Malay Grammar

Welcome to the 8th lesson about Malay grammar. We will first learn about prepositions, negation, questions, adverbs, and pronouns including: personal, object and possessive pronouns.

We will start with prepositions. In general, they are used to link words to other words. For example: I speak Malay and English the preposition is [and] because it connects both words Malay and English. The following is a list of the most used prepositions in Malay.

Prepositions - Malay
and Dan
above Di atas
under Bawah
before Sebelum
after Selepas
in front of Di depan
behind Di belakang
far from Jauh dari
near Berhampiran
in Di/di dalam
inside Di dalam
outside Di luar
with Dengan
without Tanpa
about Tentang
between Di antara
but Tetapi
for Untuk
from Dari
to Ke

Preposition Grammar Rules

The following examples use prepositions in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.

Prepositions + Rules - Malay
I eat without a knife [preposition + noun] Saya makan tanpa menggunakan pisau.
she lives near the church [verb + preposition] Dia tinggal berhampiran gereja.
he is taller than her [adjective + preposition] Dia lebih tinggi daripadanya.
he came with his small dog [preposition + pronoun] Dia datang dengan anjing kecilnya.
can you come with me? [preposition + pronoun] Boleh anda datang dengan saya?

Negation in Malay

Now let's learn how to make a negative sentence (negation). For example: Saying no, I can't, I don't ... The following examples use negation in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.

Negation + Rules - Malay
I understand you [affirmative form] Saya faham anda.
I don't understand you [negation + verb] Saya tidak faham anda.
this is not the correct word [negation + adjective] Ini bukanlah perkataan yang betul.
don't leave me [imperative negation] Jangan tinggalkan saya.
no problem [negation + noun] Tiada masalah

Negative Sentences - Malay
I don't speak French [negation + present tense] Saya tidak bercakap bahasa Perancis.
she didn't visit Germany [negation + past tense] Dia tidak melawat Jerman.
he cannot see us [negative modal verb] Dia tidak boleh melihat kita.
can't she play chess? [interrogative negation] Dia tidak boleh bermain catur?
we will not come late [negation + future tense] Kami tidak akan datang lewat.

Questions in Malay

Now let's learn how to ask questions (interrogative). Such as: what, why, can you ...? Here are some common examples:

English - Malay
how? Bagaimana?
what? Apa?
who? Siapa?
why? Mengapa?
where? Di mana?

More of the interrogative form, now in a sentence:

Questions + Rules - Malay
where do you live? [interrogative + verb] Anda tinggal di mana?
does she speak Chinese? [interrogative verb] Bolehkah dia bercakap Cina?
how much is this? [interrogative preposition] Ini berapa?
can I help you? [interrogative modal verb] Boleh saya bantu anda?
what is your name? [interrogative preposition] Siapa nama anda?

Adverbs in Malay

It's time to learn the adverbs in Malay. But what is an adverb? In general, adverbs modify verbs and adjectives. For example: You speak fast. The adverb is [fast] because it describes the verb and answers the question how do you speak?. Here is a list of the most common ones:

Adverbs - Malay
now Sekarang
yesterday Semalam
today Hari ini
tonight Malam ini
tomorrow Besok
soon Segera
quickly Cepat-cepat
slowly Perlahan-lahan
together Bersama
very Sangat
almost Hampir
always Selalu
usually Biasanya
sometimes Kadang-kadang
rarely Jarang
never Tidak pernah

The following examples use the adverbs in different ways and places to demonstrate how it behaves in a sentence.

Adverbs + Rules - Malay
do you understand me now? [pronoun + adverb] Adakah anda memahami saya sekarang?
I need help immediately [noun + adverb] Saya memerlukan bantuan segera.
she is very intelligent [adverb + adjective] Dia sangat pintar
I will always love you [verb + adverb] Saya akan sentiasa mencintai anda.
can we learn German together? [adverb in a question] Boleh kita belajar bahasa Jerman bersama?

Pronouns in Malay

We're almost done! This time we will learn the pronouns in Malay. In general, a pronoun can be used instead of a noun. For example instead of saying my teacher speaks 3 languages, you can use the pronoun he, and say he speaks 3 languages. Here is a list of the most common ones:

Personal Pronouns - Malay
I Saya
you Kamu/awak/anda
he Dia
she Dia
we Kami
they Mereka

Object Pronouns - Malay
me Saya
you Kamu/awak/anda
him Dia
her Dia
us Kami
them Mereka

Possessive Pronouns - Malay
my Saya punya
your Kamu/awak/anda punya
his Dia punya
her Dia punya
our Kami punya
their Mereka punya

I think it's better to put the above example in a sentence to better assist you. The following examples use pronouns in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence. We will start with the personal pronouns.

Personal Pronouns - Malay
I am your friend [1st pronoun + verb] Saya rakan anda.
you speak very fast [2nd pronoun + adverb] Anda bercakap sangat cepat.
he has three dogs [3rd pronoun + verb] Dia mempunyai tiga ekor anjing.
she can speak German [3rd pronoun + verb] Dia boleh bercakap bahasa Jerman.
we will not come late [1st plural pronoun] Kami tidak akan datang lewat
they bought milk and bread [3rd plural pronoun] Mereka membeli susu dan roti

The object pronoun is used as a target by a verb, and usually come after that verb. For example: I gave him my book. The object pronoun here is him. Here are more examples:

Object Pronouns - Malay
can you tell me your name? [1st object pronoun] Boleh anda beritahu saya nama anda?
I will give you money [2nd object pronoun] Saya akan beri anda wang.
she wrote him a letter [3rd object pronoun] Dia menulis surat kepadanya.
they visited her yesterday [3rd object pronoun] Mereka melawat beliau semalam
can she help us? [1st pl. object pronoun] Bolehkah dia membantu kita?
he gave them food [3rd pl. object pronoun] Dia memberi mereka makanan.

Possessive Pronouns - Malay
my name is Maya [1st possessive pronoun] Nama saya Maya
your brother lives here [2nd possessive pronoun] Abang anda tinggal di sini.
her mother cooks for us [3rd possessive pronoun] Ibunya memasak untuk kami.
his hobby is reading books [3rd possessive pronoun] Hobi beliau ialah membaca buku-buku.
our dream is to visit Paris [1st pl. possessive pronoun] Impian kami adalah untuk melawat Paris
their house is not far [3rd pl. possessive pronoun] Rumah mereka tidak jauh.

One more thing you need to know is the demonstrative pronouns. They're very easy to learn.

Demonstrative Pronouns - Malay
this is my house Ini rumah saya
that restaurant is far Restoran itu jauh.
these apples are delicious Epal-epal ini lazat.
those stars are shiny Bintang-bintang itu bersinar.

I hope you learned a lot about the Malay grammar in this lesson. Please check out our main menu here for more lessons: homepage. The next lesson is below, have fun!