Serangan itu cepat.

that

Breakdown of Serangan itu cepat.

• cepat: quick
• serangan: the attack

Questions & Answers about Serangan itu cepat.

Why is there no word for is in 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.

What does itu mean here?

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.

Why does itu come after the noun instead of before it?

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.

What is serangan exactly? Is it related to a verb?