Pemutus litar dan suis utama itu rosak.

That circuit breaker and main switch are broken.

Breakdown of Pemutus litar dan suis utama itu rosak.

• itu: that
• dan: and
• rosak: broken
• pemutus litar: the circuit breaker

Questions & Answers about Pemutus litar dan suis utama itu rosak.

Why is itu placed after the noun phrase instead of before it, like that in English?

In Malay, demonstratives such as ini (this) and itu (that/the) usually come after the noun.

So:

• suis utama itu = that main switch / the main switch
• pemutus litar itu = that circuit breaker / the circuit breaker

In this sentence, itu comes after the whole coordinated noun phrase:

• Pemutus litar dan suis utama itu

This is very natural in Malay word order.

Does itu refer to both pemutus litar and suis utama, or only to suis utama?

In normal reading, itu refers to the whole phrase, so it means:

• the circuit breaker and the main switch or
• that circuit breaker and main switch

So yes, it is understood as covering both items together.

If a speaker wanted to make each one explicitly definite, they could repeat itu, but that is not necessary here.

Why is there no word for are in the sentence?