1- MALAYSIAN ALPHABET

2- WORD ORDER

1 Basic S + V Saya tidur. I sleep.

2 Direct object S + V + DO Saya membaca buku itu. I read that book.

3 Indirect object S + V + IO + DO Saya memberi dia buku itu. I give him the book.

4 Beneficiary S + V + DO + untuk + beneficiary Saya membeli buku untuk dia. I buy a book for him.

5 IO pronoun S + V + IO pronoun + DO Saya memberi dia buku itu. I give him the book.

6 Adjective S + Adj Buku itu besar. The book is big.

7 Adverb S + V + Adv Dia membaca dengan cepat. He reads quickly.

8 Direct object + adverb S + Adv + V + DO Saya cepat membaca buku itu. I read that book quickly.

9 Time adverb S + Adv(time) + V Saya bekerja hari ini. I work today.

10 Place adverb S + V + Adv(place) Dia tinggal di sana. He lives there.

11 Prepositional phrase S + di + Place Buku itu di atas meja. The book is on the table.

12 DO + preposition S + V + DO + Prep + N Saya meletakkan buku itu di atas meja. I put the book on the table.

13 Determiner + noun Det + N Buku ini baharu. This book is new.

14 Determiner + adjective + noun Det + N + Adj Buku besar ini baharu. This big book is new.

15 Numeral + noun Num + Adj + N Ada dua buku baharu di sana. There are two new books there.

16 Conjunction Clause + Conj + Clause Saya membaca, dan dia menulis. I read and he writes.

17 Conjunction + objects S + V + DO + Conj + S + V + DO Saya membaca buku itu, dan dia menulis surat. I read the book and he writes a letter.

18 Present passive S + di-Verb Buku itu dibaca. The book is read.

19 Passive + agent S + di-Verb + oleh + Agent Buku itu dibaca oleh guru. The book is read by the teacher.

20 Passive + IO S + di-Verb + kepada + IO Buku itu diberikan kepada dia. The book is given to him.

21 Passive + IO + agent S + di-Verb + kepada + IO + oleh + Agent Buku itu diberikan kepada dia oleh guru. The book is given to him by the teacher.

22 Passive + adverb S + Adv + di-Verb Buku itu sedang dibaca hari ini. The book is being read today.

23 Passive + preposition S + di-Verb + Prep + N Buku itu diletakkan di atas meja. The book is put on the table.

24 Passive + agent + adverb S + Adv + di-Verb + oleh + Agent Buku itu hari ini dibaca oleh Mark. The book is being read today by Mark.

25 Passive + agent + IO + adverb S + Adv + di-Verb + kepada + IO + oleh + Agent Buku itu hari ini diberikan kepada pelajar oleh guru. The book is given to the student today by the teacher.

26 Perfect passive S + telah/sudah + di-Verb Buku itu telah dibaca. The book has been read.

27 Perfect passive + agent S + telah/sudah + di-Verb + oleh + Agent Buku itu telah dibaca oleh Mark. The book has been read by Mark.

28 Future passive S + akan + di-Verb Buku itu akan dibaca. The book will be read.

29 Future passive + agent S + akan + di-Verb + oleh + Agent Buku itu akan dibaca oleh Mark. The book will be read by Mark.

30 Modal passive S + mesti/perlu + di-Verb Buku itu mesti dibaca. The book must be read.

31 Negative S + tidak + V + DO Saya tidak membaca buku itu. I do not read that book.

32 Negative passive S + tidak + di-Verb + oleh + Agent Buku itu tidak dibaca oleh Mark. The book is not read by Mark.

33 Yes/no question Adakah + S + V + DO? Adakah kamu membaca buku itu? Do you read that book?

34 Passive question Adakah + S + di-Verb? Adakah buku itu dibaca? Is the book being/read?

35 Agent question Siapa + yang + V + DO? Siapa yang membaca buku itu? Who reads the book?

36 IO question Kepada siapa + S + V + DO? Kepada siapa kamu memberi buku itu? To whom do you give the book?

37 Imperative Verb + DO Baca buku itu! Read the book!

38 Imperative + IO Verb + IO + DO Beri dia buku itu! Give him the book!

39 Passive imperative Biarkan + S + di-Verb Biarkan buku itu dibaca! Let the book be read!

40 Infinitive / gerund Base verb membaca to read / reading

41 Infinitive + DO Verb + DO membaca buku itu to read the book

42 Passive infinitive untuk + di-Verb untuk dibaca to be read

43 Purpose S + V + untuk + Verb Saya makan untuk bermain. I eat to play / in order to play.

44 Relative clause N + yang + clause Buku yang saya baca itu menarik. The book that I read is interesting.

45 Passive relative N + yang + passive clause Buku yang dibaca oleh Mark itu menarik. The book that is read by Mark is interesting.

46 Conditional / if Jika/kalau + clause, clause Jika saya ada masa, saya membaca. If I have time, I read.

47 Conditional + passive Jika + passive clause, clause Jika buku itu dibaca, banyak perkara boleh dipelajari. If the book is read, many things can be learned.

48 Reported speech S + speech verb + bahawa + clause Dia berkata bahawa dia sedang membaca. He said that he was reading.

49 Reported question S + bertanya + sama ada + clause Dia bertanya sama ada saya sedang membaca. He asked if I was reading.

50 Reported command/request S + meminta + person + supaya + clause Dia meminta saya supaya membaca buku itu. He asked me to read the book.

Basic S + V Saya tidur.

Direct object S + V + DO Saya membaca buku.

Indirect object S + V + IO + DO Saya memberi dia buku.

Beneficiary S + V + DO + untuk + person Saya membeli buku untuk dia.

Adjective S + Adj Buku itu besar.

Location S + di + place Dia di rumah.

Possession N + possessor Buku saya.

Passive S + di-Verb Buku itu dibaca.

Passive + agent S + di-Verb + oleh + agent Buku itu dibaca oleh Ali.

Negative S + tidak + V Saya tidak membaca.

Negative noun S + bukan + N Dia bukan guru.

Question Adakah + S + V...? Adakah dia membaca?

WH-question WH + yang + clause Siapa yang membaca?

Imperative Verb + object Baca buku itu!

Passive imperative Biarkan + S + di-Verb Biarkan buku itu dibaca!

Infinitive Verb membaca

Passive infinitive untuk + di-Verb untuk dibaca

Purpose untuk + Verb untuk bermain

Relative clause N + yang + clause buku yang saya baca

If jika/kalau + clause Jika saya ada masa...

Reported speech berkata + bahawa + clause Dia berkata bahawa...

Reported question bertanya + sama ada + clause Dia bertanya sama ada...

Reported request meminta + person + supaya + clause Dia meminta saya supaya...

ADVERBS:

1 Manner Manner adverb + Verb / usually before or after the verb Saya membaca buku itu dengan cepat. I read the book quickly.

2 Place Place adverb/expression + Verb / usually before or after the verb Saya membaca buku di rumah. I read a book at home.

3 Time Time adverb + Sentence / beginning, middle, or end Semalam, saya membaca sebuah buku. I read a book yesterday.

4 Frequency Frequency adverb + Verb / usually before or after the verb Saya selalu membaca buku. I always read books.

5 Frequency + be Subject + Frequency adverb + ialah/adjective predicate Dia selalu gembira. He is always happy.

6 Frequency + auxiliary Frequency adverb + Verb / Malay normally has no obligatory auxiliary Saya tidak pernah melihatnya. I have never seen it.

7 Degree Degree adverb + Adjective Itu sangat baik. That is very good.

8 Degree + verb Degree/intensity adverb + Verb Saya sangat suka itu. I really like that.

9 Sentence adverb Sentence adverb + Clause / usually beginning Nasib baik, saya menang. Fortunately, I won.

10 Comment adverb Comment expression + Clause / usually beginning Sejujurnya, saya tidak tahu. Honestly, I don't know.

11 Linking adverb Linking adverb + Clause / beginning or between clauses Saya letih. Namun, saya terus bekerja. I was tired; however, I continued working.

12 Direction Directional adverb/expression + Verb / usually before or after the verb Dia pergi ke luar. He went outside.

13 Definite frequency setiap + Time noun + Verb Saya pergi ke sekolah setiap hari. I go to school every day.

14 Duration selama + Time expression + Verb Saya belajar selama dua jam. I studied for two hours.

15 Purpose untuk + Verb / supaya + Clause Saya pergi ke sana untuk belajar. I am going there to study.

INDIRECT OBJECT:

Basic IO S + V + IO + DO Saya memberi Ali buku.

IO with kepada S + V + DO + kepada + IO Saya memberi buku kepada Ali.

IO pronoun S + V + IO pronoun + DO Saya memberi dia buku.

Formal/clear IO DO + kepada + IO Buku kepada Ali

Beneficiary DO + untuk + person hadiah untuk Ali

IO question kepada siapa + S + V + DO? Kepada siapa kamu memberi buku?

Passive + IO DO + di-Verb + kepada + IO Buku diberikan kepada Ali.

GENITIVE:

my book buku saya N + possessor

Ali's book buku Ali N + possessor

his house rumah dia N + pronoun

our school sekolah kami N + pronoun

their car kereta mereka N + pronoun

my friend's book buku kawan saya N + possessor + possessor

the roof of the house bumbung rumah N + possessor

my big house rumah besar saya N + Adj + possessor

these books of mine buku-buku saya ini N + possessor + demonstrative

my book (informal) saya punya buku possessor + punya + N

Ali's car (informal) Ali punya kereta possessor + punya + N

this is mine ini milik saya ini + milik + possessor

that is theirs itu milik mereka itu + milik + possessor

The main rule to memorize

Normal possession

NOUN + POSSESSOR

buku saya = my book

rumah Ali = Ali's house

kereta mereka = their car

Informal possession

POSSESSOR + PUNYA + NOUN

saya punya buku = my book

Ali punya kereta = Ali's car

Independent possession / "mine"

MILIK + POSSESSOR

INDEPENDENT:

mine milik saya

yours (singular) milik awak / milik kamu / milik anda

his milik dia

hers milik dia

ours (exclusive) milik kami

ours (inclusive) milik kita

yours (plural) milik kamu semua / milik anda semua

theirs milik mereka

Buku ini milik saya. This book is mine.

milik awak yours singular, common/informal

milik kamu yours singular, informal; also used in some contexts for plural

milik anda yours singular/plural, formal/polite

milik kamu semua all of yours explicitly plural

milik anda semua all of yours explicitly plural + polite/formal

WAS GOING TO:

was going to / intended to S + hendak + V Saya hendak pergi.

was going to / wanted to S + mahu + V Saya mahu pergi.

was planning to S + bercadang untuk + V Saya bercadang untuk pergi.

was going to (reported future) S + akan + V Dia akan pergi.

wasn't planning to S + tidak bercadang untuk + V Saya tidak bercadang untuk pergi.

was about to S + hampir + V Saya hampir jatuh.

1. "Was going to" = intended/planned to

The most natural pattern is:

S + hendak/mahu + Verb

For a past intention, add a past-time word or context:

Saya hendak pergi.

I was going to go / I wanted to go.

Saya mahu membeli kereta.

I was going to buy a car / I wanted to buy a car.

However, if you want to make the past intention explicit:

Saya pada mulanya hendak pergi.

I was originally going to go.

Saya sebenarnya mahu pergi.

I was actually going to go.

2. "Was going to" = had planned to

Use bercadang = plan/intend.

Formation

S + bercadang untuk + Verb

Example:

Saya bercadang untuk pergi.

I was planning to go.

Dia bercadang untuk membeli rumah.

He was planning to buy a house.

This is often the clearest translation when English “was going to” means “had planned/intended to.”

3. "I was going to call you"

Saya hendak menelefon awak.

= I was going to call you.

More explicitly:

Saya sebenarnya hendak menelefon awak.

I was actually going to call you.

4. "I was going to eat"

Saya hendak makan.

= I was going to eat / I wanted to eat.

If you mean “I had planned to eat”:

Saya bercadang untuk makan.

5. "I was going to go"

Saya hendak pergi.

or:

Saya bercadang untuk pergi.

Difference:

hendak pergi → intended/wanted to go

bercadang untuk pergi → planned to go

6. "Was going to" + action that didn't happen

This is very common in English:

I was going to call you, but I forgot.

Malay:

Saya hendak menelefon awak, tetapi saya terlupa.

Or:

Saya sebenarnya hendak menelefon awak, tetapi saya terlupa.

The past intention is understood from the context.

7. "Was going to" = future from a past viewpoint

Sometimes English was going to means “would happen later”, rather than personal intention.

Example:

He said he was going to leave.

Malay:

Dia berkata bahawa dia akan pergi.

Here akan = would / was going to.

Formation

Past speech/thought + bahawa + subject + akan + verb

Example:

Dia berkata bahawa dia akan datang.

He said that he was going to come.

Saya tahu bahawa dia akan pergi.

I knew that he was going to leave.

So akan is especially important for reported “was going to.”

8. "Was going to" with all pronouns

The verb does not change according to the pronoun.

English Malay

I was going to go Saya hendak pergi.

You were going to go Awak hendak pergi.

He was going to go Dia hendak pergi.

She was going to go Dia hendak pergi.

We were going to go Kami hendak pergi.

We were going to go Kita hendak pergi.

You were going to go Kamu hendak pergi.

They were going to go Mereka hendak pergi.

Notice:

hendak + pergi

doesn't change for I / you / he / we / they.

9. Negative "was going to"

Formation

S + tidak + hendak + Verb

Example:

Saya tidak hendak pergi.

I was not going to go.

But if you mean “I didn't intend to go”, a more natural construction is:

Saya tidak bercadang untuk pergi.

I wasn't planning to go.

10. "Was going to" vs "was about to"

These are different.

Was going to

Saya hendak makan.

I was going to eat.

= I intended/planned to eat.

Was about to

Malay can use:

Saya hampir makan.

= I was about to eat.

Or:

Saya hampir hendak makan.

The exact choice depends on context.

2- NOUNS

PLURAL:

Whether a noun is singular or plural is usually understood from context.

1. Basic Noun = Singular or Plural

The same noun can mean one or many.

Indonesian English

buku book / books

rumah house / houses

mobil car / cars

anjing dog / dogs

guru teacher / teachers

Examples

Saya membeli buku.

I bought a book.

I bought books.

Context tells you which meaning is intended.

2. Reduplication (The Main Plural Marker)

To clearly show plurality, Indonesian often repeats the noun.

Pattern:

Noun → Noun-Noun

Examples

Singular Plural English

anak anak-anak children

buku buku-buku books

rumah rumah-rumah houses

mobil mobil-mobil cars

guru guru-guru teachers

pohon pohon-pohon trees

burung burung-burung birds

Examples

Anak-anak bermain.

The children are playing.

Buku-buku itu mahal.

Those books are expensive.

CLASSIFERS:

(Classifier) (Used For) (Example) (Translation)

orang People dua orang guru two teachers

ekor Animals tiga ekor kucing three cats

buah General objects dua buah rumah two houses

batang Long objects tiga batang pensil three pencils

lembar Flat objects dua lembar kertas two sheets of paper

helai Thin, flexible items sehelai daun one leaf

butir Eggs, pills, small round objects sebutir telur one egg

biji Seeds, many fruits dua biji mangga two mangoes

pasang Pairs sepasang sepatu one pair of shoes

unit Machines, vehicles dua unit komputer two computers

set Sets satu set meja one set of tables/furniture*

potong Pieces sepotong roti one piece of bread

bungkus Packages sebungkus mi one packet of noodles

botol Bottles sebotol air one bottle of water

kaleng Cans sekaleng minuman one can of drink

kotak Boxes sekotak cokelat one box of chocolates

INDIRECT OBJECT:

Pattern 1: Subject + Verb + Direct Object + kepada + Indirect Object (formal and clear)

Examples:

Saya memberi buku kepada dia. I gave a book to him/her.

Guru menjelaskan pelajaran kepada murid-murid. The teacher explained the lesson to the students.

Kami mengirim surat kepada ibu. We sent a letter to mother.

Pattern 2: Subject + Verb + Indirect Object + Direct Object (common in speech)

Examples:

Saya memberi dia buku. I gave him/her a book.

Dia mengirim saya pesan. He/She sent me a message.

Ibu membelikan kami makanan. Mother bought us food.

GENITIVE:

Possessed Noun + Possessor

buku saya my book

rumah John John's house

mobil ibu mother's car

3- ADJECTIVES:

Attributive Noun + Adjective rumah besar big house

Predicate Subject + Adjective Rumah itu besar. The house is big. (for pronouns, we do not use itu)

Very sangat + Adjective sangat baik very good

Too terlalu + Adjective terlalu mahal too expensive

Quite cukup + Adjective cukup bagus quite good

TO BE VERB:

am/is/are + adjective Ø Saya gembira.

am/is/are + noun Ø / ialah Dia (ialah) guru.

am/is/are + location di Dia di rumah.

am/is/are + -ing sedang + verb Dia sedang makan.

am/is/are + passive di- + verb Pintu dibuka.

was/were + adjective Ø Saya gembira.

was/were + location di Dia di rumah.

will be + adjective akan + adjective Dia akan sibuk.

will be + location akan + di Dia akan di sana.

have been + state sudah + adjective Saya sudah bersedia.

have been + activity sudah + verb Saya sudah bekerja.

4- PRONOUNS:

1. Personal Pronouns

English Malay Notes

I / me saya polite, common

I / me aku informal, close friends/family

you awak common

you anda formal

you kamu informal

he / him dia also "she/her"

she / her dia same as "he/him"

we / us (excluding listener) kami exclusive "we"

we / us (including listener) kita inclusive "we"

you (plural) kalian / kamu semua / anda semua varies by style

they / them mereka

2. Subject (Nominative Function)

Formation:

Subject + Verb

English Malay

I eat. Saya makan.

You eat. Awak makan.

He eats. Dia makan.

We eat. Kami makan.

They eat. Mereka makan.

Notice that the pronouns never change.

3. Direct Object (Accusative Function)

Formation:

Subject + Verb + Object

English Malay

He sees me. Dia melihat saya.

I see you. Saya melihat awak.

I know him. Saya mengenal dia.

She helped us. Dia membantu kami.

I invited them. Saya menjemput mereka.

The pronoun is the same as the subject form.

4. Indirect Object (Dative Function)

Malay usually uses the preposition kepada ("to").

Formation:

kepada + pronoun

English Malay

to me kepada saya

to you kepada awak

to him kepada dia

to us kepada kami

to them kepada mereka

Examples:

Dia memberi buku kepada saya.

He gave a book to me.

Saya menghantar surat kepada mereka.

I sent a letter to them.

In informal speech, kepada is sometimes omitted if the meaning is clear:

Saya beri dia buku.

I gave him a book.

5. Possessive (Genitive Function)

Malay places the possessive pronoun after the noun.

Formation:

Noun + Pronoun

English Malay

my book buku saya

your car kereta awak

his house rumah dia

our school sekolah kami

their children anak mereka

Examples:

Buku saya baru.

My book is new.

Kereta dia mahal.

His car is expensive.

6. Reflexive Pronouns

Malay uses:

diri + pronoun

English Malay

myself diri saya

yourself diri awak

himself diri dia

herself diri dia

ourselves (exclusive) diri kami

ourselves (inclusive) diri kita

yourselves diri kalian / diri kamu semua

themselves diri mereka

Examples:

Saya melihat diri saya di cermin.

I saw myself in the mirror.

Dia menyalahkan diri dia.

He blamed himself.

Mereka menjaga diri mereka.

They take care of themselves.

7. Reciprocal Pronouns ("Each Other")

Malay uses:

satu sama lain

Examples:

Mereka saling membantu.

They help each other.

Mereka menyayangi satu sama lain.

They love each other.

8. Emphatic Pronouns

To emphasize the subject, Malay often uses sendiri ("self", "alone").

Examples:

Saya sendiri melakukannya.

I did it myself.

Dia sendiri datang.

He himself came.

Kami sendiri membinanya.

We built it ourselves.

9. Pronouns After Prepositions

Formation:

Preposition + Pronoun

Examples:

English Malay

with me dengan saya

for you untuk awak

from him daripada dia

to us kepada kami

without them tanpa mereka

Example sentences:

Dia datang dengan saya.

He came with me.

Hadiah itu untuk awak.

That gift is for you.

1. Basic Demonstrative Pronouns

English Malay

this ini

that itu

these ini

those itu

Examples:

Ini buku.

This is a book.

Itu rumah.

That is a house.

Ini kucing.

These are cats. (if referring to several)

Itu kereta.

Those are cars.

The number is understood from the context.

2. Demonstrative Adjectives

When modifying a noun, the demonstrative comes after the noun.

Formation

Noun + ini/itu

Examples:

English Malay

this book buku ini

that house rumah itu

these cars kereta ini

those people orang itu

Notice that this is the reverse of English.

3. Predicate Use

Formation:

Ini/Itu + noun

Examples:

Ini rumah saya.

This is my house.

Itu guru saya.

That is my teacher.

Ini makanan kegemaran saya.

This is my favourite food.

4. Singular and Plural

Malay does not distinguish between singular and plural in demonstratives.

Examples:

Singular

buku ini

this book

Plural

buku-buku ini

these books

or

buku ini

The context tells you whether one or more books are meant.

5. Distance

Malay Meaning

ini near the speaker

itu farther away

Examples:

Ambil buku ini.

Take this book.

Ambil buku itu.

Take that book.

6. Demonstratives with Pronouns

Examples:

Ini dia.

This is him/her.

Itu mereka.

Those are them.

Ini saya.

This is me.

7. Questions

Examples:

Ini apa?

What is this?

Itu siapa?

Who is that?

Buku ini milik siapa?

Whose book is this?

Rumah itu besar?

Is that house big?

8. Demonstratives with Locations

Examples:

Orang ini tinggal di sini.

This person lives here.

Orang itu tinggal di sana.

That person lives there.

Kereta itu di luar.

That car is outside.

9. Demonstratives with Relative Clauses

Formation:

noun + ini/itu + yang + clause

Examples:

Buku ini yang saya beli semalam.

This is the book that I bought yesterday.

Rumah itu yang kami bina.

That is the house that we built.

10. Demonstratives with Possession

Examples:

Buku ini milik saya.

This book is mine.

Rumah itu kepunyaan Ali.

That house belongs to Ali.

5- VERB TENSES:

I write Saya menulis

You write Awak menulis

He writes Dia menulis

She writes Dia menulis

We write (exclusive) Kami menulis

We write (inclusive) Kita menulis

They write Mereka menulis

I am writing Saya sedang menulis

You are writing Awak sedang menulis

He is writing Dia sedang menulis

She is writing Dia sedang menulis

We are writing (exclusive) Kami sedang menulis

We are writing (inclusive) Kita sedang menulis

They are writing Mereka sedang menulis

I wrote Saya sudah menulis

You wrote Awak sudah menulis

He wrote Dia sudah menulis

She wrote Dia sudah menulis

We wrote (exclusive) Kami sudah menulis

We wrote (inclusive) Kita sudah menulis

They wrote Mereka sudah menulis

I was writing Saya sedang menulis ketika itu

You were writing Awak sedang menulis ketika itu

He was writing Dia sedang menulis ketika itu

She was writing Dia sedang menulis ketika itu

We were writing (exclusive) Kami sedang menulis ketika itu

We were writing (inclusive) Kita sedang menulis ketika itu

They were writing Mereka sedang menulis ketika itu

I will write Saya akan menulis

You will write Awak akan menulis

He will write Dia akan menulis

She will write Dia akan menulis

We will write (exclusive) Kami akan menulis

We will write (inclusive) Kita akan menulis

They will write Mereka akan menulis

I will be writing Saya akan menulis pada masa itu

You will be writing Awak akan menulis pada masa itu

He will be writing Dia akan menulis pada masa itu

She will be writing Dia akan menulis pada masa itu

We will be writing (exclusive) Kami akan menulis pada masa itu

We will be writing (inclusive) Kita akan menulis pada masa itu

They will be writing Mereka akan menulis pada masa itu

I have written Saya telah menulis

You have written Awak telah menulis

He has written Dia telah menulis

She has written Dia telah menulis

We have written (exclusive) Kami telah menulis

We have written (inclusive) Kita telah menulis

They have written Mereka telah menulis

I had written Saya telah menulis sebelum dia datang

You had written Awak telah menulis sebelum dia datang

He had written Dia telah menulis sebelum dia datang

She had written Dia telah menulis sebelum dia datang

We had written (exclusive) Kami telah menulis sebelum dia datang

We had written (inclusive) Kita telah menulis sebelum dia datang

They had written Mereka telah menulis sebelum dia datang

I will have written Menjelang esok, saya sudah menulis

You will have written Menjelang esok, awak sudah menulis

He will have written Menjelang esok, dia sudah menulis

She will have written Menjelang esok, dia sudah menulis

We will have written (exclusive) Menjelang esok, kami sudah menulis

We will have written (inclusive) Menjelang esok, kita sudah menulis

They will have written Menjelang esok, mereka sudah menulis

I have been writing Saya sudah menulis selama dua jam

You have been writing Awak sudah menulis selama dua jam

He has been writing Dia sudah menulis selama dua jam

She has been writing Dia sudah menulis selama dua jam

We have been writing (exclusive) Kami sudah menulis selama dua jam

We have been writing (inclusive) Kita sudah menulis selama dua jam

They have been writing Mereka sudah menulis selama dua jam

I had been writing Saya sudah menulis selama dua jam sebelum dia tiba

You had been writing Awak sudah menulis selama dua jam sebelum dia tiba

He had been writing Dia sudah menulis selama dua jam sebelum dia tiba

She had been writing Dia sudah menulis selama dua jam sebelum dia tiba

We had been writing (exclusive) Kami sudah menulis selama dua jam sebelum dia tiba

We had been writing (inclusive) Kita sudah menulis selama dua jam sebelum dia tiba

They had been writing Mereka sudah menulis selama dua jam sebelum dia tiba

I will have been writing Menjelang pukul dua, saya sudah menulis selama dua jam

You will have been writing Menjelang pukul dua, awak sudah menulis selama dua jam

He will have been writing Menjelang pukul dua, dia sudah menulis selama dua jam

She will have been writing Menjelang pukul dua, dia sudah menulis selama dua jam

We will have been writing (exclusive) Menjelang pukul dua, kami sudah menulis selama dua jam

We will have been writing (inclusive) Menjelang pukul dua, kita sudah menulis selama dua jam

They will have been writing Menjelang pukul dua, mereka sudah menulis selama dua jam

6- PASSIVE TENSES:

is written di-verb

is being written sedang + di-verb

was written telah/sudah + di-verb

was being written sedang + di-verb + past context

has been written sudah/telah + di-verb

has been being written sudah + di-verb + duration

had been written telah/sudah + di-verb + context

had been being written sudah + di-verb + duration

will be written akan + di-verb

will be being written akan + sedang + di-verb

will have been written akan sudah + di-verb

will have been being written akan sudah + di-verb + duration

Subject + di-verb + oleh + noun that does the action

7- NEGATION:

not (verb) tidak Saya tidak makan

not (adjective) tidak Dia tidak tinggi

not (noun) bukan Dia bukan guru

not yet belum Saya belum makan

don't (command) jangan Jangan masuk

never tidak pernah Saya tidak pernah pergi

without tanpa Tanpa air

will not tidak akan Saya tidak akan datang

I do not eat Saya tidak makan

You do not work Awak tidak bekerja

He does not sleep Dia tidak tidur

We do not study Kami tidak belajar

They do not write Mereka tidak menulis

I am not happy Saya tidak gembira

He is not tall Dia tidak tinggi

The house is not big Rumah itu tidak besar

I am not a teacher Saya bukan guru

He is not a doctor Dia bukan doktor

This is not my book Ini bukan buku saya

They are not students Mereka bukan pelajar

I am not tired Saya tidak penat adjective

I am not a teacher Saya bukan guru noun

She does not work Dia tidak bekerja verb

She is not a worker Dia bukan pekerja noun

I have not eaten yet Saya belum makan

She has not arrived yet Dia belum sampai

They have not finished yet Mereka belum selesai

Don't eat! Jangan makan!

Don't run! Jangan berlari!

Don't speak! Jangan bercakap!

Don't open it! Jangan buka!

I have never been there Saya tidak pernah pergi ke sana

She has never eaten sushi Dia tidak pernah makan sushi

They have never seen it Mereka tidak pernah melihatnya

Saya belum pernah ke Jepun. I have never been to Japan.

without water tanpa air

without money tanpa wang

without eating tanpa makan

NEGATIVE PAST TENSE:

tidak + verb + past time

or:

belum + verb

I will not go Saya tidak akan pergi

She will not come Dia tidak akan datang

They will not write Mereka tidak akan menulis

It is not written Ia tidak ditulis

It was not made Ia tidak dibuat

It will not be opened Ia tidak akan dibuka

It has not been written yet Ia belum ditulis

It has not been completed yet Ia belum disiapkan

8- QUESTIONS:

YES/NO QUESTIONS:

There are two ways to make a yes/no question:

1- Same sentence structure, we just add a question mark.

Awak makan nasi. You eat rice.

Awak makan nasi? Do you eat rice?

2- Using Adakah + subject + verb/adjective/noun?

Are you happy? Adakah awak gembira?

Is he a teacher? Adakah dia guru?

Do you understand? Adakah awak faham?

Did they arrive? Adakah mereka sampai?

9- ADVERBS:

Malay Transliteration English

baik baik well

buruk buruk badly

cepat cepat quickly

lambat lambat slowly

perlahan perlahan slowly

kuat kuat strongly / loudly

lemah lemah weakly

jelas jelas clearly

kabur kabur unclearly

mudah mudah easily

susah susah with difficulty

senyap senyap quietly

diam-diam diam-diam quietly / secretly

kuat-kuat kuat-kuat loudly / strongly

berhati-hati berhati-hati carefully

sembarangan sembarangan carelessly / arbitrarily

betul betul correctly

salah salah incorrectly

tepat tepat precisely

kira-kira kira-kira approximately

langsung langsung directly

tidak langsung tidak langsung indirectly

bersama-sama bersama-sama together

berasingan berasingan separately

sengaja sengaja deliberately

tidak sengaja tidak sengaja accidentally

secara kebetulan secara kebetulan accidentally / coincidentally

secara rasmi secara rasmi officially

secara umum secara umum generally

biasanya biasanya usually

lazimnya lazimnya ordinarily / usually

sememangnya sememangnya indeed / actually

sebenarnya sebenarnya actually

akhirnya akhirnya finally

khususnya khususnya particularly

terutamanya terutamanya especially

secara perlahan-lahan secara perlahan-lahan slowly

dengan cepat dengan cepat quickly

dengan mudah dengan mudah easily

2. Time adverbs

Malay Transliteration English

sekarang sekarang now

kini kini now / currently

hari ini hari ini today

semalam semalam yesterday

kelmarin kelmarin the day before yesterday

esok esok tomorrow

lusa lusa the day after tomorrow

tadi tadi earlier / just now

sebentar tadi sebentar tadi a moment ago

baru-baru ini baru-baru ini recently

baru baru just / recently

dahulu dahulu formerly / previously

dulu dulu formerly / before

sebelumnya sebelumnya previously

kemudian kemudian later / then

selepas itu selepas itu after that

setelah itu setelah itu afterwards

sesudah itu sesudah itu afterwards

nanti nanti later

kelak kelak eventually / in the future

sebentar lagi sebentar lagi shortly

tidak lama lagi tidak lama lagi soon

segera segera immediately / soon

dengan segera dengan segera immediately

secepatnya secepatnya as soon as possible

akhirnya akhirnya finally / eventually

sementara itu sementara itu meanwhile

dahulu kala dahulu kala long ago

pada masa itu pada masa itu at that time

sejak itu sejak itu since then

sejak dahulu sejak dahulu since long ago

sampai sekarang sampai sekarang until now

hingga kini hingga kini until now

setakat ini setakat ini so far

selama-lamanya selama-lamanya forever

selamanya selamanya forever

sementara sementara temporarily / meanwhile

3. Frequency adverbs

Malay Transliteration English

selalu selalu always / often

sentiasa sentiasa always

sering sering often

kerap kerap frequently

kerap kali kerap kali frequently

biasanya biasanya usually

lazimnya lazimnya usually

kadang-kadang kadang-kadang sometimes

sekali-sekala sekali-sekala occasionally

sesekali sesekali occasionally

jarang jarang rarely

jarang-jarang jarang-jarang rarely

hampir selalu hampir selalu almost always

setiap hari setiap hari every day

setiap minggu setiap minggu every week

setiap bulan setiap bulan every month

setiap tahun setiap tahun every year

sekali sekali once

dua kali dua kali twice

berkali-kali berkali-kali repeatedly / many times

banyak kali banyak kali many times

beberapa kali beberapa kali several times

berulang kali berulang kali repeatedly

berterusan berterusan continuously

terus-menerus terus-menerus continuously

berulang-ulang berulang-ulang repeatedly

4. Degree / intensity adverbs

Malay Transliteration English

sangat sangat very

amat amat very / extremely

terlalu terlalu too / excessively

cukup cukup sufficiently / quite

agak agak rather / somewhat

sedikit sedikit slightly / a little

sedikit sahaja sedikit sahaja only a little

banyak banyak much / a lot

lebih lebih more

kurang kurang less

paling paling most

amat sangat amat sangat extremely

begitu begitu so / that much

begitu sekali begitu sekali so very much

sebegitu sebegitu to such an extent

terlalu banyak terlalu banyak too much

terlalu sedikit terlalu sedikit too little

lebih banyak lebih banyak more

lebih sedikit lebih sedikit less

paling banyak paling banyak the most

paling sedikit paling sedikit the least

hampir hampir almost

nyaris nyaris nearly

benar-benar benar-benar really / truly

betul-betul betul-betul really / completely

sepenuhnya sepenuhnya completely

seluruhnya seluruhnya entirely

sama sekali sama sekali at all / completely

langsung langsung at all / completely

cukup-cukup cukup-cukup sufficiently

sekadar sekadar merely / just

5. Place adverbs

Malay Transliteration English

di sini di sini here

sini sini here

di situ di situ there

situ situ there

di sana di sana there

sana sana there

di mana di mana where

ke mana ke mana where / to where

dari mana dari mana where from

di mana-mana di mana-mana everywhere

ke mana-mana ke mana-mana everywhere / anywhere

di mana pun di mana pun anywhere / wherever

di sini-sini di sini-sini around here

di sana-sini di sana-sini here and there

di luar di luar outside

di dalam di dalam inside

di atas di atas above / upstairs

di bawah di bawah below / downstairs

di depan di depan in front

di belakang di belakang behind

di sebelah di sebelah beside

berdekatan berdekatan nearby

dekat dekat near

jauh jauh far

sekitar sekitar around / nearby

di sekeliling di sekeliling around

ke atas ke atas upward

ke bawah ke bawah downward

ke depan ke depan forward

ke belakang ke belakang backward

ke dalam ke dalam inward

ke luar ke luar outward

dari atas dari atas from above

dari bawah dari bawah from below

dari sini dari sini from here

dari sana dari sana from there

Important: Malay frequently uses preposition + location word rather than a single adverb.

For example:

di sini = here

ke sana = to there

dari sini = from here

6. Directional adverbs

Malay Transliteration English

ke atas ke atas upward

ke bawah ke bawah downward

ke depan ke depan forward

ke belakang ke belakang backward

ke dalam ke dalam inward

ke luar ke luar outward

ke sini ke sini here / toward here

ke situ ke situ toward there

ke sana ke sana toward there

dari sini dari sini from here

dari situ dari situ from there

dari sana dari sana from there

ke mana ke mana where / to where

ke mana-mana ke mana-mana everywhere / anywhere

dari mana dari mana from where

naik naik upward / up

turun turun downward / down

maju maju forward

mundur mundur backward

masuk masuk inward / in

keluar keluar outward / out

kembali kembali back

pulang pulang home / back home

7. Interrogative adverbs

Malay Transliteration English

bagaimana bagaimana how

macam mana macam mana how

di mana di mana where

ke mana ke mana where to

dari mana dari mana where from

bila bila when

bilakah bilakah when?

kapan kapan when

mengapa mengapa why

kenapa kenapa why

berapa berapa how many / how much

berapa lama berapa lama how long

berapa kali berapa kali how many times

berapa kerap berapa kerap how often

sejauh mana sejauh mana how far / to what extent

sebanyak mana sebanyak mana how much / how many

sedalam mana sedalam mana how deep

setinggi mana setinggi mana how high

sebesar mana sebesar mana how big

8. Negative adverbs

Malay normally uses tidak and bukan for negation, plus negative indefinite forms.

Malay Transliteration English

tidak tidak not

tak tak not (colloquial)

bukan bukan not / is not

jangan jangan don't / must not

belum belum not yet

belum lagi belum lagi not yet

tidak pernah tidak pernah never

tak pernah tak pernah never

tidak lagi tidak lagi no longer

tidak sama sekali tidak sama sekali not at all

langsung tidak langsung tidak not at all

tidak mungkin tidak mungkin impossible / cannot possibly

tidak semestinya tidak semestinya not necessarily

sama sekali tidak sama sekali tidak absolutely not

Negative indefinite adverbial forms

Malay Transliteration English

di mana-mana di mana-mana anywhere

ke mana-mana ke mana-mana anywhere

bila-bila bila-bila anytime

apa-apa apa-apa anything

bagaimana pun bagaimana pun however / no matter how

9. Affirmation / certainty

Malay Transliteration English

ya ya yes

memang memang indeed / indeed is

sememangnya sememangnya indeed / truly

benar-benar benar-benar really / truly

betul-betul betul-betul really

tentu tentu certainly

tentunya tentunya certainly

pasti pasti certainly / surely

pastinya pastinya certainly

sudah tentu sudah tentu of course / certainly

semestinya semestinya necessarily / certainly

memang begitu memang begitu indeed so

sudah pasti sudah pasti definitely

tanpa ragu-ragu tanpa ragu-ragu without doubt

10. Probability / possibility

Malay Transliteration English

mungkin mungkin maybe / possibly

mungkin sekali mungkin sekali very possibly

barangkali barangkali perhaps

agaknya agaknya presumably / perhaps

rasanya rasanya probably / I think

nampaknya nampaknya apparently / it seems

kelihatannya kelihatannya apparently

tampaknya tampaknya apparently

seolah-olah seolah-olah seemingly / as if

kemungkinan kemungkinan possibility

berkemungkinan berkemungkinan possibly / likely

mungkin juga mungkin juga possibly

mungkin tidak mungkin tidak perhaps not

hampir pasti hampir pasti almost certainly

11. Restriction / limitation

Malay Transliteration English

hanya hanya only

cuma cuma only / merely

sahaja sahaja only / just

saja saja only / just

sekadar sekadar merely

semata-mata semata-mata solely / merely

khususnya khususnya particularly

sekurang-kurangnya sekurang-kurangnya at least

paling kurang paling kurang at least

paling banyak paling banyak at most

tidak lebih daripada tidak lebih daripada no more than

tidak kurang daripada tidak kurang daripada no less than

sahaja / saja is especially important because it commonly occurs after the element it restricts:

Dia seorang sahaja.

Dia seorang sahaja.

He is the only one.

12. Additive adverbs

Malay Transliteration English

juga juga also / too

pun pun also / too / even

turut turut also / likewise

malah malah moreover / even

bahkan bahkan even / moreover

tambahan pula tambahan pula furthermore

selain itu selain itu besides / furthermore

di samping itu di samping itu besides / in addition

lagi lagi again / additionally / more

juga sekali juga sekali also

lebih-lebih lagi lebih-lebih lagi especially / furthermore

13. Contrast / concession

Malay Transliteration English

namun namun however

bagaimanapun bagaimanapun however / nevertheless

walau bagaimanapun walau bagaimanapun nevertheless

tetap tetap nevertheless / still

masih masih still

sebaliknya sebaliknya instead / conversely

sebalik itu sebalik itu on the contrary

walaupun begitu walaupun begitu although / even so

meskipun begitu meskipun begitu even so

biarpun begitu biarpun begitu even so

walau bagaimanapun juga walau bagaimanapun juga nevertheless

begitu pun begitu pun even so

14. Result / conclusion

Malay Transliteration English

jadi jadi so / therefore

maka maka therefore / then

oleh itu oleh itu therefore

oleh sebab itu oleh sebab itu therefore

sebab itu sebab itu therefore / because of that

dengan itu dengan itu therefore / with that

akibatnya akibatnya consequently

hasilnya hasilnya as a result

kesudahannya kesudahannya ultimately / in the end

akhirnya akhirnya finally / ultimately

demikianlah demikianlah thus / that is how

dengan demikian dengan demikian thus / therefore

15. Purpose-related adverbials

Malay Transliteration English

sengaja sengaja deliberately

khususnya khususnya specifically

terutama terutama especially / principally

supaya supaya so that

agar agar so that

untuk itu untuk itu for that purpose

dengan sengaja dengan sengaja deliberately

demi itu demi itu for that purpose

Note: supaya and agar are normally classified as conjunctions, not ordinary adverbs, even though they introduce purpose clauses.

16. Sequence / ordering

Malay Transliteration English

pertama pertama first

mula-mula mula-mula at first

pada mulanya pada mulanya initially

pertama sekali pertama sekali first of all

kemudian kemudian then

selepas itu selepas itu after that

seterusnya seterusnya next / subsequently

selanjutnya selanjutnya furthermore / subsequently

akhirnya akhirnya finally

terakhir terakhir lastly

pada akhirnya pada akhirnya in the end

sebelum itu sebelum itu before that

selepasnya selepasnya afterwards

sebelumnya sebelumnya previously

17. Repetition

Malay Transliteration English

lagi lagi again

sekali lagi sekali lagi once again

semula semula again

kembali kembali again / back

berulang kali berulang kali repeatedly

berkali-kali berkali-kali many times

berulang-ulang berulang-ulang repeatedly

lagi dan lagi lagi dan lagi again and again

sekali lagi sekali lagi once more

18. Continuation / still / already / yet

Malay Transliteration English

masih masih still

masih lagi masih lagi still

sudah sudah already

telah telah already / has

sudah pun sudah pun already

telah pun telah pun already

belum belum not yet

belum lagi belum lagi not yet

masih belum masih belum still not

sudah tidak sudah tidak no longer

tidak lagi tidak lagi no longer

Examples:

Dia sudah makan.

Dia sudah makan.

He has already eaten.

Dia masih makan.

Dia masih makan.

He is still eating.

Dia belum makan.

Dia belum makan.

He has not eaten yet.

19. Approximation

Malay Transliteration English

kira-kira kira-kira approximately

sekitar sekitar around / approximately

lebih kurang lebih kurang approximately / more or less

kurang lebih kurang lebih approximately

hampir hampir almost

nyaris nyaris nearly

sekitar itu sekitar itu around that

lebih kurang begitu lebih kurang begitu approximately so

sekurang-kurangnya sekurang-kurangnya at least

paling kurang paling kurang at least

20. Comparison

Malay commonly forms comparative adverbial meanings with lebih and kurang.

Malay Transliteration English

lebih cepat lebih cepat more quickly

kurang cepat kurang cepat less quickly

paling cepat paling cepat most quickly

lebih perlahan lebih perlahan more slowly

paling perlahan paling perlahan most slowly

lebih baik lebih baik better

paling baik paling baik best

lebih buruk lebih buruk worse

paling buruk paling buruk worst

sama-sama sama-sama equally / together

sama seperti sama seperti as / like

lebih daripada lebih daripada more than

kurang daripada kurang daripada less than

sama seperti sama seperti as ... as / like

21. Generalization

Malay Transliteration English

secara umum secara umum generally

umumnya umumnya generally

biasanya biasanya usually

lazimnya lazimnya ordinarily

secara keseluruhan secara keseluruhan overall

secara amnya secara amnya generally

pada umumnya pada umumnya generally

secara biasa secara biasa ordinarily

kebiasaannya kebiasaannya usually

umumnya umumnya generally

22. “Anyway / in any case”

Malay Transliteration English

bagaimanapun bagaimanapun anyway / however

apa-apa pun apa-apa pun whatever / anyway

dalam apa jua keadaan dalam apa jua keadaan in any case

walau apa pun walau apa pun whatever happens

apa pun apa pun anyway / whatever

dalam apa keadaan sekalipun dalam apa keadaan sekalipun in any case

bagaimanapun juga bagaimanapun juga anyway / nevertheless

23. “Somehow / anyhow”

Malay Transliteration English

entah bagaimana entah bagaimana somehow

bagaimanapun bagaimanapun anyhow / however

dengan cara apa pun dengan cara apa pun by any means

bagaimana pun bagaimana pun however / no matter how

dengan apa cara sekalipun dengan apa cara sekalipun by any means whatsoever

entah macam mana entah macam mana somehow (colloquial)

24. Emphasis adverbs / particles

Malay Transliteration English

memang memang indeed / really

sangat sangat very

benar-benar benar-benar really

betul-betul betul-betul really

sekali sekali extremely / indeed, depending on context

pun pun even / also

juga juga also / indeed

sahaja sahaja only / just

langsung langsung at all / completely

sungguh sungguh truly / very

sungguh-sungguh sungguh-sungguh seriously / earnestly

sememangnya sememangnya indeed

sesungguhnya sesungguhnya indeed / truly

malah malah even / moreover

bahkan bahkan even

justeru justeru precisely because / therefore

25. “Especially / mainly”

Malay Transliteration English

terutama terutama especially / mainly

terutamanya terutamanya especially

khususnya khususnya particularly

lebih-lebih lagi lebih-lebih lagi especially / furthermore

paling utama paling utama most importantly

terutamanya sekali terutamanya sekali especially

secara khusus secara khusus specifically

khusus khusus specifically

26. Directly / indirectly

Malay Transliteration English

secara langsung secara langsung directly

langsung langsung directly

secara tidak langsung secara tidak langsung indirectly

tidak langsung tidak langsung indirectly

terus terus directly / straight away

secara terus secara terus directly

secara tidak terus secara tidak terus indirectly

27. Carefully / carelessly

Malay Transliteration English

berhati-hati berhati-hati carefully

dengan berhati-hati dengan berhati-hati carefully

cermat cermat carefully / meticulously

dengan cermat dengan cermat carefully

teliti teliti meticulously

dengan teliti dengan teliti meticulously

sembarangan sembarangan carelessly / arbitrarily

secara sembarangan secara sembarangan carelessly

cuai cuai carelessly

dengan cuai dengan cuai carelessly

28. Secretly / openly

Malay Transliteration English

diam-diam diam-diam secretly / quietly

secara rahsia secara rahsia secretly

secara senyap-senyap secara senyap-senyap secretly / quietly

terang-terangan terang-terangan openly / blatantly

secara terbuka secara terbuka openly

secara diam-diam secara diam-diam secretly

sembunyi-sembunyi sembunyi-sembunyi secretly / stealthily

29. Intentionally / accidentally

Malay Transliteration English

sengaja sengaja intentionally

dengan sengaja dengan sengaja deliberately

secara sengaja secara sengaja intentionally

tidak sengaja tidak sengaja accidentally

secara tidak sengaja secara tidak sengaja accidentally

tanpa sengaja tanpa sengaja unintentionally

kebetulan kebetulan by coincidence

secara kebetulan secara kebetulan accidentally / coincidentally

30. Fortunately / unfortunately

Malay Transliteration English

nasib baik nasib baik fortunately

mujurlah mujurlah fortunately

untungnya untungnya fortunately

malangnya malangnya unfortunately

sayangnya sayangnya unfortunately / regrettably

dengan malangnya dengan malangnya unfortunately

31. Distribution

Malay Transliteration English

masing-masing masing-masing respectively / each

seorang demi seorang seorang demi seorang one person at a time

satu demi satu satu demi satu one by one

satu-satu satu-satu one at a time

beransur-ansur beransur-ansur gradually

sedikit demi sedikit sedikit demi sedikit little by little

langkah demi langkah langkah demi langkah step by step

satu persatu satu persatu one by one

setiap satu setiap satu each one

32. Graduality

Malay Transliteration English

beransur-ansur beransur-ansur gradually

perlahan-lahan perlahan-lahan slowly

sedikit demi sedikit sedikit demi sedikit little by little

sedikit-sedikit sedikit-sedikit little by little

langkah demi langkah langkah demi langkah step by step

lama-kelamaan lama-kelamaan gradually / eventually

semakin semakin increasingly

makin makin increasingly

kian kian increasingly

33. Suddenness

Malay Transliteration English

tiba-tiba tiba-tiba suddenly

secara tiba-tiba secara tiba-tiba suddenly

mendadak mendadak suddenly / abruptly

secara mendadak secara mendadak abruptly

serta-merta serta-merta immediately

tiba-tiba sahaja tiba-tiba sahaja all of a sudden

secara mengejut secara mengejut unexpectedly / suddenly

34. Quickly / immediately

Malay Transliteration English

cepat cepat quickly

dengan cepat dengan cepat quickly

segera segera immediately

dengan segera dengan segera immediately

serta-merta serta-merta immediately

langsung langsung immediately / directly

terus terus immediately / straightaway

serta-merta juga serta-merta juga immediately

secepat mungkin secepat mungkin as quickly as possible

secepatnya secepatnya as soon as possible

35. “Only / just / merely”

Malay Transliteration English

hanya hanya only

cuma cuma only

sahaja sahaja only

saja saja just / only

sekadar sekadar merely

semata-mata semata-mata solely / merely

cuma-cuma cuma-cuma for free / gratuitously

tidak lebih daripada tidak lebih daripada no more than

36. “Even”

Malay Transliteration English

pun pun even

malah malah even

bahkan bahkan even

sekalipun sekalipun even if / even though

walaupun walaupun even though / although

meskipun meskipun even though

jangankan jangankan let alone

37. “At least / at most”

Malay Transliteration English

sekurang-kurangnya sekurang-kurangnya at least

setidak-tidaknya setidak-tidaknya at least

paling kurang paling kurang at least

sekurang-kurangya sekurang-kurangnya at least

paling banyak paling banyak at most

sebanyak-banyaknya sebanyak-banyaknya at most

tidak lebih daripada tidak lebih daripada no more than

tidak kurang daripada tidak kurang daripada no less than

38. Productive adverb formation

Malay is different from languages that have a huge closed inventory of morphologically distinct adverbs. Adjectives can often function adverbially without changing form.

Adjective / word Adverbial use English

cepat Dia berlari cepat. He runs quickly.

lambat Dia berjalan lambat. He walks slowly.

baik Dia bekerja baik. He works well.

jelas Dia bercakap jelas. He speaks clearly.

keras Dia bekerja keras. He works hard.

tenang Dia bercakap tenang. He speaks calmly.

perlahan Dia bercakap perlahan. He speaks slowly.

Malay also uses secara + adjective/noun very productively:

secara perlahan — slowly

secara jelas — clearly

secara rasmi — officially

secara langsung — directly

secara tidak langsung — indirectly

secara umum — generally

secara khusus — specifically

And reduplication:

perlahan-lahan — slowly

cepat-cepat — quickly

diam-diam — quietly/secretly

hati-hati — carefully

betul-betul — really/completely

sungguh-sungguh — seriously/earnestly

tiba-tiba — suddenly

berulang-ulang — repeatedly

39. Interrogative → indefinite → negative system

This is especially useful for understanding Malay adverbial words.

Interrogative Indefinite English

bagaimana bagaimana bagaimanapun / entah bagaimana how / however / somehow

di mana di mana di mana-mana where / anywhere/everywhere

bila bila bila-bila when / anytime

ke mana ke mana ke mana-mana where to / anywhere

apa apa apa-apa what / anything

siapa siapa siapa-siapa who / anyone

berapa berapa berapa-berapa how many / several

10- CONJUNCTIONS:

Malay Transliteration English

dan dan and

serta serta and / as well as

atau atau or

ataupun ataupun or / alternatively

tetapi tetapi but

tapi tapi but (colloquial)

namun namun however / nevertheless

melainkan melainkan but rather / except

sedangkan sedangkan whereas / while

manakala manakala whereas / while

padahal padahal whereas / even though

sebaliknya sebaliknya conversely / instead

malah malah moreover / even

bahkan bahkan even / furthermore

justeru justeru therefore / precisely because

lalu lalu then / and then

kemudian kemudian then / afterwards

Examples

Ali dan Ahmad datang.

Ali dan Ahmad datang.

Ali and Ahmad came.

Awak mahu teh atau kopi?

Awak mahu teh atau kopi?

Do you want tea or coffee?

Saya mahu pergi, tetapi saya sibuk.

Saya mahu pergi, tetapi saya sibuk.

I want to go, but I am busy.

2. Additive conjunctions

Malay Transliteration English

dan dan and

serta serta and / as well as

juga juga also

malah malah moreover / even

bahkan bahkan even / furthermore

tambahan pula tambahan pula furthermore

selain itu selain itu besides / in addition

di samping itu di samping itu in addition

begitu juga begitu juga likewise

demikian juga demikian juga likewise

bukan sahaja...malah bukan sahaja...malah not only...but even

bukan sahaja...tetapi juga bukan sahaja...tetapi juga not only...but also

bukan hanya...tetapi juga bukan hanya...tetapi juga not only...but also

3. Alternative / disjunctive conjunctions

Malay Transliteration English

atau atau or

ataupun ataupun or / alternatively

sama ada...atau sama ada...atau whether...or

sama ada...ataupun sama ada...ataupun whether...or

entah...entah entah...entah whether...or / either...or

baik...mahupun baik...mahupun whether...or / both...and

atau...atau atau...atau either...or

kalau tidak kalau tidak otherwise

jika tidak jika tidak otherwise / if not

Example

Sama ada kamu datang atau kamu tinggal di rumah.

Sama ada kamu datang atau kamu tinggal di rumah.

Whether you come or stay at home.

4. Correlative conjunctions

These work as paired conjunctions.

Malay Transliteration English

sama ada...atau sama ada...atau whether...or

sama ada...ataupun sama ada...ataupun whether...or

bukan sahaja...tetapi juga bukan sahaja...tetapi juga not only...but also

bukan hanya...tetapi juga bukan hanya...tetapi juga not only...but also

bukan sahaja...malah bukan sahaja...malah not only...but even

baik...mahupun baik...mahupun both...and / whether...or

entah...entah entah...entah either...or / whether...or

bukan...tetapi bukan...tetapi not...but

bukan...melainkan bukan...melainkan not...but rather

makin...makin makin...makin the more...the more

semakin...semakin semakin...semakin the more...the more

semakin...semakin banyak semakin...semakin banyak the more...the more

kian...kian kian...kian increasingly...increasingly

lebih...daripada lebih...daripada more...than

kurang...daripada kurang...daripada less...than

5. Subordinating conjunctions

A. That / clause conjunction

Malay Transliteration English

bahawa bahawa that

yang yang that / which / who

supaya supaya so that

agar agar so that

untuk untuk in order to / for

Example

Saya tahu bahawa dia datang.

Saya tahu bahawa dia datang.

I know that he is coming.

Dia belajar supaya dia lulus.

Dia belajar supaya dia lulus.

He studies so that he will pass.

Dia bekerja keras agar dia berjaya.

Dia bekerja keras agar dia berjaya.

He works hard so that he succeeds.

6. Cause / reason

Malay Transliteration English

kerana kerana because

sebab sebab because

oleh sebab oleh sebab because of the fact that

oleh kerana oleh kerana because

disebabkan disebabkan because of / due to

oleh sebab itu oleh sebab itu therefore / because of that

sebab itu sebab itu therefore / because of that

lantaran lantaran because / due to

gara-gara gara-gara because of / due to

Example

Saya tidak datang kerana saya sakit.

Saya tidak datang kerana saya sakit.

I did not come because I was sick.

7. Result / consequence

Malay Transliteration English

sehingga sehingga so that / until

sampai sampai until / so that

maka maka therefore / thus

lalu lalu then / consequently

sehingga menyebabkan sehingga menyebabkan resulting in

dengan demikian dengan demikian thus / therefore

oleh itu oleh itu therefore

oleh sebab itu oleh sebab itu therefore

akibatnya akibatnya consequently

hasilnya hasilnya as a result

Important: several items in this section, such as maka, oleh itu, and akibatnya, are more accurately connective adverbs, not strict conjunctions.

8. Conditional conjunctions

Malay Transliteration English

jika jika if

kalau kalau if

jikalau jikalau if

sekiranya sekiranya if / should

andai andai if

andaikata andaikata if

seandainya seandainya if / supposing

sekiranya sekiranya if / should

apabila apabila when / if

bilamana bilamana when / whenever

asalkan asalkan as long as / provided that

dengan syarat dengan syarat provided that

dengan syarat bahawa dengan syarat bahawa on condition that

Example

Jika hujan, saya akan tinggal di rumah.

Jika hujan, saya akan tinggal di rumah.

If it rains, I will stay at home.

9. “Unless”

Malay Transliteration English

kecuali jika kecuali jika unless

kecuali kalau kecuali kalau unless

melainkan jika melainkan jika unless

melainkan kalau melainkan kalau unless

jika tidak jika tidak if not / otherwise

kalau tidak kalau tidak if not / otherwise

Example

Saya akan pergi kecuali jika hujan.

Saya akan pergi kecuali jika hujan.

I will go unless it rains.

10. Concessive conjunctions

“Although / even though”

Malay Transliteration English

walaupun walaupun although / even though

meskipun meskipun although / even though

biarpun biarpun although / even though

sungguhpun sungguhpun although / even though

kendatipun kendatipun although / even though

sekalipun sekalipun even though / even if

walau walau although / even though

meski meski although / even though

biar biar although / let

Example

Walaupun dia penat, dia terus bekerja.

Walaupun dia penat, dia terus bekerja.

Although he was tired, he continued working.

11. “Even if”

Malay Transliteration English

walaupun walaupun even if

meskipun meskipun even if

biarpun biarpun even if

sekalipun sekalipun even if

walau walau even if

sekalipun jika sekalipun jika even if

walaupun jika walaupun jika even if

12. “As long as / provided that”

Malay Transliteration English

asalkan asalkan as long as

dengan syarat dengan syarat provided that

dengan syarat bahawa dengan syarat bahawa provided that

selagi selagi as long as / while

selama selama as long as / while

sekiranya sekiranya provided that / if

Example

Kamu boleh tinggal di sini selagi kamu mematuhi peraturan.

Kamu boleh tinggal di sini selagi kamu mematuhi peraturan.

You can stay here as long as you follow the rules.

13. Time conjunctions

Malay Transliteration English

apabila apabila when

apabila sahaja apabila sahaja whenever

ketika ketika when / while

sewaktu sewaktu when / while

semasa semasa while / during

tatkala tatkala when / while

sementara sementara while / meanwhile

selagi selagi while / as long as

selama selama while / as long as

sebelum sebelum before

selepas selepas after

sesudah sesudah after

setelah setelah after

sebaik sahaja sebaik sahaja as soon as

sebaik-baik sahaja sebaik-baik sahaja as soon as

sejurus sejurus as soon as

sejurus selepas sejurus selepas immediately after

sejak sejak since

semenjak semenjak since

hingga hingga until

sehingga sehingga until

sampai sampai until

bilamana bilamana whenever

setiap kali setiap kali every time / whenever

Example

Selepas dia makan, dia tidur.

Selepas dia makan, dia tidur.

After he ate, he slept.

Sebaik sahaja dia tiba, kami mula.

Sebaik sahaja dia tiba, kami mula.

As soon as he arrived, we started.

14. “While / whereas”

Malay Transliteration English

sementara sementara while

ketika ketika while

semasa semasa while

sewaktu sewaktu while

manakala manakala whereas / while

sedangkan sedangkan whereas / while

tatkala tatkala while / when

15. “Before”

Malay Transliteration English

sebelum sebelum before

sebelum itu sebelum itu before that

sebelum... sebelum... before...

terlebih dahulu sebelum terlebih dahulu sebelum beforehand / before

The basic conjunction is sebelum.

Sebelum dia tidur, dia membaca.

Sebelum dia tidur, dia membaca.

Before he sleeps, he reads.

16. “After”

Malay Transliteration English

selepas selepas after

setelah setelah after

sesudah sesudah after

sebaik selepas sebaik selepas immediately after

setelah itu setelah itu after that

selepas itu selepas itu after that

sesudah itu sesudah itu after that

17. “As soon as”

Malay Transliteration English

sebaik sahaja sebaik sahaja as soon as

sebaik-baik sahaja sebaik-baik sahaja as soon as

sejurus sejurus as soon as

sejurus selepas sejurus selepas immediately after

begitu...terus begitu...terus as soon as...immediately

18. “Since”

Malay Transliteration English

sejak sejak since

semenjak semenjak since

sejak...lagi sejak...lagi ever since

semenjak... semenjak... since

Example:

Saya tinggal di sini sejak saya kecil.

Saya tinggal di sini sejak saya kecil.

I have lived here since I was young.

19. “Until”

Malay Transliteration English

hingga hingga until

sehingga sehingga until

sampai sampai until

sampai bila-bila sampai bila-bila forever / until whenever

sehingga kini sehingga kini until now

20. Purpose

Malay Transliteration English

supaya supaya so that

agar agar so that

agar supaya agar supaya so that

untuk untuk in order to

demi demi for the sake of

supaya dapat supaya dapat so that one can

agar dapat agar dapat so that one can

Example

Dia belajar bersungguh-sungguh supaya dia berjaya.

Dia belajar bersungguh-sungguh supaya dia berjaya.

He studies hard so that he will succeed.

21. Comparison

Malay Transliteration English

seperti seperti like / as

seperti mana seperti mana just as / how

sebagaimana sebagaimana just as / as

sepertimana sepertimana just as / as

seolah-olah seolah-olah as if

seakan-akan seakan-akan as if / seemingly

ibarat ibarat like / as if

bagai bagai like / as

bagaikan bagaikan like / as if

laksana laksana like / as

umpama umpama like / as

macam macam like / as (colloquial)

macam mana macam mana how / like how

22. “As if”

Malay Transliteration English

seolah-olah seolah-olah as if

seakan-akan seakan-akan as if

seakan seakan as if / resembling

seperti seperti as / like

bagaikan bagaikan as if / like

umpama umpama as if / like

macam macam like / as if

Example:

Dia bercakap seolah-olah dia tahu semuanya.

Dia bercakap seolah-olah dia tahu semuanya.

He speaks as if he knows everything.

23. “That” after verbs of saying/thinking

Malay Transliteration English

bahawa bahawa that

yang yang that / which / who

bahawa... bahawa... that...

Example:

Dia berkata bahawa dia akan datang.

Dia berkata bahawa dia akan datang.

He said that he would come.

Saya fikir bahawa dia betul.

Saya fikir bahawa dia betul.

I think that he is right.

In everyday Malay, bahawa is often omitted:

Saya tahu dia datang.

Saya tahu dia datang.

I know that he is coming.

24. Indirect-question conjunctions

Malay generally uses interrogative words themselves to introduce embedded questions.

Malay Transliteration English

sama ada sama ada whether

apakah apakah whether / what

sama ada...atau sama ada...atau whether...or

bagaimana bagaimana how

di mana di mana where

bila bila when

kapan kapan when

mengapa mengapa why

kenapa kenapa why

siapa siapa who

apa apa what

berapa berapa how many/how much

Example:

Saya tidak tahu sama ada dia datang.

Saya tidak tahu sama ada dia datang.

I don't know whether he is coming.

25. “Whether...or”

Malay Transliteration English

sama ada...atau sama ada...atau whether...or

sama ada...ataupun sama ada...ataupun whether...or

entah...entah entah...entah whether...or

apakah...atau apakah...atau whether...or

26. “Whoever / whatever / wherever / whenever”

Malay commonly uses apa pun, siapa pun, di mana pun, bila pun, etc.

Malay Transliteration English

siapa pun siapa pun whoever

sesiapa pun sesiapa pun whoever

apa pun apa pun whatever

apa sahaja apa sahaja whatever

apa-apa pun apa-apa pun whatever

di mana pun di mana pun wherever

di mana sahaja di mana sahaja wherever

ke mana pun ke mana pun wherever / wherever to

bila pun bila pun whenever

bila-bila pun bila-bila pun whenever

bagaimana pun bagaimana pun however

berapa pun berapa pun however many/however much

27. “No matter...”

Malay Transliteration English

walau apa pun walau apa pun no matter what

walau siapa pun walau siapa pun no matter who

walau di mana pun walau di mana pun no matter where

walau bagaimana pun walau bagaimana pun no matter how

walau bila pun walau bila pun no matter when

tidak kira apa tidak kira apa no matter what

tidak kira siapa tidak kira siapa no matter who

tidak kira di mana tidak kira di mana no matter where

tidak kira bagaimana tidak kira bagaimana no matter how

tidak kira bila tidak kira bila no matter when

28. “Not only...but also”

Malay Transliteration English

bukan sahaja...tetapi juga bukan sahaja...tetapi juga not only...but also

bukan hanya...tetapi juga bukan hanya...tetapi juga not only...but also

bukan sahaja...malah bukan sahaja...malah not only...but even

bukan sekadar...tetapi juga bukan sekadar...tetapi juga not merely...but also

Example:

Dia bukan sahaja pandai tetapi juga rajin.

Dia bukan sahaja pandai tetapi juga rajin.

She is not only intelligent but also hardworking.

29. “The more...the more”

Malay Transliteration English

semakin...semakin semakin...semakin the more...the more

makin...makin makin...makin the more...the more

kian...kian kian...kian increasingly...increasingly

semakin banyak...semakin semakin banyak...semakin the more...the more

semakin...semakin banyak semakin...semakin banyak the more...the more

Example:

Semakin banyak dia belajar, semakin banyak dia tahu.

Semakin banyak dia belajar, semakin banyak dia tahu.

The more he studies, the more he knows.

30. “Instead of”

Malay Transliteration English

daripada daripada rather than / instead of

bukannya...tetapi bukannya...tetapi not...but rather

daripada...lebih baik daripada...lebih baik rather than...it is better

sebagai ganti sebagai ganti instead / as a replacement

sebagai gantinya sebagai gantinya instead

bukannya...sebaliknya bukannya...sebaliknya not...instead

Example:

Daripada menunggu, lebih baik kita pergi.

Daripada menunggu, lebih baik kita pergi.

Instead of waiting, we'd better go.

31. “Besides / except”

Malay Transliteration English

selain selain besides / except

selain itu selain itu besides / furthermore

kecuali kecuali except / unless

melainkan melainkan except / but rather

kecuali jika kecuali jika unless

selain daripada selain daripada besides / apart from

kecuali daripada kecuali daripada except from

di samping di samping besides / in addition to

32. “Even”

Malay Transliteration English

pun pun even

malah malah even

bahkan bahkan even

sekalipun sekalipun even

jangankan jangankan let alone

apatah lagi apatah lagi let alone / especially

Example:

Dia tidak mempunyai wang, malah makanan pun tiada.

Dia tidak mempunyai wang, malah makanan pun tiada.

He has no money; he doesn't even have food.

11- PREPOSITIONS:

Malay Transliteration English Main use

di di at / in / on location

ke ke to / toward destination

dari dari from origin/place/time

daripada daripada from / than source, comparison

pada pada at / on / in time, reference

kepada kepada to recipient/person

untuk untuk for purpose/beneficiary

bagi bagi for beneficiary/purpose

demi demi for the sake of purpose

dengan dengan with / by accompaniment, means

tanpa tanpa without absence

tentang tentang about / concerning topic

mengenai mengenai about / concerning topic

terhadap terhadap toward / regarding relation

akan akan toward / regarding formal reference

oleh oleh by agent of passive

seperti seperti like / such as comparison

bagai bagai like / as comparison

bagaikan bagaikan like / as if comparison

umpama umpama like / as comparison

laksana laksana like / as comparison

sebagai sebagai as / as a role/capacity

sejak sejak since starting point

semenjak semenjak since starting point

hingga hingga until / up to endpoint

sehingga sehingga until / up to endpoint

sampai sampai until / to endpoint

antara antara between / among relation

dalam dalam in / within interior/abstract domain

luar luar outside exterior

sekitar sekitar around / approximately surrounding area

sepanjang sepanjang along / throughout extent

melalui melalui through / via route/means

menerusi menerusi through / via route/means

menurut menurut according to source/authority

mengikut mengikut according to / following conformity

terhadap terhadap toward / toward regarding relation

melawan melawan against opposition

tentang tentang about topic

dekat dekat near proximity

hampir hampir near / almost proximity

2. di — at / in / on

di is used mainly for locations, not movement.

Formation Example English

di + place di rumah at home

di + city di Kuala Lumpur in Kuala Lumpur

di + building di sekolah at school

di + surface di atas meja on the table

Saya berada di rumah.

Saya berada di rumah.

I am at home.

Important

di + place:

di rumah = at home

But ke + destination:

ke rumah = to the house

And dari + origin:

dari rumah = from the house

3. ke — to / toward

Used for destinations and directions.

Malay Transliteration English

ke rumah ke rumah to the house

ke sekolah ke sekolah to school

ke Kuala Lumpur ke Kuala Lumpur to Kuala Lumpur

ke atas ke atas upward / to the top

ke bawah ke bawah downward

ke dalam ke dalam into

ke luar ke luar outside / outward

Saya pergi ke sekolah.

Saya pergi ke sekolah.

I go to school.

4. dari — from

Used primarily for place, direction, and time.

Malay Transliteration English

dari rumah dari rumah from home

dari Kuala Lumpur dari Kuala Lumpur from Kuala Lumpur

dari sini dari sini from here

dari pagi dari pagi from the morning

dari pukul tiga dari pukul tiga from three o'clock

Dia datang dari sekolah.

Dia datang dari sekolah.

He came from school.

5. daripada — from / than

daripada has several important uses.

Source/person

Saya menerima hadiah daripada Ali.

Saya menerima hadiah daripada Ali.

I received a gift from Ali.

Comparison

Dia lebih tinggi daripada saya.

Dia lebih tinggi daripada saya.

He is taller than me.

Material/source

Meja itu dibuat daripada kayu.

Meja itu dibuat daripada kayu.

The table is made of wood.

Separation

Saya mengambil buku itu daripada dia.

Saya mengambil buku itu daripada dia.

I took the book from him.

6. pada — at / on / in

Used particularly with time and abstract/reference contexts.

Malay English

pada hari Isnin on Monday

pada waktu pagi in the morning

pada masa itu at that time

pada saya in my opinion / to me

pada pendapat saya in my opinion

Kami bertemu pada hari Isnin.

Kami bertemu pada hari Isnin.

We met on Monday.

7. kepada — to

Generally used for people, recipients, or abstract targets.

Saya memberikan buku itu kepada Ali.

Saya memberikan buku itu kepada Ali.

I give the book to Ali.

Compare:

ke sekolah = to school

kepada Ali = to Ali

8. untuk — for

Use Example English

beneficiary untuk saya for me

purpose untuk belajar for studying

intended recipient hadiah untuk dia a gift for him

purpose clause untuk mendapatkan wang in order to get money

Ini untuk kamu.

Ini untuk kamu.

This is for you.

9. bagi — for

Often similar to untuk, especially with people, opinions, and formal expressions.

Bagi saya, ini penting.

Bagi saya, ini penting.

For me / In my opinion, this is important.

Buku ini bagi pelajar.

Buku ini bagi pelajar.

This book is for students.

10. demi — for the sake of

Malay English

demi keluarga for the sake of the family

demi keamanan for the sake of peace

demi kebaikan semua for everyone's good

Dia bekerja keras demi keluarganya.

Dia bekerja keras demi keluarganya.

He works hard for the sake of his family.

11. dengan — with / by / using

Accompaniment

Saya pergi dengan Ali.

Saya pergi dengan Ali.

I went with Ali.

Instrument

Saya menulis dengan pen.

Saya menulis dengan pen.

I write with a pen.

Manner

Dia bercakap dengan perlahan.

Dia bercakap dengan perlahan.

He speaks slowly.

Means

Kami pergi dengan kereta.

Kami pergi dengan kereta.

We go by car.

12. tanpa — without

Dia pergi tanpa saya.

Dia pergi tanpa saya.

He went without me.

Dia bekerja tanpa bantuan.

Dia bekerja tanpa bantuan.

He works without assistance.

13. tentang — about / concerning

Kami bercakap tentang politik.

Kami bercakap tentang politik.

We talked about politics.

14. mengenai — concerning / regarding

Saya mempunyai soalan mengenai perkara itu.

Saya mempunyai soalan mengenai perkara itu.

I have a question concerning that matter.

15. terhadap — toward / regarding

Often used with an attitude, action, or relationship toward something/someone.

Dia bersikap baik terhadap semua orang.

Dia bersikap baik terhadap semua orang.

He behaves well toward everyone.

16. akan — toward / regarding

This is relatively formal and occurs in particular grammatical constructions.

Dia amat prihatin akan masalah itu.

Dia amat prihatin akan masalah itu.

He is very concerned about that problem.

17. oleh — by

Especially important in passive constructions.

Buku itu ditulis oleh Ali.

Buku itu ditulis oleh Ali.

The book was written by Ali.

Formation:

Passive verb + oleh + agent

ditulis oleh Ali

written by Ali

18. seperti — like / such as

Dia berlari seperti seekor kuda.

Dia berlari seperti seekor kuda.

He runs like a horse.

It can also introduce examples:

Buah seperti epal dan oren...

Buah seperti epal dan oren...

Fruits such as apples and oranges...

19. bagai — like / as

Dia cantik bagai bidadari.

Dia cantik bagai bidadari.

She is beautiful like an angel.

20. bagaikan — like / as if

Dia berdiri bagaikan patung.

Dia berdiri bagaikan patung.

He stood like a statue.

21. umpama — like / as

Hidup ini umpama perjalanan.

Hidup ini umpama perjalanan.

Life is like a journey.

22. laksana — like / as

More literary/formal.

Dia berlari laksana angin.

Dia berlari laksana angin.

He ran like the wind.

23. sebagai — as / in the capacity of

Dia bekerja sebagai guru.

Dia bekerja sebagai guru.

He works as a teacher.

Saya bercakap sebagai seorang kawan.

Saya bercakap sebagai seorang kawan.

I am speaking as a friend.

24. sejak / semenjak — since

Malay English

sejak pagi since morning

sejak semalam since yesterday

sejak tahun lalu since last year

semenjak kecil since childhood

Saya tinggal di sini sejak tahun 2020.

Saya tinggal di sini sejak tahun 2020.

I have lived here since 2020.

25. hingga / sehingga / sampai — until / up to

Saya bekerja sehingga pukul lima.

Saya bekerja sehingga pukul lima.

I work until five o'clock.

Dia berjalan sampai rumah.

Dia berjalan sampai rumah.

He walked as far as home.

26. antara — between / among

Rumah itu terletak antara dua bangunan.

Rumah itu terletak antara dua bangunan.

The house is between two buildings.

Antara mereka, Ali yang paling tinggi.

Antara mereka, Ali yang paling tinggi.

Among them, Ali is the tallest.

27. dalam — in / within

dalam rumah = inside the house

dalam masa dua jam = within two hours

dalam bidang ini = in this field

Dia bekerja dalam bidang perubatan.

Dia bekerja dalam bidang perubatan.

He works in the medical field.

28. luar / di luar — outside

Kanak-kanak itu bermain di luar rumah.

Kanak-kanak itu bermain di luar rumah.

The child is playing outside the house.

luar negara = abroad / overseas

29. sekitar — around / approximately

Kami berjalan sekitar bandar.

Kami berjalan sekitar bandar.

We walked around the city.

Sekitar seratus orang hadir.

Sekitar seratus orang hadir.

Around one hundred people attended.

30. sepanjang — along / throughout

Kami berjalan sepanjang pantai.

Kami berjalan sepanjang pantai.

We walked along the beach.

Sepanjang hari, dia bekerja.

Sepanjang hari, dia bekerja.

He worked throughout the day.

31. melalui — through / via

Kami pergi melalui jalan itu.

Kami pergi melalui jalan itu.

We went through that road.

Dia mendapat maklumat melalui internet.

Dia mendapat maklumat melalui internet.

He obtained information through the internet.

32. menerusi — through / via

Similar to melalui, somewhat formal.

Kami menerima berita menerusi media sosial.

Kami menerima berita menerusi media sosial.

We received the news through social media.

33. menurut — according to

Menurut laporan itu, harga meningkat.

Menurut laporan itu, harga meningkat.

According to the report, prices increased.

34. mengikut — according to / following

Mengikut peraturan, semua pelajar mesti hadir.

Mengikut peraturan, semua pelajar mesti hadir.

According to the rules, all students must attend.

35. dekat — near

Rumah saya dekat sekolah.

Rumah saya dekat sekolah.

My house is near the school.

More explicitly:

Rumah saya dekat dengan sekolah.

Rumah saya dekat dengan sekolah.

My house is near the school.

36. hampir — near / almost

Dia hampir sampai.

Dia hampir sampai.

He is almost there.

Hampir semua pelajar hadir.

Hampir semua pelajar hadir.

Almost all the students attended.

37. Common compound prepositional expressions

Malay also has many multi-word prepositional expressions.

Malay Transliteration English

di atas di atas on / above

di bawah di bawah under / below

di dalam di dalam inside

di luar di luar outside

di hadapan di hadapan in front of

di belakang di belakang behind

di sebelah di sebelah beside

di antara di antara between

di sekeliling di sekeliling around

di samping di samping beside / besides

di tengah-tengah di tengah-tengah in the middle of

di sekitar di sekitar around

ke atas ke atas onto / upward

ke bawah ke bawah downward

ke dalam ke dalam into

ke luar ke luar out of / outward

ke hadapan ke hadapan forward / to the front

ke belakang ke belakang backward

dari atas dari atas from above

dari bawah dari bawah from below

dari dalam dari dalam from inside

dari luar dari luar from outside

dari hadapan dari hadapan from the front

dari belakang dari belakang from behind

daripada pihak daripada pihak from the side of

berkenaan dengan berkenaan dengan concerning

berkaitan dengan berkaitan dengan related to

berhubung dengan berhubung dengan in connection with

berkenaan tentang berkenaan tentang concerning

berbanding dengan berbanding dengan compared with

berbeza daripada berbeza daripada different from

berdasarkan berdasarkan based on

berasaskan berasaskan based on

berikutan berikutan following / as a result of

disebabkan oleh disebabkan oleh caused by / due to

hasil daripada hasil daripada as a result of / from

berkat berkat thanks to

gara-gara gara-gara because of

lantaran lantaran because of

demi demi for the sake of

selain daripada selain daripada besides / apart from

kecuali kecuali except

tanpa tanpa without

bersama dengan bersama dengan together with

berserta dengan berserta dengan along with

selaras dengan selaras dengan in accordance with

sesuai dengan sesuai dengan in accordance with / suitable for

sejajar dengan sejajar dengan in line with

bertentangan dengan bertentangan dengan contrary to

berhadapan dengan berhadapan dengan facing

bersebelahan dengan bersebelahan dengan next to

berdekatan dengan berdekatan dengan near

berseberangan dengan berseberangan dengan opposite

berlawanan dengan berlawanan dengan opposite to

berbanding dengan berbanding dengan compared with

38. Position and spatial expressions

These are particularly useful because Malay often expresses relationships with relational nouns + di/ke/dari.

Malay Transliteration English

di atas di atas above / on

di bawah di bawah below / under

di depan di depan in front of

di hadapan di hadapan in front of

di belakang di belakang behind

di sebelah di sebelah beside

di samping di samping beside

di antara di antara between

di tengah di tengah in the middle of

di dalam di dalam inside

di luar di luar outside

di sekeliling di sekeliling around

di sekitar di sekitar around

di dekat di dekat near

di sisi di sisi beside / at the side of

di hujung di hujung at the end of

di tepi di tepi beside / at the edge of

di hadapan di hadapan before / in front of

di belakang di belakang behind

di tengah-tengah di tengah-tengah in the middle of

39. Directional constructions

Formation English

ke atas upward / onto

ke bawah downward / under

ke depan forward

ke belakang backward

ke dalam into

ke luar out / outward

ke sebelah to the side

ke tengah toward the middle

dari atas from above

dari bawah from below

dari depan from the front

dari belakang from behind

dari dalam from inside

dari luar from outside

40. Time prepositional expressions

Malay Transliteration English

pada waktu pagi pada waktu pagi in the morning

pada waktu malam pada waktu malam at night

pada hari Isnin pada hari Isnin on Monday

pada tahun 2026 pada tahun 2026 in 2026

sejak pagi sejak pagi since morning

sejak semalam sejak semalam since yesterday

dari pagi dari pagi from morning

dari pagi hingga malam dari pagi hingga malam from morning until night

hingga malam hingga malam until night

sampai malam sampai malam until night

selepas makan selepas makan after eating

sebelum makan sebelum makan before eating

sepanjang hari sepanjang hari throughout the day

sepanjang minggu sepanjang minggu throughout the week

selama dua jam selama dua jam for two hours

dalam dua jam dalam dua jam within two hours

41. Cause / reason prepositions

Malay Transliteration English

kerana kerana because of

disebabkan disebabkan due to

disebabkan oleh disebabkan oleh due to

oleh sebab oleh sebab because of

gara-gara gara-gara because of

lantaran lantaran because of

berikutan berikutan following / due to

hasil daripada hasil daripada as a result of

akibat akibat as a result of / due to

berkat berkat thanks to

atas atas on account of / for

Example:

Pertandingan itu dibatalkan kerana hujan.

Pertandingan itu dibatalkan kerana hujan.

The competition was cancelled because of the rain.

42. Comparison / reference prepositions

Malay English

seperti like

seperti mana as / just as

bagai like

bagaikan like / as if

umpama like

laksana like

berbanding dengan compared with

berbeza daripada different from

menurut according to

mengikut according to

berdasarkan based on

berasaskan based on

selaras dengan in accordance with

sesuai dengan in accordance with

43. “With / without”

Malay Transliteration English

dengan dengan with

bersama bersama with / together with

bersama dengan bersama dengan together with

berserta berserta together with

berserta dengan berserta dengan together with

tanpa tanpa without

tanpa adanya tanpa adanya without there being

tanpa menggunakan tanpa menggunakan without using

44. “Against / toward”

Malay Transliteration English

terhadap terhadap toward / against

melawan melawan against

menentang menentang against / opposing

berhadapan dengan berhadapan dengan facing

bertentangan dengan bertentangan dengan contrary to

berlawanan dengan berlawanan dengan contrary to

berhadapan dengan berhadapan dengan opposite/facing

45. “About / concerning”

Malay Transliteration English

tentang tentang about

mengenai mengenai concerning

berkenaan dengan berkenaan dengan concerning

berkaitan dengan berkaitan dengan related to

berhubung dengan berhubung dengan concerning / in connection with

berkenaan berkenaan concerning

mengenai hal mengenai hal concerning the matter of

46. “According to”

Malay Transliteration English

menurut menurut according to

mengikut mengikut according to

berdasarkan berdasarkan based on

berasaskan berasaskan based on

selaras dengan selaras dengan in accordance with

sesuai dengan sesuai dengan according to / in accordance with

12- DETERMINERS

Malay Transliteration English

ini ini this

itu itu that

tersebut tersebut the aforementioned / that

berkenaan berkenaan the aforementioned / concerned

yang tersebut yang tersebut the aforementioned

yang berkenaan yang berkenaan the relevant/concerned

Examples

buku itu

buku itu

that book / the book

rumah ini

rumah ini

this house

pelajar tersebut

pelajar tersebut

the aforementioned student

2. Demonstrative determiners

These are among the most important Malay determiners.

Malay Transliteration English

ini ini this

itu itu that

yang ini yang ini this one

yang itu yang itu that one

begini begini like this

begitu begitu like that

sebegini sebegini of this kind/extent

sebegitu sebegitu of that kind/extent

Basic formation

noun + ini

buku ini

buku ini

this book

noun + itu

buku itu

buku itu

that book

Unlike English, the demonstrative normally comes after the noun.

3. Possessive determiners

Malay possessives are generally formed by placing the possessor after the noun or using possessive pronouns.

Personal possessives

Malay Transliteration English

saya saya my / mine

aku aku my / mine (informal)

kamu kamu your / yours

awak awak your / yours

anda anda your / yours

engkau engkau your / yours

dia dia his / her

ia ia his / her

beliau beliau his / her (respectful)

kami kami our / ours (excluding listener)

kita kita our / ours (including listener)

kamu semua kamu semua your / yours

mereka mereka their / theirs

Possessive noun constructions

Malay Transliteration English

buku saya buku saya my book

buku kamu buku kamu your book

buku dia buku dia his/her book

buku kami buku kami our book

buku kita buku kita our book

buku mereka buku mereka their book

Important distinction:

kami = our, not including you

kita = our, including you

4. Short possessive forms

Malay also has clitic-like possessive forms, especially in formal/literary usage.

Malay Transliteration English

-ku -ku my

-mu -mu your

-nya -nya his / her / its / their

Examples:

rumahku

rumahku

my house

rumahmu

rumahmu

your house

rumahnya

rumahnya

his/her/its house

These are often treated as possessive clitics/pronominal forms, rather than ordinary determiners.

5. Reflexive possessive determiner

Malay Transliteration English

sendiri sendiri own / self

sendiri punya sendiri punya one's own

milik sendiri milik sendiri one's own possession

Examples:

rumah sendiri

rumah sendiri

one's own house

Dia membeli rumahnya sendiri.

Dia membeli rumahnya sendiri.

He bought his own house.

6. Interrogative determiners

These are used before nouns to ask which/what kind.

Malay Transliteration English

apa apa what

yang mana yang mana which

mana mana which / where

berapa berapa how many / how much

macam mana macam mana what kind / how

jenis apa jenis apa what kind of

apakah apakah what / which

Examples

Buku apa yang kamu baca?

Buku apa yang kamu baca?

What book are you reading?

Buku yang mana?

Buku yang mana?

Which book?

Berapa buku?

Berapa buku?

How many books?

7. Indefinite determiners

Malay has several ways to express a/an, some, any, a certain, etc.

Malay Transliteration English

seorang seorang a person / one person

sebuah sebuah a/an (certain object classes)

seekor seekor a/an animal

sebatang sebatang a/an long object

sehelai sehelai a/an flat object

sekeping sekeping a/an piece

sebiji sebiji a/an round object

sebilah sebilah a/an bladed object

sebutir sebutir a/an small round/granular object

setangkai setangkai a/an stalk/bunch

sepasang sepasang a pair

sejumlah sejumlah a certain amount

beberapa beberapa several / some

sesuatu sesuatu something / a certain thing

seseorang seseorang someone / a certain person

sesetengah sesetengah some / certain

sebahagian sebahagian some / a portion of

suatu suatu a certain / a particular

8. The Malay classifier system

Malay normally does not simply use an equivalent of English a/an.

It frequently uses:

se- + classifier + noun

Examples:

Malay Transliteration English

seorang guru seorang guru a teacher

seekor kucing seekor kucing a cat

sebuah rumah sebuah rumah a house

sebatang pokok sebatang pokok a tree

sehelai baju sehelai baju a piece of clothing

sekeping kertas sekeping kertas a sheet/piece of paper

sebiji epal sebiji epal an apple

sebilah pisau sebilah pisau a knife

sebutir telur sebutir telur an egg

sepasang kasut sepasang kasut a pair of shoes

9. Common classifiers used as determiners

Classifier Transliteration Typical noun English

orang orang people person

ekor ekor animals animal

buah buah general objects/places unit/object

batang batang long objects/plants long item

helai helai flat/thin things sheet/piece

keping keping flat objects piece

biji biji round/small objects piece

butir butir small round/granular things grain/piece

bilah bilah knives/blades blade

pasang pasang paired things pair

kuntum kuntum flowers flower

tangkai tangkai flowers/fruits on stems stalk

pucuk pucuk letters/firearms/plants piece

naskhah naskhah books/documents copy

rangkap rangkap poems/verses stanza

laras laras firearms unit/barrel

bidang bidang land/fields plot

bentuk bentuk shapes/forms piece/form

10. Universal determiners

Malay Transliteration English

semua semua all

segala segala all / every

seluruh seluruh entire / whole

setiap setiap every / each

tiap-tiap tiap-tiap every / each

tiap tiap each / every

masing-masing masing-masing each / respective

setiap satu setiap satu each one

kesemua kesemua all of

seluruhnya seluruhnya all / entirely

Examples

Semua pelajar hadir.

Semua pelajar hadir.

All the students attended.

Setiap pelajar mendapat buku.

Setiap pelajar mendapat buku.

Every student gets a book.

Masing-masing pelajar membawa beg.

Masing-masing pelajar membawa beg.

Each student brought a bag.

11. Negative determiners

Malay Transliteration English

tiada tiada no / there is no

tidak ada tidak ada no / there is no

bukan bukan not a / not the

apa-apa apa-apa any

mana-mana mana-mana any / whichever

sesiapa sesiapa anyone / whoever

seorang pun seorang pun anyone at all

satu pun satu pun even one / any one

tiada satu pun tiada satu pun not a single one

tidak seorang pun tidak seorang pun nobody / not a single person

Examples

Tiada pelajar di dalam kelas.

Tiada pelajar di dalam kelas.

There are no students in the classroom.

Saya tidak mempunyai apa-apa buku.

Saya tidak mempunyai apa-apa buku.

I don't have any books.

12. Indefinite / free-choice determiners

Malay Transliteration English

mana-mana mana-mana any / whichever

apa-apa apa-apa any / whatever

siapa-siapa siapa-siapa anyone

sesiapa sesiapa anyone / whoever

bila-bila bila-bila any time

bila-bila pun bila-bila pun whenever

apa sahaja apa sahaja anything / whatever

mana sahaja mana sahaja anywhere / whichever

sesiapa sahaja sesiapa sahaja anyone

apa pun apa pun anything / whatever

mana pun mana pun any / whichever

13. Specific / particular determiners

Malay Transliteration English

suatu suatu a certain / a particular

sesuatu sesuatu something / a certain thing

tertentu tertentu certain / particular

sesetengah sesetengah certain / some

sebahagian sebahagian some / a portion

masing-masing masing-masing respective

berkenaan berkenaan concerned / relevant

tersebut tersebut aforementioned

berikut berikut following

berkenaan berkenaan concerned

Examples:

suatu hari

suatu hari

one particular day / a certain day

orang tertentu

orang tertentu

certain people / a particular person

perkara tersebut

perkara tersebut

the aforementioned matter

14. Quantifying determiners

Malay Transliteration English

banyak banyak many / much

sedikit sedikit few / little

beberapa beberapa several / some

sejumlah sejumlah a number/amount of

sejumlah besar sejumlah besar a large number/amount of

sejumlah kecil sejumlah kecil a small number/amount of

cukup cukup enough

terlalu banyak terlalu banyak too many / too much

terlalu sedikit terlalu sedikit too few / too little

lebih banyak lebih banyak more

lebih sedikit lebih sedikit fewer / less

paling banyak paling banyak the most / at most

paling sedikit paling sedikit the least / at least

beratus-ratus beratus-ratus hundreds of

beribu-ribu beribu-ribu thousands of

berjuta-juta berjuta-juta millions of

berbilang berbilang numerous

pelbagai pelbagai various

bermacam-macam bermacam-macam various / all kinds of

beraneka beraneka various

berjenis-jenis berjenis-jenis various kinds of

15. “Many / much”

Malay Transliteration English

banyak banyak many / much

amat banyak amat banyak very many / much

terlalu banyak terlalu banyak too many / much

begitu banyak begitu banyak so many / much

lebih banyak lebih banyak more

paling banyak paling banyak the most

Banyak buku

Banyak buku

Many books.

16. “Few / little”

Malay Transliteration English

sedikit sedikit few / little

agak sedikit agak sedikit rather little

terlalu sedikit terlalu sedikit too few / little

begitu sedikit begitu sedikit so few / little

lebih sedikit lebih sedikit fewer / less

paling sedikit paling sedikit the fewest / least

17. “Several / some”

Malay Transliteration English

beberapa beberapa several / some

sesetengah sesetengah some / certain

sebahagian sebahagian some / part of

sejumlah sejumlah a number of

segelintir segelintir a handful of / a small number of

segolongan segolongan a group of

sekumpulan sekumpulan a group of

18. “Various / different kinds”

Malay Transliteration English

pelbagai pelbagai various

bermacam-macam bermacam-macam all kinds of

beraneka beraneka various

berjenis-jenis berjenis-jenis various kinds of

berbagai-bagai berbagai-bagai various

pelbagai jenis pelbagai jenis various kinds of

macam-macam macam-macam all sorts of

19. Distributive determiners

Malay Transliteration English

setiap setiap every / each

tiap tiap each / every

tiap-tiap tiap-tiap every

masing-masing masing-masing each / respective

seorang demi seorang seorang demi seorang one person at a time

satu demi satu satu demi satu one by one

setiap satu setiap satu each one

setiap seorang setiap seorang each person

20. “Each / every”

setiap

setiap hari

setiap hari

every day

setiap pelajar

setiap pelajar

every student

tiap-tiap

tiap-tiap hari

tiap-tiap hari

every day

masing-masing

Masing-masing pelajar membawa buku.

Masing-masing pelajar membawa buku.

Each student brought a book.

21. Dual / pair determiner

Malay does not have a grammatical dual number, but it has words for pairs and two.

Malay Transliteration English

dua dua two

kedua-dua kedua-dua both

kedua-duanya kedua-duanya both of them

sepasang sepasang a pair

berdua berdua the two / together as two

Kedua-dua pelajar itu datang.

Kedua-dua pelajar itu datang.

Both students came.

22. “Both”

Malay Transliteration English

kedua-dua kedua-dua both

kedua-duanya kedua-duanya both of them

kedua-dua orang kedua-dua orang both people

kedua-dua buah kedua-dua buah both objects

23. Whole / entire

Malay Transliteration English

seluruh seluruh entire / whole

semua semua all

segenap segenap entire / every part of

seluruhnya seluruhnya entirely / the whole of

keseluruhan keseluruhan entirety / whole

sepenuhnya sepenuhnya completely

seluruh negara

seluruh negara

the entire country

segenap masyarakat

segenap masyarakat

the whole community

24. Half / fractions

These can function as quantifying expressions.

Malay Transliteration English

setengah setengah half

separuh separuh half

sesuku sesuku a quarter

suku suku quarter

dua pertiga dua pertiga two-thirds

satu pertiga satu pertiga one-third

tiga perempat tiga perempat three-quarters

sebahagian sebahagian a portion / part

25. Numeral determiners

Malay numerals normally occur before the noun.

Malay Transliteration English

satu satu one

dua dua two

tiga tiga three

empat empat four

lima lima five

enam enam six

tujuh tujuh seven

lapan lapan eight

sembilan sembilan nine

sepuluh sepuluh ten

seratus seratus one hundred

seribu seribu one thousand

sejuta sejuta one million

semiliar semiliar one billion

With classifiers

tiga buah rumah

tiga buah rumah

three houses

lima orang pelajar

lima orang pelajar

five students

dua ekor kucing

dua ekor kucing

two cats

26. Ordinal determiners

Malay Transliteration English

pertama pertama first

kedua kedua second

ketiga ketiga third

keempat keempat fourth

kelima kelima fifth

keenam keenam sixth

ketujuh ketujuh seventh

kelapan kelapan eighth

kesembilan kesembilan ninth

kesepuluh kesepuluh tenth

terakhir terakhir last

pertama sekali pertama sekali first of all

Formation:

ke- + numeral

ke + dua → kedua = second

ke + tiga → ketiga = third

ke + lima → kelima = fifth

27. “Next / previous / other”

Malay Transliteration English

berikut berikut following / next

seterusnya seterusnya next / subsequent

sebelumnya sebelumnya previous

terdahulu terdahulu previous / earlier

lain lain other / another

yang lain yang lain the other / others

satu lagi satu lagi another / one more

seorang lagi seorang lagi another person

sebuah lagi sebuah lagi another one

selebihnya selebihnya the rest

baki baki remaining / remainder

Examples

buku yang lain

buku yang lain

the other book

satu lagi buku

satu lagi buku

another book / one more book

pelajar yang lain

pelajar yang lain

the other students

28. “Same”

Malay Transliteration English

sama sama same

yang sama yang sama the same

sama-sama sama-sama together / equally

serupa serupa similar / identical

yang serupa yang serupa similar/identical one

orang yang sama

orang yang sama

the same person

29. “Such / this kind / that kind”

Malay Transliteration English

sebegini sebegini of this kind

sebegitu sebegitu of that kind

begini begini like this

begitu begitu like that

sedemikian sedemikian such / of such a kind

sedemikian rupa sedemikian rupa in such a manner

jenis ini jenis ini this kind

jenis itu jenis itu that kind

macam ini macam ini this kind (informal)

macam itu macam itu that kind (informal)

30. “Any / whichever”

Malay Transliteration English

mana-mana mana-mana any / whichever

apa-apa apa-apa any / whatever

sesiapa sesiapa anyone / whoever

siapa-siapa siapa-siapa anyone

apa sahaja apa sahaja anything / whatever

mana sahaja mana sahaja any / whichever

sesiapa sahaja sesiapa sahaja anyone

apa pun apa pun anything / whatever

mana pun mana pun any / whichever

31. “No / not any”

Malay Transliteration English

tiada tiada no / none

tidak ada tidak ada no / there is no

tidak seorang pun tidak seorang pun not a single person

tiada seorang pun tiada seorang pun no one

tiada satu pun tiada satu pun not a single one

tidak ada satu pun tidak ada satu pun not a single one

tidak ada apa-apa tidak ada apa-apa nothing / nothing at all

tiada apa-apa tiada apa-apa nothing

32. Emphatic determiners

Malay Transliteration English

sahaja sahaja only

saja saja only

hanya hanya only

semata-mata semata-mata merely / solely

sekadar sekadar merely

satu-satunya satu-satunya the only

satu-satunya yang satu-satunya yang the only one that

satu pun satu pun even one

Example

Dia satu-satunya anaknya.

Dia satu-satunya anaknya.

He is his only child.

33. Main determiner constructions

Formation Example English

N + ini buku ini this book

N + itu buku itu that book

N + possessive buku saya my book

N + -ku bukuku my book

N + -mu bukumu your book

N + -nya bukunya his/her book

numeral + classifier + N tiga orang pelajar three students

classifier + N seorang guru a teacher

quantifier + N beberapa buku several books

universal + N semua buku all books

setiap + N setiap buku every book

demonstrative + N? ini/itu this/that

N + yang lain buku yang lain the other book

N + tertentu orang tertentu certain people

N + tersebut orang tersebut the aforementioned person

N + berikut perkara berikut the following matter

N + sendiri rumah sendiri one's own house

34. Important word-order rules

Demonstratives come after nouns

buku ini

this book

rumah itu

that house

Not normally:

❌ ini buku

when you mean the ordinary determiner “this book.”

Possessors usually follow nouns

buku saya

my book

rumah mereka

their house

kereta Ali

Ali's car

Numerals precede nouns

dua buku

two books

lima orang guru

five teachers

Quantifiers usually precede nouns

banyak buku

many books

beberapa pelajar

several students

semua orang

everyone / all people

13- IF CONDITIONAL

Zero jika/kalau + present, present Kalau hujan, jalan basah.

First jika/kalau + present, akan + verb Kalau hujan, saya akan tinggal di rumah.

Second jika/kalau + present, akan/boleh + verb Kalau saya kaya, saya akan mengembara.

Third kalau + sudah/telah + verb, akan + verb Kalau saya sudah belajar, saya akan lulus.

Mixed context Kalau saya sudah belajar dahulu, saya akan menjadi doktor sekarang.

would eat akan makan (conditional context)

would be eating sedang makan (conditional context)

would have eaten sudah/telah makan

would have been eating sudah makan selama...

would like to eat ingin makan / mahu makan

would rather eat lebih suka makan

would always eat dulu selalu makan

would often eat sering/selalu makan

would sometimes eat kadang-kadang makan

would never eat tidak akan makan / tidak pernah makan (habit)

would still eat masih akan makan

would already have eaten sudah makan

would not eat tidak akan makan

would not be eating tidak sedang makan (conditional context)

would not have eaten tentu tidak makan / belum makan (depending on context)

would not have been eating tentu tidak makan selama...

would not like to eat tidak ingin makan / tidak mahu makan

would rather not eat lebih suka tidak makan

would never eat dulu tidak pernah makan

would not usually eat biasanya tidak makan

would not often eat tidak selalu / tidak sering makan

would still not eat masih tidak akan makan

would not have eaten yet belum makan (conditional context)

would be built akan dibina

would be being built sedang dibina (conditional context)

would have been built sudah/telah dibina

would have been being built pembinaan ... sudah berlangsung selama... (descriptive)

would be opened akan dibuka

would be repaired akan dibaiki

would be written akan ditulis

would be sent akan dihantar

would be given akan diberikan

would be seen akan dilihat

would not be built tidak akan dibina

would not be being built tidak sedang dibina

would not have been built tentu tidak dibina / belum dibina

would not have been being built pembinaan tentu tidak berlangsung

would not be repaired tidak akan dibaiki

would not be written tidak akan ditulis

would not be sent tidak akan dihantar

would not be given tidak akan diberikan

would not be opened tidak akan dibuka

would not be finished tidak akan disiapkan

jika if formal

kalau if everyday speech

jikalau if formal/literary

sekiranya if very formal

andai (kata) if / suppose literary

andaikata if / supposing literary

apabila when / whenever condition or time

bila when informal

bilamana when formal

manakala when / whereas formal

asal as long as / provided that condition

asalkan as long as / provided that condition

selagi as long as continuing condition

melainkan unless / except if exception

kecuali jika unless / except if formal

walaupun even if / although contrast condition

meskipun even though / even if formal

sungguhpun even though formal

14- COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE

Positive adjective besar big

Comparative lebih + adj. lebih besar bigger

Comparative + than lebih + adj. + daripada lebih besar daripada bigger than

Less kurang + adj. kurang besar less big

Less + than kurang + adj. + daripada kurang besar daripada less big than

Superlative paling + adj. paling besar biggest

Superlative with ter- ter- + adj. terbesar biggest

Equal sama + adj. + dengan sama besar dengan as big as

Equal with se- se- + adj. sebesar as big as

Not as...as tidak + se- + adj. tidak sebesar not as big as

Increasing semakin + adj. semakin besar increasingly bigger

Decreasing semakin kurang + adj. semakin kurang besar increasingly less big

More quantity lebih banyak lebih banyak buku more books

Less quantity lebih sedikit/kurang lebih sedikit buku fewer books

Most quantity paling banyak paling banyak buku most books

Least quantity paling sedikit paling sedikit buku fewest books

Ali lebih tinggi daripada Ahmad. Ali is taller than Ahmad.

WORD BREAKDOWN:

lebih = more

tinggi = tall

daripada = than

15- RELATIVE CLAUSES

the person who came orang yang datang

the person I saw orang yang saya lihat

the book that I read buku yang saya baca

the house that was built rumah yang dibina

the man whose car broke lelaki yang keretanya rosak

the place where I live tempat yang saya tinggal

what I want apa yang saya mahu

We can use without yang, but this is optional:

Object relative (Often) buku saya baca

Subject relative (Usually no) orang yang datang

Adjective description (Often) rumah besar

Possession (Sometimes) lelaki keretanya rosak

Passive relative (Usually no) rumah yang dibina

Place (Often) tempat saya tinggal

Time (Often) hari kami bertemu

What clauses (No) apa yang saya mahu

16- REPORTED SPEECH AND DIRECT SPEECH

Direct Speech: Subject + berkata/berkata bahawa + "exact words" OR: "Sentence," kata + subject.

Reported Speech:

Statement berkata bahawa + clause

Negative statement berkata bahawa + tidak/bukan + clause

Future berkata bahawa + akan + verb

Continuous berkata bahawa + sedang + verb

Perfect berkata bahawa + sudah/telah + verb

Yes/no question bertanya sama ada + clause

WH-question bertanya + question word + clause

Command menyuruh + person + verb

Negative command melarang + person + verb

Request meminta + person + verb

Suggestion mencadangkan supaya + clause

Promise berjanji bahawa + clause

17- INFINITIVES AND VERBAL NOUNS

to eat makan

to go pergi

want to eat mahu makan

need to eat perlu makan

try to eat cuba makan

plan to eat merancang untuk makan

eat in order to live makan untuk hidup

eating is fun makan itu menyeronokkan

reading is useful membaca itu berguna

I like reading saya suka membaca

before eating sebelum makan

after eating selepas makan

being built dibina

being loved dicintai

I am happy seeing you Saya gembira melihat awak adjective + verb

FORMATION:

saya I

gembira happy

melihat seeing

awak you

I am happy to see you Saya gembira melihat awak / Saya gembira dapat melihat awak adjective + verb / dapat + verb

FORMATION 1:

saya I

gembira happy

melihat seeing

awak you

FORMATION 2:

saya I

gembira happy

dapat get to / be able to

melihat see

awak you

I plan to eat Saya merancang untuk makan plan + untuk + verb

FORMATION:

saya I

merancang plan

untuk to

makan eat

I plan eating Saya merancang makan OR: Saya merancang waktu makan. (more natural) plan + activity

I see him run Saya melihat dia berlari see + object + verb

FORMATION:

saya I

melihat see

dia him

berlari run

I see him running Saya melihat dia sedang berlari see + object + sedang + verb

FORMATION:

saya I

melihat see

dia him

sedang currently

berlari running

I eat to play (purpose) Saya makan untuk bermain verb + untuk + purpose

FORMATION:

saya I

makan eat

untuk to/in order to

bermain play

18- SUBJUNCTIVE

if kalau, jika

if only kalaulah

suppose andaikata

hope berharap

suggest that mencadangkan supaya

recommend that menyarankan supaya

so that supaya, agar

may/might mungkin

should harus, patut

must mesti, perlu

let biar, biarkan

19- TAG QUESTIONS

isn't it? kan? / bukan?

aren't you? kan?

don't you? kan? / tidak?

didn't he? kan?

won't they? kan?

right? kan?

correct? betul?

okay? ya?

You are ready, aren't you? Awak sudah bersedia, kan?

Don't you eat? Awak tak makan?

Didn't you go? Awak tidak pergi?

Aren't you ready? Awak tidak bersedia?

Isn't he a teacher? Dia bukan guru?

Haven't you eaten? Awak belum makan?

Won't you come? Awak tidak akan datang?

Isn't it true? Bukankah itu benar?

20- MODAL WORDS

Malay Transliteration English Example

boleh boleh can; be allowed to Saya boleh membaca. — I can read.

dapat dapat can; be able to; manage to Dia dapat memahami masalah itu. — He can understand that problem.

mampu mampu be capable of; be able to Dia mampu menyelesaikan tugas itu. — He is capable of completing the task.

berupaya berupaya be able to; have the capacity Mereka berupaya menyelesaikan masalah itu. — They are able to solve the problem.

berkeupayaan berkeupayaan be capable Dia berkeupayaan memimpin pasukan. — He is capable of leading the team.

sanggup sanggup be willing/able to Saya sanggup membantu anda. — I am willing to help you.

Negative ability

Malay English

tidak boleh cannot / may not

tidak dapat cannot / be unable to

tidak mampu be unable to / cannot afford

tidak berupaya be unable to

tidak sanggup be unwilling/unable to

2. Permission — may / can / be allowed to

Malay Transliteration English Example

boleh boleh may; can; be allowed to Anda boleh masuk. — You may enter.

dibenarkan dibenarkan be permitted / be allowed Pelajar dibenarkan keluar. — Students are allowed to leave.

diizinkan diizinkan be permitted Dia diizinkan pergi. — He is permitted to go.

mendapat izin mendapat izin receive permission Saya mendapat izin untuk pergi. — I received permission to go.

berhak berhak have the right to Anda berhak memilih. — You have the right to choose.

Permission question

Boleh saya...? = May I...? / Can I...?

Boleh saya masuk?

Boleh saya masuk?

May I come in?

3. Prohibition — must not / may not

Malay English Example

tidak boleh must not / may not Anda tidak boleh merokok di sini. — You must not smoke here.

jangan don't / must not Jangan pergi! — Don't go!

dilarang prohibited / forbidden Dilarang masuk. — Entry is prohibited.

terlarang forbidden / prohibited Perbuatan itu terlarang. — That act is forbidden.

tidak dibenarkan not permitted Pelawat tidak dibenarkan masuk. — Visitors are not permitted to enter.

tidak diizinkan not permitted Mereka tidak diizinkan masuk. — They are not permitted to enter.

4. Necessity — need to / have to

Malay Transliteration English Example

perlu perlu need to Saya perlu pergi. — I need to go.

perlu untuk perlu untuk need to / need for Kita perlu untuk bertindak. — We need to act.

harus harus should / must Anda harus berhati-hati. — You should/must be careful.

mesti mesti must / have to Saya mesti pergi. — I must go.

wajib wajib obligatory / mandatory Semua pelajar wajib hadir. — All students must attend.

diwajibkan diwajibkan be required / be obliged Pelajar diwajibkan hadir. — Students are required to attend.

diperlukan diperlukan be required / be needed Dokumen ini diperlukan. — This document is required.

Very important distinction

perlu = need to

mesti = must / have to

wajib = obligatory / mandatory

harus = should / ought to; can also mean must, depending on context

5. Lack of necessity — don't have to / need not

Malay English

tidak perlu do not need to

tak perlu don't need to

tidak mesti need not / does not have to

tidak wajib not required

tidak diperlukan not required

tidak semestinya not necessarily

Examples:

Anda tidak perlu datang.

You don't need to come.

Anda tidak wajib hadir.

You are not required to attend.

6. Obligation — must / be obliged to

Malay English

mesti must

harus must / should

wajib must / obligatory

perlu need to

terpaksa have to / be forced to

dipaksa be forced to

diwajibkan be required to

berkewajipan be obliged to

mempunyai kewajipan have an obligation

Important: terpaksa

terpaksa means that someone has to do something because circumstances leave no choice.

Saya terpaksa bekerja.

I have to work / I am forced to work.

7. Possibility — may / might / could

Malay English Example

mungkin may / might / possible Dia mungkin datang. — He might come.

boleh jadi may / could be Dia boleh jadi betul. — He could be right.

barangkali perhaps / maybe Barangkali dia sudah pergi. — Perhaps he has already left.

agaknya perhaps / presumably Dia agaknya sudah tidur. — He is probably asleep.

mungkin sekali very possibly Dia mungkin sekali datang. — He may very well come.

berkemungkinan be likely / be possible Dia berkemungkinan datang. — He is likely to come.

berpotensi have the potential to Ini berpotensi menyebabkan masalah. — This has the potential to cause problems.

ada kemungkinan there is a possibility Ada kemungkinan dia datang. — There is a possibility that he will come.

tidak mustahil not impossible / quite possible Itu tidak mustahil. — That is not impossible.

8. Probability — probably / likely

Malay English

mungkin possibly / probably

barangkali perhaps

agaknya presumably / probably

nampaknya apparently / seemingly

kelihatannya apparently / seemingly

besar kemungkinan highly likely

berkemungkinan besar very likely

kemungkinan besar most likely / very likely

barangkali besar quite possibly

hampir pasti almost certainly

kemungkinan possibility / likelihood

berkemungkinan likely

dijangka expected to

dijangkakan expected to

Examples:

Kemungkinan besar dia akan datang.

He will probably come.

Dia berkemungkinan besar menang.

He is very likely to win.

9. Certainty — certainly / definitely

Malay English

pasti certainly / surely

sudah pasti certainly / definitely

pasti sekali most certainly

tentunya certainly / naturally

tentu certainly / surely

memang indeed / definitely / actually

sememangnya indeed / indeed is

sesungguhnya truly / indeed

sudah tentu of course / certainly

jelas clearly

jelas sekali clearly / obviously

ternyata evidently / it turns out

nyata clearly / evidently

benar-benar really / truly

pasti benar certainly

tanpa ragu-ragu without doubt

tidak syak lagi without doubt

tidak diragukan lagi undoubtedly

memang

memang is especially important in Malaysian Malay.

Dia memang pandai.

He really is clever. / He certainly is clever.

10. Uncertainty — perhaps / apparently / supposedly

Malay English

mungkin maybe

barangkali perhaps

agaknya perhaps / presumably

rasanya I think / presumably

nampaknya apparently

kelihatannya apparently

seolah-olah seemingly / as if

kononnya supposedly / allegedly

dikatakan it is said

dikhabarkan reportedly

kabarnya reportedly

katanya reportedly / they say

menurut khabar according to reports

Example:

Katanya dia akan datang.

They say he will come.

11. Advice — should / ought to

Malay English

patut should / ought to

sepatutnya should / ought to

harus should / ought to

wajar should / appropriate to

sewajarnya appropriately / as should be

elok should / it would be good

baik should / it is good to

lebih baik it would be better

sebaiknya preferably / should

disarankan is recommended

disyorkan is recommended

dianjurkan is recommended / advised

Examples:

Anda patut belajar lebih banyak.

You should study more.

Anda sepatutnya datang lebih awal.

You should have come earlier.

Sebaiknya kita menunggu.

We should preferably wait.

12. Recommendation

Malay English

patut should

sepatutnya should

wajar ought to / should

lebih baik better to

sebaiknya preferably

elok it is good/better to

disarankan recommended

disyorkan recommended

dianjurkan advised/recommended

digalakkan encouraged

hendaknya hopefully / one should

hendaklah should / shall

13. Desire — want / wish

Malay English

mahu want

mau want

ingin want / wish

hendak want / intend

berhasrat intend / desire

menginginkan desire / want

menghendaki desire / require

berharap hope / wish

berharap agar hope that

berharap untuk hope to

Examples:

Saya mahu makan.

I want to eat.

Dia ingin belajar bahasa Melayu.

He wants to learn Malay.

Mereka berhasrat untuk pergi.

They intend to go.

14. Willingness — be willing to

Malay English

sanggup be willing to

rela be willing to / willingly

sudi be willing/kind enough to

bersedia be ready/willing

mahu be willing to / want to

tidak keberatan not mind

tidak kisah not mind

rela hati willingly

dengan rela hati willingly

Examples:

Saya sanggup membantu anda.

I am willing to help you.

Adakah anda sudi membantu saya?

Would you be willing to help me?

Saya tidak keberatan menunggu.

I don't mind waiting.

15. Unwillingness

Malay English

enggan refuse / be unwilling

tidak mahu not want to

tidak sanggup be unwilling/unable

keberatan object / be reluctant

tidak rela be unwilling

teragak-agak hesitate

berat hati be reluctant

Example:

Dia enggan menjawab.

He refuses to answer.

16. Intention — intend / plan to

Malay English

hendak intend/want to

mahu want/intend to

ingin want to

akan will / going to

bercadang plan to

merancang plan to

berhasrat intend to

berniat intend to

mempunyai niat have the intention

berkeinginan desire/intend

bakal be about to / destined to

dijangka akan be expected to

Examples:

Saya bercadang untuk pergi esok.

I plan to go tomorrow.

Dia berniat untuk membantu.

He intends to help.

17. Future / prediction

Malay English

akan will / going to

bakal will / be about to

dijangka akan is expected to

dijangka is expected to

mungkin akan may/might

pasti akan will certainly

akan mungkin may possibly

akan berkemungkinan will likely

akan

Saya akan datang esok.

I will come tomorrow.

akan is primarily a future/temporal auxiliary or modal-like marker, rather than a modal verb in the same sense as English can/must.

18. Habitual / ability through experience

Malay English

biasa usually / accustomed to

terbiasa accustomed to

biasa dapat usually able to

selalu usually / always

lazimnya usually / commonly

kebiasaannya usually

sering often

kerap frequently

These are primarily adverbs rather than strict modal words, but they can express habitual modality.

Dia biasa bangun awal.

He is accustomed to waking up early.

19. Obligation caused by circumstances — have to

Malay English

terpaksa have to / be forced to

terpaksa perlu have to

tidak dapat tidak cannot avoid having to

tiada pilihan selain have no choice but to

terikat untuk be bound to

berkewajipan be obliged to

diwajibkan be required to

Example:

Saya terpaksa pergi.

I have to go / I am forced to go.

20. Necessity of a condition

Malay English

perlu need to

mesti must

harus must/should

wajib must

penting untuk it is important to

perlu bagi necessary for

diperlukan untuk required for

adalah perlu it is necessary

amat diperlukan highly necessary

Adalah perlu untuk mengambil tindakan segera.

It is necessary to take immediate action.

21. Inference — must / must be

Malay often uses mesti or pasti for strong inference.

Malay English

mesti must / must be

pasti must certainly be

tentu must surely be

tentunya surely / must be

sudah tentu surely / must certainly

nampaknya apparently

agaknya presumably

barangkali perhaps

Example:

Dia mesti sudah sampai.

He must have arrived already.

22. Evidential modality — apparently / reportedly

Malay English

nampaknya apparently

kelihatannya apparently

ternyata evidently / it turns out

dikatakan it is said

katanya reportedly / they say

kononnya supposedly

khabarnya reportedly

kabarnya reportedly

menurut laporan according to reports

berdasarkan laporan based on reports

23. Counterfactual / hypothetical modality

Malay does not have a direct equivalent of English would as a single modal verb.

It commonly uses:

Malay English

akan would/will, depending on context

mungkin might

boleh could

dapat could

sekiranya if

jika if

kalau if

andaikata if/supposing

seandainya if/supposing

kalaulah if only / if

jika ... akan if ... would

kalau ... akan if ... would

boleh ... jika could ... if

Example:

Jika saya mempunyai masa, saya akan pergi.

If I had time, I would go.

24. Possibility + condition

Construction English

mungkin jika... may if...

boleh jika... can/could if...

dapat jika... can/could if...

mungkin sekiranya... might if...

boleh jadi jika... could be if...

sekiranya..., mungkin... if..., perhaps...

kalau..., boleh... if..., can/could...

25. Hope

Malay English

harap hope

berharap hope

mudah-mudahan hopefully / may it be

semoga hopefully / may

moga-moga hopefully

diharapkan it is hoped

berharap agar hope that

berharap supaya hope that

Examples:

Semoga anda berjaya.

May you succeed / Hopefully you succeed.

Mudah-mudahan semuanya berjalan lancar.

Hopefully everything goes smoothly.

26. Wish / optative modality

Malay English

semoga may / hopefully

moga-moga may / hopefully

mudah-mudahan hopefully

kalaulah if only

alangkah baiknya jika how good it would be if

saya harap I hope

saya ingin I wish/want

saya berharap I hope

27. Fear / undesirable possibility

Malay English

takut fear / be afraid that

bimbang worry/fear that

risau worry that

khuatir fear/worry that

jangan-jangan lest / perhaps, worryingly

dikhuatiri it is feared

dibimbangi it is feared/worried

Example:

Saya takut dia terlambat.

I am afraid that he will be late.

28. Certainty vs uncertainty

High certainty

pasti, mesti, tentu, tentunya, sudah tentu, memang, sememangnya, pasti sekali, jelas, ternyata

Medium/uncertain

mungkin, barangkali, agaknya, nampaknya, berkemungkinan, rasanya

Reported/indirect

katanya, kononnya, khabarnya, dikatakan, dilaporkan

29. Emphatic modal/attitudinal particles

Some Malay particles are not modal verbs but can strongly modify the speaker's attitude.

Malay English / function

memang indeed; definitely

pun even; also; at all

juga also; nevertheless

sahaja / saja only / merely

hanya only

memanglah indeed / of course

tentulah certainly

pastilah surely

sememangnya indeed

barangkali perhaps

agaknya perhaps

rasanya I suppose / I think

kononnya supposedly

30. Restrictive modality

Malay English

hanya only

sahaja only

saja only

sekadar merely

semata-mata merely / solely

setakat only / merely / as far as

tidak lebih daripada no more than

satu-satunya the only one

Example:

Dia hanya mahu membantu.

He only wants to help.

31. Approximation / uncertainty

Malay English

kira-kira approximately

lebih kurang approximately

sekitar around/about

hampir almost

nyaris nearly

agaknya approximately / presumably

rasanya I think / probably

kurang lebih approximately

These are primarily adverbial expressions but can contribute to epistemic modality.

32. Strong vs weak modality

Strength Malay English

Very strong wajib must / mandatory

Very strong mesti must

Strong harus must / should

Strong pasti certainly

Strong memang definitely / indeed

Medium perlu need to

Medium patut should

Medium wajar should / ought to

Medium boleh can / may

Weak mungkin may / might

Weak barangkali perhaps

Weak agaknya probably/perhaps

Weak nampaknya apparently

21- THERE IS / HAVE / BE

There is a book Ada sebuah buku

There are books Ada buku-buku

There are many people Ada ramai orang

There is no problem Tiada masalah / Tidak ada masalah

Is there food? Ada makanan?

Was there a house? Dulu ada rumah?

There will be a meeting Akan ada mesyuarat

There has been a change Sudah ada perubahan

have (possess) ada Saya ada buku

have (own/formal) mempunyai Dia mempunyai kereta

have done sudah/telah + verb Saya sudah makan

have been to pernah Saya pernah ke Jepun

have been doing sudah lama + verb Saya sudah lama belajar

have to perlu/mesti/kena Saya perlu pergi

have not done belum + verb Saya belum makan

have a problem ada/mengalami Saya ada masalah

IMPERATIVES:

Go! Pergi! verb

Eat! Makan! verb

Please come Sila datang sila + verb

Help me Tolong bantu saya tolong + verb

Don't go Jangan pergi jangan + verb

Let's go Jom pergi jom + verb

Let me help Biar saya bantu biar + person + verb

Be careful Berhati-hati adjective/verb

Be eaten! Dimakan! di-verb

Let's be eaten Biar kita dimakan biar + subject + passive

Don't be eaten Jangan dimakan jangan + passive

Let it be eaten Biarkan ia dimakan biarkan + object + passive

It must be eaten Mesti dimakan modal + passive

It must not be eaten Tidak boleh dimakan tidak boleh + passive

It can be eaten Boleh dimakan boleh + passive

It should be eaten Patut dimakan patut + passive