Breakdown of Cerita lucu itu menarik penonton muda.
Questions & Answers about Cerita lucu itu menarik penonton muda.
Cerita lucu itu literally breaks down as:
- cerita = story
- lucu = funny
- itu = that
So it is literally story funny that → that funny story.
In Malay, demonstratives like ini (this) and itu (that) usually come after the noun phrase, not before it like in English. So:
- cerita ini = this story
- cerita itu = that story
- cerita lucu itu = that funny story
Putting itu after the noun phrase is normal and does not sound marked or emphatic; it’s just the standard word order.
Lucu is an adjective meaning funny. In Malay, adjectives usually come after the noun they describe:
- cerita lucu = funny story
- penonton muda = young audience / young viewers
- baju merah = red shirt
- rumah besar = big house
So cerita lucu follows the common noun + adjective pattern.
Cerita lucu itu is read most naturally as a noun phrase: that funny story.
To say the story is funny as a full sentence, you would typically say:
- Cerita itu lucu. = The/that story is funny.
Notice the difference in order:
- cerita lucu itu → that funny story (noun phrase)
- cerita itu lucu → the/that story is funny (full sentence: Subject + Predicate)
Malay can sometimes omit the verb to be, but the word order still tells you whether it’s a phrase or a sentence.
In this sentence, menarik is used as a verb meaning to attract. So:
- menarik penonton muda = attracts young viewers / attracted the young audience
However, menarik can also function as an adjective in other contexts:
- Cerita itu menarik. = That story is interesting.
In your sentence, because menarik is followed directly by a noun (penonton muda), it is functioning as a transitive verb (a verb that takes a direct object).
Malay verbs do not change form for tense. Menarik can mean:
- attracts (present)
- attracted (past)
- will attract (future)
The tense is understood from context, time expressions, or additional words, for example:
- Semalam, cerita lucu itu menarik penonton muda.
= Yesterday, that funny story attracted young viewers. - Setiap minggu, cerita lucu itu menarik penonton muda.
= Every week, that funny story attracts young viewers. - Nanti, cerita lucu itu akan menarik penonton muda.
= Later, that funny story will attract young viewers.
Without extra clues, English speakers often translate it with a default present or past depending on the situation.
Penonton muda literally is:
- penonton = audience / viewer(s)
- muda = young
Malay doesn’t mark plural or definite/indefinite articles the way English does. So penonton muda could be translated as:
- young viewers
- the young audience
- a young audience
The choice of a/the and singular/plural in English depends on context, not on changes in the Malay phrase. If you need to make the plurality clearer, you can add words like:
- para penonton muda = (all) the young viewers / the young audience (more clearly plural/collective)
- banyak penonton muda = many young viewers
But as a basic phrase, penonton muda is neutral in number and definiteness.
Malay adjective order is generally noun + adjective, the opposite of English. So:
- penonton muda = young audience / young viewers
- noun (penonton) first, adjective (muda) second
Saying muda penonton would sound wrong in this context. The natural pattern is consistently:
- guru baru = new teacher
- telefon lama = old phone
- kawan baik = good friend
Yes, they have slightly different nuances:
penonton muda
- literally: young viewers / the young audience
- focuses on their role as viewers/audience; age is an additional detail
anak muda
- literally: young people / youths
- focuses on them as young people in general, not specifically as an audience
muda-muda
- repetition can emphasize “all the young ones” or “the young people” as a group
- usage depends on context and can sound a bit colloquial or stylistic
In your sentence, penonton muda is appropriate because it’s talking about viewers or audience members.
No. Those orders are not natural or grammatical in standard Malay.
The basic word order for a simple active sentence is:
Subject + Verb + Object
So:
- Cerita lucu itu (Subject)
- menarik (Verb)
- penonton muda (Object)
Putting the words in other orders will confuse the roles or sound ungrammatical.
You can use a passive-like construction:
- Penonton muda tertarik dengan cerita lucu itu.
Breakdown:
- penonton muda = the young audience / young viewers
- tertarik = be attracted / feel attracted
- dengan = by / with
- cerita lucu itu = that funny story
This structure emphasizes the audience’s state (were attracted) rather than the story’s action (attracted).
Yes, there’s a nuance difference:
menarik penonton muda
- literally: attracts young viewers
- the people (viewers) are the object of the verb
menarik minat penonton muda
- literally: attracts the interest of young viewers
- minat = interest
- more explicit: it attracts their interest, not physically pulling them
Both are natural, but menarik minat penonton muda sounds a bit more explicit and sometimes slightly more formal.
Yes, you can:
- Cerita lucu ini menarik penonton muda.
This changes the meaning from that funny story to this funny story.
- itu = that (farther away in context, time, or space, or something already mentioned)
- ini = this (nearer in context, time, or space, or something currently being discussed or shown)
The rest of the sentence structure stays exactly the same.