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Tolong periksa atap rumah sebelum hujan deras.

Tolong periksa atap rumah sebelum hujan deras.
Please check the roof of the house before heavy rain.

Breakdown of Tolong periksa atap rumah sebelum hujan deras.

rumah
the house
sebelum
before
hujan
the rain
deras
heavy
periksa
to check
tolong
please
atap
roof
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Questions & Answers about Tolong periksa atap rumah sebelum hujan deras.

Why is there no subject like kamu/Anda in this sentence?

Indonesian imperatives (commands/requests) often omit the subject because it’s understood from context.
So (Kamu) tolong periksa atap rumah... is natural, but dropping kamu/Anda sounds smoother and more typical.

What exactly does tolong do here? Is it “help”?

In this structure, tolong is a politeness marker meaning please (literally related to “help,” but functionally “please”).

  • Tolong periksa... = “Please check...”
    It softens the command into a request.
Is Tolong always used with commands, or can it be used in other ways?

It’s most common with requests/commands, but it can also mean “help” in other structures. Compare:

  • Tolong periksa atap rumah. = “Please check the roof.” (polite request)
  • Tolong saya! = “Help me!” (literal “help”)
Why is it periksa and not memeriksa?

Periksa is the imperative/base form used in commands. Memeriksa is the active verb form used in statements.

  • Command: Tolong periksa atap rumah.
  • Statement: Saya memeriksa atap rumah. = “I check/am checking the roof.”
What’s the difference between periksa and cek?

Both can mean “check,” but:

  • periksa is more formal/standard and can imply “inspect/examine.”
  • cek is more informal/colloquial (and very common in speech).
    Your sentence sounds slightly formal and careful because of tolong
    • periksa.
How does atap rumah work—why not atapnya rumah or atap dari rumah?

Indonesian commonly uses a simple noun-noun phrase where the second noun acts like “of”:

  • atap rumah = “(the) roof of the house” / “the house roof”
    You can say atap dari rumah itu, but it’s often unnecessary and can sound more explicit than needed.
Does atap rumah need itu or ini to mean “the roof”?

Not necessarily. Indonesian often leaves definiteness implicit. atap rumah can mean “the roof (of the house we’re talking about).”
If you want to be explicit:

  • atap rumah itu = “that house’s roof”
  • atap rumah ini = “this house’s roof”
What does sebelum mean grammatically here, and what comes after it?

Sebelum means before and introduces a time clause or time phrase. It can be followed by:

  • a noun phrase: sebelum hujan deras (“before heavy rain”)
  • a full clause: sebelum hujan turun deras (“before the rain falls heavily”)
Is hujan deras a complete idea without a verb like “falls”?

Yes. Indonesian often uses hujan (rain) as a noun-like event (“rain”), so sebelum hujan deras naturally means “before the heavy rain (happens/comes).”
Adding a verb is optional if you want more detail: sebelum hujan deras turun.

Does deras mean “heavy” only for rain?

Deras means “strong/intense/heavy” and is very common with rain and flow:

  • hujan deras = heavy rain
  • angin deras = strong wind (also possible, though kencang is more common)
  • aliran deras = strong current
    For “heavy” in other senses (weight), you’d use berat, not deras.
Where does the time phrase go—could I move sebelum hujan deras to the beginning?

Yes, Indonesian word order is flexible for time phrases. Both are natural:

  • Tolong periksa atap rumah sebelum hujan deras.
  • Sebelum hujan deras, tolong periksa atap rumah.
    The second version puts more emphasis on the urgency/time condition.
How polite is this sentence, and how could I make it more formal or more casual?

It’s politely neutral. You can adjust it like this:
More formal:

  • Mohon periksa atap rumah sebelum hujan deras. (mohon = more formal “please”)
  • Add Bapak/Ibu or Anda for polite address: Tolong periksa..., Pak/Bu.
    More casual:
  • Cek atap rumah sebelum hujan deres. (informal; note deres is a common colloquial variant of deras in some speech)
How is this sentence typically pronounced, especially periksa and deras?

A practical pronunciation guide (approximate):

  • Tolong: TO-long (final -ng like in “song”)
  • periksa: pe-RIK-sa (stress often falls near -rik-)
  • atap: A-tap (final p is unreleased/soft)
  • sebelum: se-BE-lum
  • hujan: HU-jan (the j is like English “j”)
  • deras: DE-ras (rolled/tapped r depending on speaker)