Breakdown of Di bilik sains di sekolah, guru sains menunjukkan alat untuk mengukur suhu air.
Questions & Answers about Di bilik sains di sekolah, guru sains menunjukkan alat untuk mengukur suhu air.
“di” is a preposition meaning “at / in / on” (for location).
- di bilik sains = in the science room
- di sekolah = at school
In “di bilik sains di sekolah”, you are giving a more specific location:
- first: in the science room
- then: [the science room that is] at school
So it’s like saying: “In the science room at school…”
You repeat “di” because there are two separate location phrases:
- one attached to bilik sains (room),
- one attached to sekolah (school).
You cannot merge them into “di bilik sains sekolah” in the same way English merges “the school science room”; that structure is less natural and can be confusing. The safest, most natural way is exactly as in the sentence: “di bilik sains di sekolah”.
Yes. Both are grammatically correct, but the focus changes slightly.
Original:
- Di bilik sains di sekolah, guru sains menunjukkan alat…
→ First focuses on where it happens, then who and what.
Alternative:
- Guru sains menunjukkan alat untuk mengukur suhu air di bilik sains di sekolah.
→ First focuses on the teacher’s action, then adds where at the end.
Both are good neutral Malay. Putting the location at the beginning (with a comma) is very common in written Malay to set the scene:
- Di pasar pagi itu, ramai orang membeli-belah.
- Di rumah nenek saya, ada banyak pokok bunga.
Literally, “bilik sains” means “science room” and can refer to:
- a science classroom, or
- a science lab, depending on the school context.
There is also “makmal sains”, which more specifically means “science laboratory”.
So:
- bilik sains – everyday, school-style term; can be classroom or lab.
- makmal sains – more technical/formal; clearly a laboratory.
The sentence is natural as written; if you want to emphasise it’s a real lab, you could say:
- Di makmal sains di sekolah, guru sains menunjukkan alat…
Both mean “science teacher”, but they differ in formality and usage:
guru sains
- More formal and standard.
- Common in writing, official contexts, and third-person narration.
- Example: Guru sains itu sangat berdedikasi. (That science teacher is very dedicated.)
cikgu sains
- More colloquial / spoken, especially when addressing a teacher or speaking casually.
- Example: Cikgu sains kami baik hati. (Our science teacher is kind.)
In your sentence, “guru sains” matches the neutral–formal style of a textbook or narrative.
All are related to the verb “tunjuk” (to show/point).
tunjuk
- Base form, often used as an imperative or in informal speech.
- Example: Tunjuk saya gambar itu. (Show me that picture.)
menunjuk
- Active verb (meN- prefix) meaning “to point (at)” or “to show”, but often used without emphasising an object being transferred to someone.
- Example: Dia menunjuk ke arah papan putih. (He/She pointed at the whiteboard.)
menunjukkan
- Active verb with -kan suffix; typically means “to show something to someone” (transitive, with a clear object).
- Example: Guru sains menunjukkan alat itu kepada murid-murid. (The science teacher showed the instrument to the students.)
In “guru sains menunjukkan alat…”, menunjukkan is perfect:
- subject: guru sains
- verb: menunjukkan
- object: alat (the tool/instrument being shown)
Malay does not mark singular/plural on nouns the way English does. So:
- alat can mean “tool / instrument” or “tools / instruments”.
The meaning (one or many) is guessed from context, or made clear with other words:
- sebuah alat = one tool/instrument
- beberapa alat = several tools
- banyak alat = many tools
In your sentence:
- guru sains menunjukkan alat untuk mengukur suhu air.
By default, readers might imagine one instrument unless context suggests many. If you want to be explicit:
- … menunjukkan sebuah alat untuk mengukur suhu air. (… showed a tool/device to measure the temperature of water.)
- … menunjukkan beberapa alat untuk mengukur suhu air. (… showed several tools to measure the temperature of water.)
- untuk = for / to / in order to
- mengukur = to measure (meN- + ukur)
Together, “untuk mengukur” means “to measure / in order to measure”.
Structure:
- alat untuk mengukur suhu air
= a tool (for) measuring the temperature of water
= a tool to measure the temperature of water
You need untuk because you are expressing purpose:
- alat apa? → alat untuk mengukur suhu air
(what kind of tool? → a tool for measuring water temperature)
Malay usually puts the described thing first, and the descriptor/owner/“of” phrase after it.
- suhu air
- suhu = temperature
- air = water
- literally: temperature [of] water
- natural Malay order: [head noun] + [what it belongs to / describes]
So:
- suhu air = temperature of (the) water
- suhu badan = body temperature
- suhu bilik = room temperature
“air suhu” would sound wrong or at least unnatural; it would be interpreted like “temperature water” with unclear meaning.
If you want to say “water that has a temperature of X”, you’d phrase it differently, e.g.:
- air yang bersuhu 30 darjah Celsius
(water that has a temperature of 30°C)
Malay verbs do not change form for tense (no -ed, -s, etc.). So:
- guru sains menunjukkan alat…
can mean:- The science teacher shows the tool… (habitual/present)
- The science teacher is showing the tool… (present continuous)
- The science teacher showed the tool… (past)
The tense is understood from context or from time words. For example:
- Tadi, guru sains menunjukkan alat… (Earlier, the science teacher showed the tool…) – clearly past.
- Sekarang, guru sains menunjukkan alat… (Now, the science teacher is showing the tool…) – present.
- Esok, guru sains akan menunjukkan alat… (Tomorrow, the science teacher will show the tool…) – future (akan often marks future).
It’s not strictly necessary, but it adds clarity or emphasis:
- Di bilik sains, guru sains menunjukkan alat…
→ In the science room, the science teacher shows the tool…
This is already a complete, natural sentence.
Adding “di sekolah”:
- Di bilik sains di sekolah, guru sains menunjukkan alat…
→ In the science room at school, the science teacher shows the tool…
This:
- clarifies that we are talking about a school science room (not a lab in a company, university, etc.),
- slightly lengthens the scene-setting, which is common in textbook-style sentences.
So “di sekolah” is optional but not strange; it just specifies the setting more.
The comma marks a pause after the introductory location phrase:
- Di bilik sains di sekolah, → location
- guru sains menunjukkan alat… → main clause
In written Malay, it is very common (though not always mandatory) to use a comma after a fronted adverbial phrase such as:
- time: Pagi tadi, saya pergi ke pasar.
- place: Di dapur, ibu sedang memasak.
- reason: Kerana hujan lebat, mereka tinggal di rumah.
So here, the comma is natural and helps the reader see where the setting ends and the main action starts.
You have two common options:
Add “kepada kami” (= to us):
- Di bilik sains di sekolah, guru sains menunjukkan alat untuk mengukur suhu air kepada kami.
- Literally: In the science room at school, the science teacher showed the tool to measure the temperature of the water to us.
Use “menunjukkan kami …” (treat “us” as indirect object):
- Di bilik sains di sekolah, guru sains menunjukkan kami alat untuk mengukur suhu air.
- Literally: … showed us a tool to measure the water temperature.
Option 1 (… kepada kami) is clearer and more common for learners.
Option 2 is grammatical but slightly more advanced in feel.
The sentence is neutral to slightly formal, suitable for:
- school textbooks,
- written exercises,
- narration in stories.
Reasons:
- Uses “guru sains” instead of “cikgu sains”.
- Full, clear structure with fronted location phrase and a comma.
- No slang, no colloquial particles.
In everyday spoken Malay, someone might shorten or simplify it, for example:
- Dekat bilik sains sekolah, cikgu sains tunjuk alat nak ukur suhu air.
(more casual, conversational)