Kami menggunakan sekop bukan kerana cangkul rosak, tetapi kerana tanah keras.

Malay has two words for we:

• kami = we, but not including the listener
• kita = we, including the listener

So kami menggunakan sekop means the speakers used the shovel, but they are not including the person they are speaking to.

The basic root is guna, meaning use.

menggunakan is the more fully formed standard verb:

• meng-
  • guna
    • -kan

In this sentence, menggunakan sekop means to use a shovel.

In everyday speech, many speakers would simply say guna:

• Kami guna sekop...

That sounds more casual, while menggunakan sounds more standard or formal.

They are different tools:

• sekop = shovel / spade
• cangkul = hoe

So the sentence contrasts two tools: they used a shovel, not a hoe.

This is a very common learner question.

In simple terms:

• tidak usually negates verbs and adjectives
• bukan usually negates nouns, and it is also very commonly used in contrastive patterns such as bukan X, tetapi Y

Here the sentence is making a correction or contrast:

• not because the hoe was broken, but because the soil was hard

So bukan fits the pattern bukan ... tetapi ... very naturally.

It is a set contrast pattern meaning:

• not ..., but ...

In this sentence:

• bukan kerana cangkul rosak = not because the hoe was broken
• tetapi kerana tanah keras = but because the soil was hard

So the whole structure is:

• bukan kerana X, tetapi kerana Y
• not because of X, but because of Y

Malay often does not use a verb like is/are in sentences like this.

So:

• cangkul rosak literally looks like hoe broken
• tanah keras literally looks like soil hard

But in natural English, these mean:

• the hoe is broken
• the soil is hard

This is completely normal in Malay.

It can behave a bit like both from an English speaker’s point of view.

rosak means broken, damaged, or spoiled, and in Malay it often functions as a stative predicate. So:

• cangkul rosak = the hoe is broken

You do not need a separate word for is.

The same idea applies to keras:

• tanah keras = the soil is hard

In Malay, adjectives usually come after the noun.

So:

• tanah keras = hard soil
• cangkul rosak = broken hoe

This is different from English, where adjectives usually come before nouns.

Yes, often it could.

• kerana is standard and a bit more formal
• sebab is very common in everyday speech
• pasal may also be heard in casual speech in some contexts

So a more conversational version might be:

• Kami guna sekop bukan sebab cangkul rosak, tapi sebab tanah keras.

The original sentence with kerana is perfectly correct and natural, especially in more careful or written Malay.

Malay does not normally use articles like English a/an and the.

So sekop can mean:

• a shovel
• the shovel
• sometimes even shovels, depending on context

Likewise, Malay nouns do not usually change form for plural the way English nouns do. Context tells you whether something is singular or plural.

In this sentence, the meaning is understood from the situation.

Yes. In everyday spoken Malay, many speakers would shorten some parts:

• Kami guna sekop, bukan sebab cangkul rosak, tapi sebab tanah keras.

Changes:

• menggunakan → guna
• tetapi → tapi
• sometimes kerana → sebab

The original sentence is still good Malay; it just sounds a bit more formal or careful.