Serangan itu cepat.

Malay often leaves out the present-tense verb to be when linking a subject to an adjective or noun.

So:

• Serangan itu cepat = That/The attack is fast/quick

There is no need to add a separate word for is in a normal sentence like this. This is very common in Malay.

Itu usually means that, but in many contexts it also works like the in English.

In Serangan itu cepat:

• serangan = attack
• itu = that / the

So serangan itu can mean:

• that attack
• the attack

Malay does not have a direct word that matches English the exactly, so itu often helps make a noun definite.

In Malay, demonstratives like ini (this) and itu (that) normally come after the noun.

So Malay says:

• serangan itu = that attack
• rumah ini = this house

This is different from English, where this/that comes before the noun.

Yes. Serangan is related to the verb serang, which means to attack.

The ending -an often turns a root into a noun. So:

• serang = attack / to attack
• serangan = attack, assault, offensive

This is a very common word-building pattern in Malay.

It can function as both, depending on the sentence.

Here, in Serangan itu cepat, cepat is working like an adjective predicate:

• The attack is quick/fast

But cepat can also work adverbially:

• Dia berlari cepat = He/She runs fast

Malay often uses the same word where English would separate quick and quickly, or fast as adjective and adverb.

This sentence has a very common Malay structure:

• Subject + predicate

Here:

• Serangan itu = the subject
• cepat = the predicate adjective

So the sentence literally follows the pattern:

• The attack + quick

That is why cepat comes after serangan itu.

Not exactly.

• Serangan itu cepat means The/that attack is quick
• serangan cepat usually sounds more like a quick attack or rapid attack

So the first is a full sentence, while the second is more like a noun phrase.

If you want to describe the noun more explicitly, Malay often uses:

• serangan yang cepat = an attack that is quick / a quick attack

Yes. In natural English, swift can be a very good translation depending on context.

So Serangan itu cepat could be understood as:

• The attack was swift
• The attack is quick
• That attack is fast

The best English choice depends on style and situation, even though the Malay sentence stays the same.

Yes, but the meaning changes.

• Serangan itu cepat = The/that attack is quick
• Serangan cepat = quick attack / rapid attack

Without itu, it no longer clearly means the attack. It becomes less definite and more like a general noun phrase.

You would use ini instead of itu:

• Serangan ini cepat = This attack is quick

Compare:

• serangan ini = this attack
• serangan itu = that attack

Again, both ini and itu come after the noun in Malay.