (for example) a radio documentary or some other type of documentary.

How would I say The documentary films about England are interesting (plural)?

Indonesian usually does not need to mark plural explicitly. Context often shows whether it’s singular or plural.

You can keep almost the same sentence:

• Film dokumenter tentang Inggris itu menarik.

Depending on context, this can mean:

• That documentary film about England is interesting.
• Those documentary films about England are interesting.
• The documentary films about England are interesting.

If you really want to emphasize plural, you can use reduplication or a quantifier:

• Film-film dokumenter tentang Inggris itu menarik.
  = The documentary films about England are interesting.

Or:

• Banyak film dokumenter tentang Inggris yang menarik.
  = Many documentary films about England are interesting.

Why is menarik at the end? Could I put it earlier, like Film menarik dokumenter tentang Inggris itu?

In this kind of “X is Y” sentence, the normal order is:

• Subject
  • adjective/predicate
    
    • Film itu menarik.
    • Rumah ini besar.

So Film dokumenter tentang Inggris itu menarik is:

• Subject: Film dokumenter tentang Inggris itu
• Predicate: menarik

A sentence like Film menarik dokumenter tentang Inggris itu is incorrect or at least very confusing. It would look like menarik is modifying film directly in the noun phrase, which is not the intended structure.

Keep menarik as the predicate at the end here.

Could I use yang in this sentence, like Film dokumenter yang tentang Inggris itu menarik?

In this sentence, yang is not needed and adding it like that makes the structure wrong.

Correct:

• Film dokumenter tentang Inggris itu menarik.

If you use yang, it usually introduces a relative clause or describing phrase after a noun:

• Film dokumenter yang tentang Inggris itu menarik.
  This sounds like: The documentary film which is about England is interesting,
  but the phrase yang tentang Inggris is awkward as a relative clause; you already have a good structure with just tentang Inggris.

You could naturally use yang menarik if you want to say “the documentary films about England that are interesting”:

• Film dokumenter tentang Inggris yang menarik.
  = documentary films about England that are interesting

So:

• For “The documentary film about England is interesting”, don’t use yang.
• Use yang when you need “which/that …” to further describe the noun.

What’s the difference between itu and ini in this sentence?

Both are demonstratives:

• ini = this (near the speaker)
• itu = that (farther away / already mentioned / known)

So:

• Film dokumenter tentang Inggris ini menarik.
  = This documentary film about England is interesting.
  (maybe you’re holding the DVD or it’s on the screen right in front of you)

• Film dokumenter tentang Inggris itu menarik.
  = That documentary film about England is interesting.
  (maybe it’s not right in front of you, or it’s already known from context)

Grammatically, both are fine; the choice depends on distance and context, just like this vs that in English.

Is there any difference in meaning between English “The documentary film about England is interesting” and the Indonesian sentence?

They are very close, but some nuances:

• Indonesian does not have articles like a/an/the, so Film dokumenter tentang Inggris itu can mean:

  • that documentary film about England
  • the documentary film about England (specific, known one)

• Itu makes it clear you’re talking about a specific documentary already known in the context, similar to English that or the (that one we know or have mentioned).

So Film dokumenter tentang Inggris itu menarik most naturally corresponds to:

• That documentary film about England is interesting.
  or, in context, simply
• The documentary film about England is interesting.