Langkah pencegahan itu penting.

That preventive measure is important.

Breakdown of Langkah pencegahan itu penting.

• itu: that
• penting: important
• langkah pencegahan: a preventive measure

Questions & Answers about Langkah pencegahan itu penting.

Why is there no word for is in Langkah pencegahan itu penting?

In Malay, you often do not need a verb like is/are in simple sentences where one thing is being described.

So:

• Langkah pencegahan itu penting
• literally: That preventive measure / those preventive measures important
• natural English: That preventive measure is important or Those preventive measures are important

This is very normal in Malay. The adjective penting can act as the predicate by itself.

You may sometimes see adalah, but in everyday Malay it is often unnecessary here.
So Langkah pencegahan itu penting is a very natural sentence.

What does langkah pencegahan mean word by word?

It breaks down like this:

• langkah = step, measure
• pencegahan = prevention
• langkah pencegahan = preventive step / preventive measure / prevention measure

So langkah pencegahan is a noun phrase meaning a measure taken to prevent something.

In English, we often turn this into a more natural phrase like:

• preventive measures
• preventive action
• a preventive step

How is pencegahan formed?