Breakdown of Dia menutup pintu kelas perlahan.
Questions & Answers about Dia menutup pintu kelas perlahan.
In Malay, dia is gender‑neutral. It can mean he, she, or sometimes they (singular, like “that person”) depending on context.
Malay usually does not mark gender in pronouns. You only know whether dia is male or female from context or from an earlier mention, for example:
- Dia menutup pintu kelas perlahan.
→ He/she closed the classroom door slowly.
If you really need to be explicit, you add a noun:
- Lelaki itu menutup pintu kelas perlahan. – The man closed the classroom door slowly.
- Perempuan itu menutup pintu kelas perlahan. – The woman closed the classroom door slowly.
Tutup is the base verb (root) meaning to close.
Menutup is the meN‑prefixed form that usually marks a transitive verb (taking a direct object).
- Dia menutup pintu. – He/She closes the door. (More complete/neutral, especially in writing.)
- Dia tutup pintu. – He/She closes the door. (Very common in everyday spoken Malay; more casual.)
Both are grammatically acceptable, but:
- In standard / formal Malay, Dia menutup pintu kelas perlahan sounds more natural and complete.
- In colloquial speech, people often say Dia tutup pintu kelas pelan‑pelan (or perlahan‑lahan).
In Malay, when one noun modifies another (like door of the class / classroom door), the main noun comes first, and the modifying noun follows it.
- pintu kelas
- pintu = door (main noun)
- kelas = class / classroom (modifier)
→ classroom door / the door of the classroom
If you said kelas pintu, it would sound wrong or at best confusing, like saying door class in English.
This pattern is very common:
- baju sekolah – school uniform (lit. shirt school)
- guru sains – science teacher (lit. teacher science)
- pintu belakang – back door (lit. door back)
Functionally, yes: pintu kelas corresponds to classroom door or the door of the classroom.
A few notes:
- kelas can mean both class (as in a session) and classroom, depending on context. So pintu kelas is usually understood as classroom door.
- If you want to be extra explicit and formal, you might see pintu bilik darjah (literally door of the classroom (room)), but pintu kelas is common and natural.
Perlahan means slow or slowly. Malay doesn’t clearly separate adjectives and adverbs the way English does; the same word often covers both roles.
In this sentence:
- Dia menutup pintu kelas perlahan.
→ perlahan is describing how the action is done → effectively an adverb (slowly).
Other related forms:
- perlahan‑lahan – also “slowly”, often with a sense of very slowly / carefully / gently.
- secara perlahan – literally “in a slow manner”, more formal or written style.
All of these can work:
- Dia menutup pintu kelas perlahan.
- Dia menutup pintu kelas perlahan‑lahan.
- Dia menutup pintu kelas secara perlahan. (sounds formal)
In practice, perlahan is most natural at the end of the sentence here:
- ✅ Dia menutup pintu kelas perlahan. (very natural)
Other possibilities:
Dia perlahan menutup pintu kelas.
→ Grammatically understandable, but sounds a bit awkward or literary; not usual in everyday speech.Dia menutup perlahan pintu kelas.
→ Also understandable, but less natural. You might hear this structure with some other verbs, but for this simple action, most speakers prefer perlahan at the end.
So, for normal use, keep perlahan after the object:
[Subject] [Verb] [Object] [Manner]
Dia menutup pintu kelas perlahan.
Malay verbs are not marked for tense the way English verbs are. Menutup stays the same for past, present, or future. The tense is understood from context or from time words.
Without extra context, Dia menutup pintu kelas perlahan could mean:
- He/She closed the classroom door slowly. (simple past)
- He/She is closing the classroom door slowly. (present)
- He/She closes the classroom door slowly. (habitual)
- He/She will close the classroom door slowly. (future, but less likely without time marking)
You can make the time clearer by adding time expressions:
- Tadi dia menutup pintu kelas perlahan. – Earlier, he/she closed the classroom door slowly.
- Sekarang dia menutup pintu kelas perlahan. – Now he/she is closing the classroom door slowly.
- Nanti dia akan menutup pintu kelas perlahan. – Later he/she will close the classroom door slowly.
Dia menutup pintu kelas perlahan. is neutral to slightly formal—perfectly fine for writing or careful speech.
In casual, everyday conversation, many speakers would simplify it:
- Dia tutup pintu kelas pelan‑pelan.
- tutup instead of menutup
- pelan‑pelan instead of perlahan or perlahan‑lahan (common in colloquial Indonesian/Malay; in some Malay varieties perlahan‑lahan is more common)
In less careful speech, they might also shorten dia to dia pronounced quickly or even drop it if context is clear:
- Tutup pintu kelas pelan‑pelan. – Close the classroom door slowly. (imperative)
You can use the passive form of the verb tutup, which is ditutup:
- Pintu kelas itu ditutup perlahan oleh dia.
– The classroom door is/was closed slowly by him/her.
Some notes:
- pintu kelas itu – that/the classroom door (the particle itu functions like “the/that”).
- ditutup – passive: is closed / is being closed / was closed.
oleh dia – by him/her. Often oleh
- agent is optional and can be dropped if the agent is obvious or unimportant:
- Pintu kelas itu ditutup perlahan. – The classroom door is/was closed slowly. (no agent mentioned)
Malay does not have direct equivalents of English a/an/the as separate articles. Definiteness is usually understood from context or indicated by words like itu (that/the) or ini (this).
- Dia menutup pintu kelas perlahan.
→ Depending on context, this can be:- He/She closed the classroom door slowly.
- He/She closed a classroom door slowly. (if not previously specified)
If you want to be more definite:
- Dia menutup pintu kelas itu perlahan.
→ He/She closed the (specific) classroom door slowly.
All of these relate to doing something slowly, but they have different nuances and usage:
perlahan
- Neutral slow / slowly.
- Works in both spoken and written Malay.
perlahan‑lahan
- Repetition often adds a sense of very slowly / gently / carefully / bit by bit.
- Sounds a little more expressive; also common in both speech and writing.
pelan‑pelan
- Colloquial variant often heard in Indonesian and in some Malay speech.
- More informal; may sound less standard in formal Malay writing.
In your sentence, all are possible, with slight differences in feel:
- Dia menutup pintu kelas perlahan. – He/She closed the classroom door slowly.
- Dia menutup pintu kelas perlahan‑lahan. – He/She closed the classroom door very slowly / gently.
- Dia menutup pintu kelas pelan‑pelan. – Same idea, but more casual/colloquial.
If you say only Menutup pintu kelas perlahan, it sounds incomplete in normal usage, like “…(someone) closing the classroom door slowly” without a clear subject.
Possible situations where you might see a similar structure:
In titles / headings / notes, where subjects are often omitted:
- Menutup pintu kelas perlahan sebelum keluar – Closing the classroom door slowly before leaving.
As part of a longer sentence:
- Dia berdiri dan menutup pintu kelas perlahan. – He/She stood up and closed the classroom door slowly.
But as a standalone sentence describing a finished action, it is better to keep dia (or another explicit subject).