Roti itu dipotong dengan pisau di meja.

In Indonesian, demonstratives like ini and itu usually come after the noun.

So:

• roti itu = that bread / the bread
• meja itu = that table / the table

In many sentences, itu does not just mean that in a strongly demonstrative way. It can also help make the noun feel specific or already known, so roti itu can often be understood as the bread.

This is a very common point of confusion.

There are two different di forms in Indonesian:

1. di- as a prefix on a verb

   • dipotong = cut / was cut
   • Here di- marks a passive verb, so it is attached to the verb.

2. di as a preposition meaning in, on, at

   • di meja = on the table
   • As a preposition, it is written separately.

So:

• dipotong = one word
• di meja = two words

A good shortcut:

• if it is followed by a verb root, it is often a prefix: diambil, dipotong, ditulis
• if it is followed by a place/location noun, it is usually a preposition: di rumah, di meja, di sekolah

Yes. Dipotong is a passive form.

• root: potong = cut
• passive: dipotong = be cut / was cut / is cut

So Roti itu dipotong... means something like:

• The bread was cut...
• The bread is cut...

Indonesian does not mark tense the same way English does, so dipotong by itself does not tell you whether it is past or present. The time usually comes from context or extra words such as kemarin (yesterday), tadi (earlier), sedang (currently), and so on.

Because Indonesian often allows the agent to be left unstated, especially in passive sentences.

So Roti itu dipotong dengan pisau di meja focuses on the bread and the action, not on the person doing it.

If you want to add the doer, you could say something like:

• Roti itu dipotong oleh ibu. = The bread was cut by mother.
• Roti itu dipotong oleh koki. = The bread was cut by the chef.

In everyday Indonesian, the agent is often omitted if it is unknown, unimportant, or obvious from context.

Here dengan means with, showing the instrument used to do the action.

• dengan pisau = with a knife

So it tells you what was used to cut the bread.

In Indonesian, dengan can also have other uses, such as:

• with a person: dengan teman saya = with my friend
• in a certain way/manner: dengan cepat = quickly / literally with speed

In this sentence, though, it is specifically marking the tool or instrument.

Yes, this sentence can be a little ambiguous.

Roti itu dipotong dengan pisau di meja could be understood as:

1. The bread was cut with a knife on the table.
   = the cutting happened on the table

or possibly:

2. The bread on the table was cut with a knife.
   = di meja describes where the bread was

In real life, context usually makes the intended meaning clear.

If you want to make it clearer, you can rephrase:

• Roti yang ada di meja itu dipotong dengan pisau.
  = The bread that is on the table was cut with a knife.

• Roti itu dipotong di meja dengan pisau.
  = more clearly suggests the cutting happened on the table

Even then, Indonesian can still rely a lot on context.

Indonesian does not have articles like English the and a/an.

That means a noun like roti can mean:

• bread
• a bread (depending on context)
• the bread

Specificity is often shown through context, word order, or words like itu.

So:

• roti = bread / a bread / the bread
• roti itu = that bread / the bread

This is one reason Indonesian can feel more context-dependent than English.

Yes. The active version would use memotong instead of dipotong.

For example:

• Dia memotong roti itu dengan pisau di meja.
  = He/She cut the bread with a knife on the table.

• Ibu memotong roti itu dengan pisau di meja.
  = Mother cut the bread with a knife on the table.

Compare:

• Roti itu dipotong... = passive, focuses on the bread
• Dia memotong roti itu... = active, focuses on the person doing the action

Both are natural, but Indonesian uses passive structures more often than English does.

Yes, you usually can.

For example:

• Roti itu dipotong dengan pisau di meja.
• Roti itu dipotong di meja dengan pisau.

Both are possible.

The difference is mostly one of emphasis or clarity. Speakers may put the location earlier or later depending on what they want to highlight.

That said, because this sentence has a possible ambiguity, changing the order may help a little, but context is still important.

Yes, in everyday Indonesian you may also hear verbs like:

• memakai = to use
• pakai = use / using

For example:

• Roti itu dipotong memakai pisau.
• Roti itu dipotong pakai pisau.

These mean roughly the same as with a knife.

However:

• dengan pisau is neat and neutral
• pakai pisau is very common in speech and informal writing
• memakai pisau is a bit fuller and more explicit

By itself, roti can cover several meanings depending on context. It often refers to:

• bread in general
• a loaf/bun/piece of bread
• some kind of bread item

So English forces you to choose more than Indonesian does.

If you want to be more specific in Indonesian, you can add another word:

• sepotong roti = a piece of bread
• roti tawar = plain sliced bread / sandwich bread
• sebuku roti = a loaf of bread

In your sentence, roti itu just means a specific bread item, and the exact type depends on context.

You usually do not know from the verb alone. Indonesian verbs normally do not change form for tense the way English verbs do.

So dipotong can mean:

• is cut
• was cut
• has been cut

depending on context.

If the speaker wants to make the time clear, they can add time words:

• Roti itu dipotong tadi pagi. = The bread was cut this morning.
• Roti itu sedang dipotong. = The bread is being cut.
• Roti itu akan dipotong. = The bread will be cut.

So tense in Indonesian is often handled by context or by extra time/aspect words, not by changing the verb form itself.