Lesson 3: "Ini" And "Itu" As Articles Vs. Demonstrative Pronouns

1. As demonstrative pronouns:

• "ini" and "itu" means "this" and "that".
• "ini" and "itu" placed before the noun/pronoun

Examples:

• Ini air. = This is water.
• Ini bukan batu. = This is not stone.
• Itu kuda. = That is horse.
• Itu bukan kucing. = That is not cat.

2. As articles:

• "ini" and "itu" can be translated as "the".
• "ini" and "itu" are qualifying words which refers to things, animals or persons have been mentioned before. In Indonesian language, the qualifying word comes after the noun it qualifies.

Examples:

• Kopi ini dingin. = This/the coffee is cold.
• Air ini tidak panas. = This/the water is not hot.*
• Kuda itu makan. = That/the horse is eating.
• Anjing itu tidak tidur. = That/the dog is not sleeping.*

3. ~nya as a replacement for "ini" and "itu":

•  in daily conversations, we most likely use "~nya", instead of "ini" and "itu". In this case, "~nya" translated as "the".**

Examples:

• Kopinya dingin. = The coffee is cold.
• Airnya tidak panas. = The water is not hot.*
• Kudanya makan. = The horse is eating.
• Anjingnya tidak tidur. = The dog is not sleeping.*

*"bukan" is used to negate noun/pronoun, while "tidak" is used to negate verb/adjective.
**for other use of "~nya", kindly find the article for "Personal Pronouns".