Kunci cadangan itu diambil dari laci meja sebelum rapat dimulai.

In Indonesian, modifiers usually come after the noun they describe.

So:

• kunci = key
• cadangan = spare / backup

Together, kunci cadangan = spare key.

This is very normal Indonesian word order. A few similar examples:

• mobil baru = new car
• rumah besar = big house
• baterai cadangan = spare battery

So even though it feels reversed from English, kunci cadangan is the standard pattern.

Itu here marks the noun phrase as that or often simply the, depending on context.

So:

• kunci cadangan = a spare key / spare key
• kunci cadangan itu = that spare key / the spare key

In Indonesian, words like ini and itu usually come after the noun phrase:

• buku itu = that book / the book
• rumah besar itu = that big house
• kunci cadangan itu = that spare key

So the order is natural in Indonesian: noun + modifier + itu

Because this sentence is in the passive voice.

• mengambil = to take / take something
• diambil = was taken / is taken

So:

• Dia mengambil kunci itu. = He/She took the key.
• Kunci itu diambil. = The key was taken.

In your sentence, the focus is on the spare key, not on the person who took it. Indonesian uses passive very often in this kind of situation, even more naturally than English sometimes does.

Yes. Indonesian very often omits the agent, especially when:

• it is unknown,
• it is obvious,
• or it is not important.

So Kunci cadangan itu diambil... simply means the spare key was taken... without saying by whom.

If you wanted to mention the doer, you could add it:

• Kunci cadangan itu diambil oleh sekretaris. = The spare key was taken by the secretary.

But leaving it out is completely normal.

Because in both cases di- is a prefix, not a separate preposition.

• diambil = di-
  • ambil
• dimulai = di-
  • mulai

This di- forms the passive.

Compare that with the preposition di, which means in / at / on and is written separately:

• di meja = on the table
• di kantor = at the office

So:

• diambil = one word, because it is a verb
• di meja = two words, because di is a preposition

This is a very important spelling distinction in Indonesian.

It means from the desk drawer or from the drawer of the desk.

Breakdown:

• dari = from
• laci = drawer
• meja = table / desk

In context, laci meja is understood as the drawer of a desk or desk drawer.

So diambil dari laci meja = taken from the desk drawer.

Because Indonesian often connects nouns directly without a word equivalent to English of.

So:

• laci meja = desk drawer / drawer of a desk
• pintu rumah = house door / door of the house
• warna mobil = car color / color of the car

Usually the first noun is the main thing, and the second noun modifies it.

Here:

• laci = the main noun
• meja = tells you what kind of drawer

So laci meja literally looks like drawer desk, but naturally means desk drawer.

Rapat dimulai is a very common and natural way to say the meeting began / the meeting started.

• mulai = begin / start
• dimulai = be started / begin, in a passive-style form often used in formal Indonesian

So:

• rapat dimulai = the meeting began
• film dimulai pukul tujuh = the film started at seven

You may also hear rapat mulai in casual speech, but rapat dimulai sounds more standard and formal in a sentence like this.

Sebelum means before and introduces a time clause.

So:

• sebelum rapat dimulai = before the meeting began

The pattern is:

• sebelum + clause

Examples:

• sebelum makan = before eating
• sebelum dia datang = before he/she came
• sebelum rapat dimulai = before the meeting started

There is no special tense change after sebelum. Indonesian just uses normal wording and lets context show the time relationship.

Not by grammar alone. Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense the way English verbs do.

So diambil does not automatically mean past just because English was taken is past.

The past meaning comes from context, especially from sebelum rapat dimulai and the overall situation.

Indonesian often relies on time words or context instead of verb endings. If needed, speakers can add time markers such as:

• tadi = earlier
• kemarin = yesterday
• sudah = already
• baru saja = just

But even without them, the sentence can still clearly be understood as past from context.

Yes. In many contexts, itu can be translated either as that or as a kind of definiteness marker similar to the.

So depending on context:

• kunci cadangan itu = that spare key
• kunci cadangan itu = the spare key

If the speaker is pointing to or contrasting a specific key, that spare key may fit better. If the speaker is simply referring to an already known key, the spare key may sound more natural in English.

This is very common when translating Indonesian into English: one Indonesian phrase can match more than one natural English version.

A helpful way to see it is:

• Kunci cadangan itu = subject/topic
• diambil = passive verb
• dari laci meja = source phrase
• sebelum rapat dimulai = time clause

So the structure is roughly:

[The spare key] [was taken] [from the desk drawer] [before the meeting began].

This is a very normal Indonesian sentence pattern, especially in formal or narrative style.