Selepas pembaikan, bilik itu bersih.

Selepas pembaikan means after the repair / after repairs and acts as a time phrase.

Malay often allows a time phrase at the beginning of a sentence to set the context first. So:

• Selepas pembaikan, bilik itu bersih.
• literally: After repairs, that/the room clean

This is very natural in Malay. You could also move the time phrase later in some contexts, but putting it first is a common and clear way to frame the sentence.

Selepas means after.

It is used to show that one thing happens following another:

• selepas makan = after eating / after the meal
• selepas kelas = after class
• selepas pembaikan = after the repair / after repairs

It is a very common preposition in Malay.

Pembaikan is a noun meaning repair, fixing, or improvement work, depending on context.

It comes from the root baik, which often relates to being good, better, or fixed/improved. With the prefix and suffix pem- ... -an, it becomes a noun referring to the process or result of repairing/improving.

So:

• baik = good / fine / okay
• membaiki = to repair
• pembaikan = repair / repairs / the act of repairing

In this sentence, selepas pembaikan means after the repair work was done.

Malay usually does not need a verb like is, am, are, or was in simple descriptive sentences.

So:

• bilik itu bersih = the room is clean / the room was clean

The time reference often comes from context, or from a time phrase like selepas pembaikan. Because of that opening phrase, English may translate it as After the repairs, the room was clean or is clean, depending on context.

This is a very important difference from English.

It can mean either that room or the room, depending on context.

The word itu literally often means that, but in many sentences it also helps mark a noun as definite, so it can function a bit like the.

So bilik itu may be understood as:

• that room
• the room

In natural translation, English often prefers the room unless the speaker is specifically contrasting it with another room.

In Malay, demonstratives like ini and itu usually come after the noun:

• bilik ini = this room
• bilik itu = that room / the room

This is the normal Malay pattern, unlike English, where this and that come before the noun.

Bersih is an adjective meaning clean.

In Malay, adjectives can directly follow the noun they describe in predicate sentences without needing a linking verb:

• Bilik itu bersih. = The room is clean.
• Air itu sejuk. = The water is cold.
• Rumahnya besar. = His/her house is big.

So bersih is not a verb here; it is a descriptive word functioning as the predicate.

It is not the natural choice here.

Adalah is sometimes used in formal Malay, especially when linking a subject to a noun phrase or in definitions, but it is usually not used before an adjective in simple everyday sentences.

Natural Malay:

• Bilik itu bersih.

Less natural or awkward in normal conversation:

• Bilik itu adalah bersih.

So for a basic descriptive sentence, just use bilik itu bersih.

The comma separates the opening time phrase from the main clause:

• Selepas pembaikan, = after the repair
• bilik itu bersih. = the room is clean

This is similar to English punctuation when a sentence begins with a time or introductory phrase. In casual writing, Malay punctuation can sometimes be less strict, but the comma here is clear and natural.

Yes. Malay nouns often do not show singular/plural as clearly as English nouns do.

So pembaikan can mean:

• the repair
• repairs
• repair work

The exact meaning depends on context. If the meaning has already been shown to the learner, then the translation choice depends on that context rather than on the form alone.

Yes.

Malay does not mark tense the way English does. The sentence itself does not force past or present. The time phrase selepas pembaikan shows sequence, but English tense depends on context.

Possible translations include:

• After the repair, the room was clean.
• After the repair, the room is clean.

If you are talking about a completed event in the past, was clean is likely. If you are describing the room’s current state after repairs, is clean may fit better.

Sometimes, yes, but there is a difference in style.

• selepas is standard and neutral
• lepas is common in speech and informal usage

So:

• Selepas pembaikan, bilik itu bersih. = standard/written
• Lepas pembaikan, bilik itu bersih. = more conversational

Both can be understood, but selepas is the safer choice for learners, especially in writing.

Yes, it is natural and correct.

It is a straightforward sentence with:

1. a time phrase: Selepas pembaikan
2. a subject: bilik itu
3. an adjective predicate: bersih

This kind of structure is very common in Malay, especially for simple factual descriptions.