Interrogatives – Katatanya
In Malay, the position of an interrogative can be placed at the beginning of a sentence or at the end of a sentence
What? : Apa?
What car? : Kereta apa? (note change of position of what)
Where? : Di mana?
Which car? : Kereta mana? (note change of position of which)
Which one? : Yang mana?
Why? : Kenapa?
Who? : Siapa?
Whose car? : Kereta siapa? (note change of position of whose)
When? : Bila?
How? : Bagaimana?
How many? : Berapa? (no significant difference between countable & uncountable nouns in Malay)
How much? : Berapa? (no significant difference between countable & uncountable nouns in Malay)
How many cars? Berapa buah kereta? (position of ‘car’ remains)
Sample Sentences – Contoh Ayat
- What are you doing? Awak sedang membaca apa?
- What book do you read? Awak baca buku apa?
- Where is your mother? Di mana ibu awak?
- At Which restaurant do you want to eat? Awak hendak makan di restoren mana?
- Which one is your car? Yang mana kereta awak?
- Why are you late? Kenapa awak lewat?
- Who are you with? Awak berada dengan siapa?
- Whose car are you driving? Kereta siapa awak pandu?
- When are you free? Bila awak senang?
- How did you get my number? Bagaimana awak dapat nombor saya?
- How much do you want? : Berapa awak mahu?
- How many do you have? Berapa awak ada?
- How many friends do you have? Berapa kawan awak ada?
Conjunctions – Katahubung
What are conjunctions? These are connecting words usually placed between 2 sentences. Sometimes they are also used in the beginning of a sentence. Here are some conjunctions used frequently in Malay :
- whereas : di mana
- and then : selepas itu
- which : yang
- who/whom : yang
- that : yang
- while / during : semasa (when)/sambil
- when (meaning while) : semasa
- when (meaning time) : bila / apabila
- mean while : sementara itu
- even though : walaupun
- but : tetapi / tapi
- before : sebelum
- after : selepas
- before that : sebelum itu
- after that : selepas itu
- if : sekiranya / kalau
- how : bagaimana
- what : apa yang
- where : dimana
Sample Sentences – Contoh Ayat
- I took the cup which was on the table : Saya ambil cawan yang berada di atas meja itu.
- I will go there if you invite me : Saya akan pergi ke sana sekiranya awak menjemput saya
- Usually, I brush my teeth before I go to sleep : Biasanya, saya gosok gigi saya sebelum saya tidur
- This is the car which I’d like to buy : Ini lah kereta yang saya hendak beli
- I understand what is meant by them : Saya faham apa yang dimaksudkan oleh mereka
- I came here when I heard the news : Saya datang ke sini apabila saya mendengar berita itu
- He likes to visit you but he is busy : Dia mahu melawat awak tetapi dia sibuk
- They went to Singapore after they have visited Johore : Mereka pergi ke Singapura selepasmereka melawat Johore
- Please call me whenever you are free : Sila telefon saya apabila awak senang
- I watch TV while having a coffee : Saya menonton TV sambil minum kopi
