Tinta printer itu hampir habis, jadi petugas di kantor mengambil tinta cadangan dari lemari sebelum rapat dimulai.

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

So:

• tinta printer itu = that printer ink / the printer ink
• not itu tinta printer in normal noun-phrase order

Here, itu refers to the whole noun phrase tinta printer, not just printer by itself. It often gives a sense of that specific one or the one we’re talking about.

Indonesian commonly links nouns directly, without apostrophes or of.

So:

• tinta printer literally = printer ink
• meaning: ink for a printer

This is a very normal pattern in Indonesian:

• kantor pos = post office
• air minum = drinking water
• meja kantor = office desk

Usually the first noun is the main thing, and the second noun helps describe what kind of thing it is.

Hampir means almost, and habis means finished up, used up, or gone.

So hampir habis means:

• almost finished
• almost used up
• running low

In this sentence, Tinta printer itu hampir habis means the printer ink is nearly gone.

A useful point: habis is often used for consumable things:

• Gula habis = The sugar is gone.
• Baterainya habis = The battery is dead / drained.
• Uangnya habis = The money is all spent.

Here jadi means so, therefore, or as a result.

It connects the first clause to the second:

• The printer ink was almost gone, so...
• ...the office staff member took spare ink...

In everyday Indonesian, jadi is a very common connector. It can sound a little more conversational than a more formal word like oleh karena itu.

Petugas is a general word for a person on duty, an attendant, an officer, or a staff member. The best translation depends on context.

In petugas di kantor, it most naturally means something like:

• the staff member in the office
• the office worker
• the office staff

It does not automatically mean a police officer or government official. It is a broader word than that.

This is one of the most important spelling points in Indonesian.

• di kantor: di is a preposition meaning in/at, so it is written separately.
• dimulai: di- is a prefix used in passive verbs, so it is written together.

Compare:

• di kantor = in the office
• di lemari = in/from the cupboard contextually with another preposition
• dimulai = begun / started
• diambil = taken

A simple rule:

• if di shows a place, write it separately
• if di- forms a verb, write it together

Mengambil is the standard active verb form built from the root ambil (take).

• ambil = the basic root; can be used in commands or casual speech
• mengambil = to take, to fetch, to get

In a normal full sentence, Indonesian usually uses the meN- verb form:

• petugas mengambil tinta = the staff member took the ink

If you said just petugas ambil tinta, it would sound more informal or colloquial.

Cadangan means reserve, spare, or backup.

So tinta cadangan means:

• spare ink
• backup ink
• reserve ink supply

This word is often used for things kept in case they are needed later:

• baterai cadangan = spare battery
• rencana cadangan = backup plan
• uang cadangan = reserve money

Because the action involves taking something from the cupboard, not simply saying where it is located.

• dari = from
• di = in/at

So:

• mengambil tinta dari lemari = take the ink from the cupboard
• tinta di lemari = the ink in the cupboard

The sentence focuses on the source of the ink, so dari is the correct choice.

Sebelum rapat dimulai means before the meeting began / before the meeting was started.

A few points:

1. sebelum introduces a time clause: before ...
2. rapat is the meeting
3. dimulai is a passive-style verb meaning is started / begins

This phrasing is very natural when the sentence does not care who starts the meeting. It focuses on the event itself.

Other possibilities:

• sebelum rapat mulai = before the meeting starts
  This is also natural and slightly simpler.
• sebelum memulai rapat = before starting the meeting
  This changes the structure and implies an understood subject who is starting it.

So sebelum rapat dimulai is a good neutral way to say before the meeting started.

Grammatically, yes: dimulai uses the passive prefix di- on mulai.

But in real usage, it often feels close to English began or started, especially with events like meetings, classes, and shows. Indonesian often uses passive forms this way when the agent is unimportant or obvious.

For example:

• Rapat dimulai pukul 9 = The meeting starts/is started at 9.
• Acara dimulai sekarang = The program starts now.

So it is passive in form, but in meaning it can function very naturally as an event beginning.

Indonesian nouns usually do not have to show singular vs. plural clearly.

So petugas could mean:

• a staff member
• staff members
• the staff

The context decides.

In this sentence, English might translate it as singular because the verb describes one smooth action by one person, but Indonesian itself does not force that reading as strongly as English does.

If you really wanted to make it clearly plural, you could say:

• para petugas
• petugas-petugas

But in normal Indonesian, leaving it as petugas is very common.