Polis mahu mengurangkan jenayah.

to want

Breakdown of Polis mahu mengurangkan jenayah.

• mengurangkan: to reduce
• polis: the police
• jenayah: crime

Questions & Answers about Polis mahu mengurangkan jenayah.

Why is polis used without the or a?

Malay does not usually use articles like the or a/an.

So polis can mean the police, police, or sometimes a police officer, depending on context. In this sentence, it is naturally understood as the police.

Malay often leaves this kind of information to context instead of marking it with a separate word.

Is polis singular or plural here?

In this sentence, polis is most naturally understood as a collective noun, like the police in English.

A few useful points:

• polis can refer to the police force in general
• it can also refer to police officers collectively
• Malay nouns usually do not change form for singular vs plural

If you really want to show plurality clearly, Malay can use context, numbers, or reduplication, but with polis, that is often unnecessary.

Why is the word order Polis mahu mengurangkan jenayah?

This is the normal Malay word order:

subject + verb + object

So:

• Polis = subject
• mahu = wants to
• mengurangkan = reduce
• jenayah = crime

That makes the structure very similar to English:

The police want to reduce crime.

What does mahu mean exactly?