Pesawat itu mendarat sekarang.

Itu literally means that, but after a noun it can also work a lot like the in English.

So pesawat itu can mean:

• that plane
• the plane

Which one sounds best depends on context.

In Malay, demonstratives usually come after the noun.

So:

• pesawat itu = that/the plane
• orang ini = this person
• rumah itu = that/the house

This is normal Malay word order.

Malay does not need a word like English is before a verb in this kind of sentence.

English says:

• The plane is landing now

Malay simply says:

• Pesawat itu mendarat sekarang

So Malay often expresses the same idea without a separate verb to be.

By itself, mendarat just means to land / land / lands / landing, depending on context.

Malay verbs do not usually change form for tense the way English verbs do. So the exact English translation depends on other words in the sentence or on the situation.

Here, sekarang means now, so the natural English meaning is is landing now.

Malay usually shows time through:

• time words such as sekarang = now, semalam = yesterday, esok = tomorrow
• context
• sometimes aspect markers such as sedang, sudah, akan

So in this sentence, sekarang tells you the action is happening now.

Yes. A very common way to make the ongoing action extra clear is to use sedang.

For example:

• Pesawat itu sedang mendarat. = The plane is landing.

Your sentence is still understandable and grammatical with sekarang alone. But sedang is often used when English would use the -ing form.

Mendarat is a verb meaning to land.

It comes from the base darat, which is related to land/ground, plus the prefix meN-, which often forms active verbs.

So:

• darat = land, ground
• mendarat = to land

In this sentence, it is an intransitive verb: the plane performs the action itself.

Yes. It follows a very common Malay pattern:

• subject
  • verb
    • time expression

So:

• Pesawat itu = subject
• mendarat = verb
• sekarang = time word

Malay time expressions are fairly flexible, so you may also see time words in other positions, but this order is straightforward and easy to understand.

Yes. Pesawat itu can be understood as either that plane or the plane.

Malay does not always force the same distinction that English does here. Context tells you whether the speaker means a specific plane already known in the conversation, or one being pointed out as that plane.

A simple English-friendly approximation is:

peh-SAH-waht EE-too men-DAH-raht seh-KAH-rang

A few helpful notes:

• pesawat has three clear syllables: pe-sa-wat
• itu sounds like ee-too
• mendarat has a light r
• ng in sekarang sounds like the ng in sing

Malay pronunciation is generally quite regular, so once you know the sounds, words are usually pronounced close to the way they are spelled.