Bayi itu tidur di riba ibu.

that

Breakdown of Bayi itu tidur di riba ibu.

• tidur: to sleep
• di: on
• ibu: the mother

Questions & Answers about Bayi itu tidur di riba ibu.

Why is itu placed after bayi instead of before it?

In Malay, demonstratives like ini and itu normally come after the noun.

So:

• bayi itu = that baby / the baby
• rumah itu = that house
• buku ini = this book

This is the normal Malay word order, even though English puts this/that before the noun.

Does bayi itu mean that baby or the baby?

It can mean either, depending on context.

In many sentences, itu makes the noun specific or already identifiable. Because of that, English may translate bayi itu as:

• that baby
• the baby

So itu is not always as strongly demonstrative as English that. Sometimes it simply helps mark something as known in the conversation.

Why is there no word for is in the sentence?

Malay often does not use a separate word like English is/am/are in this kind of sentence.

Here, tidur is already the verb to sleep, so:

• Bayi itu tidur = The baby sleeps / The baby is sleeping

You do not need an extra verb like is before tidur.