Chapter 8A – Malay Sentence – GEO TRAINING STUDIO

How to construct Malay Sentences?

[Noun or Pronoun] + [Verb or Adjective or Preposition] + [Object]

[Noun] + [Verb] : Saya minum jus oren : I drink orange juice
[Noun] + [Adjective] : Saya gembira : I am happy
[Noun] + [Preposition] : Saya di pejabat : I am at the office

In a Malay sentence which uses a verb,

1. Singular or Plural Subject do not have agreement with the verb used

My friend works – Kawan saya bekerja
My friends work – Kawan-kawan saya bekerja
He is working – Dia sedang bekerja
They are working – Mereka sedang bekerja

2. Present verbs do not change to past tense verbs

My friend worked yesterday : Kawan saya bekerja semalam
My friends worked yesterday : Kawan-kawan saya bekerja semalam
My friend was working yesterday : Kawan saya sedang bekerja semalam
My friends were working yesterday : Kawan-kawan saya sedang bekerja semalam
She ate just now : Dia makan tadi
We ate just now : Kami makan tadi
She has eaten : Dia sudah makan
They have eaten : Mereka sudah makan

3. Sentences without Verb

Note : In English, whenever there is no verb after a subject, ‘to be’ ie is, are or am must be used before the adjective, preposition or noun

In Malay,

I am happy : Saya gembira
I am here : Saya berada di sini / Saya ada di sini / Saya di sini
I am a nurse : Saya seorang jururawat
She is pretty : Dia cantik
She is there : Dia berada di sana / Dia ada di sana / Dia di sana
She is my wife : Dia ialah isteri saya / Dia isteri saya
They are noisy : Mereka bising
They are in the room : Mereka berada di dalam bilik / Mereka di dalam bilik
They are students : Mereka pelajar

4. How to use don’t, doesn’t, am not, isn’t, are not

I eat rice everyday : Saya makan nasi setiap hari
I don’t eat rice today : Saya tidak makan nasi hari ini
I am eating rice now : Saya sedang makan nasi sekarang
I am not eating rice now : Saya tidak makan nasi sekarang
I am in London now : Saya berada di London sekarang
I am not in KL now : Saya tidak berada di London / Saya bukan di London sekarang

She eats rice everyday : Dia makan nasi setiap hari
She doesn’t eat rice today : Dia tidak makan nasi hari ini
She is eating rice now : Dia sedang makan nasi sekrang
She is not eating rice now : Dia tidak makan nasi sekarang
She is happy today : Dia gembira hari ini
She is not happy today : Dia tidak gembira hari ini

They eat rice everyday : Mereka makan nasi setiap hari
They don’t eat rice today : Mereka tidak makan nasi hari ini
They are eating rice now : Mereka sedang makan nasi sekarang
They are not eating rice now : Mereka tidak makan nasi sekarang
They are from England : Mereka dari England
They are not from France : Mereka bukan dari France

Note :

1. Tidak – means ‘not’, used with Verbs and Adjectives (In daily conversation, tidak is shortened to ‘tak’)

eg : I do not like to eat burger : Saya tidak suka makan berger
eg : I am not hungry : Saya tidak lapar

2. Tidak ada / Tiada – means ‘no’

eg – There is nobody home : Tidak ada orang di rumah
eg – I have no choice : Saya tidak ada pilihan

3. Tidak berada – means ‘not’, used with negative prepositions

eg : I am not at home : Saya tidak berada di rumah
eg : I am not in the office : Saya tidak berada di pejabat

4. Bukan – means ‘not’, usually used with Nouns and very few negative prepositions

eg : I am not his client : Saya bukan pelanggannya
eg : I am not the manager here : Saya bukan pengurus di sini
eg : I am not from England : Saya bukan dari England

Sample Conversation

My name is Alex and this is Mary : Nama saya Alex dan ini Marry
I am from England : Saya dari England
This is my wife : Ini isteri saya
We arrived yesterday : Kami tiba semalam
We stay in room 206 : Kami tinggal di bilik 206
We like this hotel : Kami suka hotel ini
This hotel is beautiful : Hotel ini cantik
That boy is my son : Budak itu ialah anak saya
He likes this hotel too : Dia suka hotel ini juga
He wants to eat at the restaurant : Dia mahu makan di restoren

Note : Words highlighted in red – When using possession and articles, eg : my wife, this hotel, the position of possessive and noun must be reversed.

eg : Isteri saya – my wife but I want – Saya mahu
eg : Hotel ini – this hotel but This is good – Ini bagus

Tips :

The position of Personal pronouns will not change, eg : I,me,You, We,us, They,them, He,him, She,her, It but
The position of possessive pronouns will change, eg : my, your, our, their, his, her, its

Be very sure whether you mean I or my or me, because in Malay,