Anak itu menangis.

That child is crying.

Breakdown of Anak itu menangis.

• itu: that
• anak: the child
• menangis: to cry

Questions & Answers about Anak itu menangis.

What does itu do in Anak itu?

Here, itu works like that in that child, but in natural English the whole phrase is often translated as the child if the child is already identifiable from context.

A useful pattern is:

• anak itu = that child / the child
• rumah itu = that house / the house
• buku itu = that book / the book

In Indonesian, itu usually comes after the noun, unlike English.

Why is the word order anak itu and not itu anak?

Because in Indonesian, demonstratives like ini and itu usually come after the noun when they mean this/that.

So:

• anak itu = that child
• anak ini = this child

If you say itu anak, that usually has a different function in a sentence, more like That is a child or That is the child, depending on context. So for a noun phrase meaning that child, anak itu is the normal order.

Does menangis change for person, like cry / cries / cried in English?