Tahanan itu menunggu.

Tahanan is a noun meaning someone who is being held in custody. Depending on context, it can be translated as detainee, prisoner, or person in detention.

It comes from the root tahan, which can relate to ideas like hold, detain, or withstand/endure, but tahanan as a whole should be learned as its own noun.

In Malay, words like ini and itu normally come after the noun they describe.

So:

• tahanan itu = that detainee / the detainee
• rumah itu = that house
• orang itu = that person

This is a very common word order pattern in Malay, and it is different from English.

Literally, itu means that. However, in many natural Malay sentences, noun + itu can also sound like English the + noun when the person or thing is already known from context.

So tahanan itu could be understood as:

• that detainee
• the detainee

Which one sounds best in English depends on the situation.

Tunggu is the base/root form meaning wait.
Menunggu is the standard active verb form built with the meN- prefix.

Here is what happens:

• root: tunggu
• prefix: meN-
• result: menunggu

Because the root starts with t, that t disappears when the prefix is added.

So:

• tunggu = root / dictionary form / also common in casual speech
• menunggu = standard active verb, especially in normal written Malay

There is no separate word for is here.

Malay does not need an auxiliary verb like English is before a main verb. A sentence like Tahanan itu menunggu can already mean The detainee is waiting.

If Malay wants to make the ongoing sense more explicit, it can add sedang:

• Tahanan itu sedang menunggu = The detainee is waiting

So English needs is waiting, but Malay can simply use menunggu.

Yes, menunggu often takes an object directly in Malay.

For example:

• menunggu bas = wait for the bus
• menunggu peguam = wait for the lawyer

But the object can be left out if it is unknown, obvious, or not important. In that case, menunggu just means to be waiting.

So Tahanan itu menunggu is natural and means that the detainee is waiting, even though we are not told what for.

Malay verbs do not change form for tense the way English verbs do.

So menunggu by itself does not tell you whether something is:

• habitual: waits
• happening now: is waiting
• future: will wait
• past: waited / was waiting

Context tells you that. If needed, Malay adds time words or aspect markers, such as:

• sedang menunggu = is waiting
• sudah / telah menunggu = has waited / had waited
• akan menunggu = will wait

So in this sentence, the exact English tense depends on context.

Malay nouns usually do not have to change form for singular vs. plural. So technically, tahanan itu could refer to one detainee or more than one, depending on context.

However, without any extra clue, many learners will naturally read it as singular: that/the detainee.

If you want to make plural clearer, Malay can use forms like:

• tahanan-tahanan itu = those detainees
• para tahanan itu = those detainees (more formal, used for people)

The sentence follows the normal Malay order:

• Tahanan itu = subject
• menunggu = verb

So the structure is Subject + Verb.

If there were an object, Malay would often use Subject + Verb + Object, just like English in many cases:

• Tahanan itu menunggu peguamnya. = The detainee is waiting for his lawyer.

So Tahanan itu menunggu is a very normal and straightforward Malay sentence.