Sebelum parkir, Ibu selalu melihat spion lalu memutar setir pelan-pelan.

In Indonesian, the subject is often left out when it is already clear from context.

Here, the main subject is Ibu, so sebelum parkir is understood as before she parks or before parking.

This is very natural in Indonesian. You do not need to repeat Ibu:

• Sebelum parkir, Ibu selalu... = Before parking, she always...

If you wanted to make it more explicit, you could say:

• Sebelum Ibu parkir, ...

But in this sentence, that would usually sound less natural unless you really wanted to emphasize the subject.

Parkir can function as a verb in everyday Indonesian, especially in casual or neutral usage.

So:

• parkir = to park / parking

In sebelum parkir, it works very naturally as before parking.

You may also hear:

• memarkir kendaraan = to park a vehicle
• memarkirkan mobil = to park a car

These forms are more explicitly verbal and often sound a bit more formal or more clearly transitive.

So the sentence uses the simpler, very common form:

• sebelum parkir = before parking

It can mean either, depending on context.

Ibu commonly means:

• mother / mom
• Mrs. / ma’am / a woman of adult age, as a respectful form of address or reference

In a sentence like this, without more context, it could mean:

• Mother always checks the mirrors and then slowly turns the steering wheel before parking or
• The lady / the woman always...

Also, Ibu is capitalized here. That often happens when it is used like a title or as a substitute for a name, similar to writing Mother in English.

In Indonesian, frequency adverbs such as selalu often come before the verb.

So:

• Ibu selalu melihat spion = She always looks at the mirror(s)

This word order is very common:

• selalu makan
• selalu datang
• selalu melihat

It is similar to English always often coming before the main verb:

• She always checks...

Melihat basically means to see or to look at.

In this sentence, the best English sense is probably:

• to look at
• to check

So melihat spion means something like:

• look at the mirror
• check the mirrors

It is not the same as watch in the sense of watching TV or a movie. For that, Indonesian more often uses:

• menonton = to watch

So:

• melihat spion = look at the mirror(s)
• menonton film = watch a movie

Spion means a vehicle mirror, especially:

• rear-view mirror
• side mirror
• or mirrors in general, depending on context

A very common fuller phrase is:

• kaca spion = car mirror / rear-view or side mirror

In this sentence, melihat spion means checking the mirrors before parking.

Even though spion is singular in form, Indonesian nouns often do not mark singular vs. plural clearly, so it may refer to:

• one mirror
• the mirrors generally

Lalu means then, after that, or next.

It connects the two actions in sequence:

1. melihat spion
2. memutar setir pelan-pelan

So the sentence means that after looking at the mirror(s), she then slowly turns the steering wheel.

Other words that can also express sequence include:

• kemudian = then, afterwards
• terus = then, next, and then
• lalu = then

Lalu is very common and natural here.

The base word is putar, which relates to turning or rotating.

With the meN- prefix, it becomes:

• memutar = to turn, rotate, spin, or cause something to turn

So:

• memutar setir = to turn the steering wheel

This is a normal transitive verb pattern:

• memutar
  • object

Examples:

• memutar tombol = turn the knob
• memutar musik = play music
• memutar setir = turn the steering wheel

Setir is the common everyday Indonesian word for steering wheel or sometimes the act of steering/driving, depending on context.

In this sentence:

• memutar setir = turn the steering wheel

A more formal Indonesian term is:

• kemudi = steering wheel / steering

But in daily speech, setir is extremely common.

So a learner should definitely recognize:

• setir = steering wheel

Pelan-pelan means slowly, gently, or carefully.

The base word is:

• pelan = slow / softly / gentle

The repetition gives it an adverbial sense and often makes it sound more natural:

• pelan-pelan = slowly, gently

This kind of repetition is very common in Indonesian.

Examples:

• jalan pelan-pelan = walk slowly
• bicara pelan-pelan = speak softly / slowly
• memutar setir pelan-pelan = slowly turn the steering wheel

It often sounds more natural than just pelan by itself in this kind of sentence.

In Indonesian, adverb-like words often come directly after the verb without needing dengan.

So:

• memutar setir pelan-pelan = slowly turn the steering wheel

This is completely natural.

You could say:

• dengan pelan-pelan

but that is usually less natural here. Indonesian often prefers the simpler structure:

• verb + adverb

Examples:

• berjalan cepat = walk quickly
• bicara keras = speak loudly
• membuka pintu pelan-pelan = open the door slowly

Because the subject is understood to stay the same.

Indonesian often uses one subject for a series of verbs without repeating it:

• Ibu selalu melihat spion lalu memutar setir pelan-pelan.

This means:

• Ibu always looks at the mirrors and then turns the steering wheel slowly.

English can do this too:

• She checks the mirrors and then turns the wheel.

So there is no need to say:

• Ibu selalu melihat spion lalu Ibu memutar setir...

That would sound repetitive unless you wanted special emphasis.

The comma is natural because Sebelum parkir is an introductory time phrase.

So this punctuation helps the reader see the structure:

• Sebelum parkir, Ibu selalu melihat spion lalu memutar setir pelan-pelan.

In informal writing, people may sometimes leave out commas, but using the comma here is good standard writing.

It works much like English:

• Before parking, she always checks the mirrors...

Most naturally, it applies to the whole action sequence that follows.

So the meaning is:

• Before parking, she always looks at the mirrors and then slowly turns the steering wheel.

In other words, both actions are part of what she does before or as she is about to park.

The exact boundary is not something Indonesian speakers usually stop to analyze in everyday speech, because the intended meaning is clear from context: these are the actions she does in preparation for parking.