Soalan ketiga guru itu memerlukan jawapan mendalam.

The teacher’s third question requires a deep answer.

Breakdown of Soalan ketiga guru itu memerlukan jawapan mendalam.

• itu: that
• soalan: the question
• guru: the teacher
• memerlukan: to require
• ketiga: third
• jawapan: the answer
• mendalam: deep

Questions & Answers about Soalan ketiga guru itu memerlukan jawapan mendalam.

What is the literal, word‐by‐word meaning of each element in “Soalan ketiga guru itu memerlukan jawapan mendalam”?

• Soalan – “question”
• ketiga – “third” (ordinal)
• guru – “teacher”
• itu – “that” (demonstrative)
• memerlukan – “requires” (active verb)
• jawapan – “answer”
• mendalam – “deep” or “in-depth”

Putting it together: “The third question of that teacher requires an in-depth answer.”

Why is it Soalan ketiga guru itu instead of Ketiga soalan guru itu?

In Malay, ordinals follow the noun they modify. So you say Soalan ketiga (“third question”) not ketiga soalan. Possessors or demonstratives (here guru itu) then follow the complete noun + ordinal phrase.

What role does itu play in guru itu?

Itu is a demonstrative meaning “that.” Placed after guru, it turns “teacher” into “that teacher” (a specific one), roughly equivalent to “the teacher” in English when pointing someone out.

Why aren’t there articles like “the” or plural markers on soalan and jawapan?

Malay does not use articles such as “the” or “a.” Definiteness is understood from context or added demonstratives like itu. Nouns are also unmarked for number; plurality is either implied by context or made explicit by reduplication (e.g. soalan-soalan for “questions”).

Why is the adjective mendalam placed after jawapan, and why isn’t there a linking word like “yang”?

Adjectives in Malay normally follow the noun they describe: jawapan mendalam (“in-depth answer”). A linking word like yang is optional and used for emphasis or clarity (e.g. jawapan yang mendalam), but it’s not required here.

Why is memerlukan used instead of perlu?

Memerlukan is an active, transitive verb meaning “to require” and takes a direct object (jawapan mendalam). Perlu is a stative/modal word meaning “need” but isn’t used with a direct object in the same way; you’d have to rephrase (e.g. Soalan itu perlu dijawab dengan mendalam or Soalan itu perlu jawapan yang mendalam).

Why not say soalan ketiga gurunya to mean “the teacher’s third question”?

Gurunya with the suffix -nya would mean “his/her teacher” or “the teacher’s,” which can be ambiguous about whose teacher or whose question. Guru itu clearly points to “that teacher,” removing pronoun ambiguity. If you are sure of the owner and want a concise genitive, you can say Soalan ketiga gurunya memerlukan jawapan mendalam.