Polis menangkap pencuri itu.

The basic word order is Subject – Verb – Object, just like in normal English statements:

• Polis = subject
• menangkap = verb
• pencuri itu = object

So the structure is:

Polis + menangkap + pencuri itu
The police + arrested/arrest + that/the thief

Tangkap is the basic root, meaning catch or arrest.

menangkap is the verb with the active prefix meN-, which is very common in Malay. This prefix is often used to form active transitive verbs, especially when someone does something to an object.

So:

• tangkap = catch/arrest
• menangkap = to catch/arrest (active verb form)

In this sentence, because the police are doing the action to the thief, menangkap is the natural form.

This happens because of how the meN- prefix changes depending on the first sound of the root.

With roots beginning with t, the t usually drops after the prefix is added. So:

• tangkap → menangkap

This is a normal sound change in Malay verb formation. You do not need to memorize every case at once, but it is useful to know that the prefix changes shape depending on the root.

Malay verbs do not change form for tense the way English verbs do.

So menangkap by itself does not specifically mean:

• arrests
• is arresting
• arrested
• has arrested

The exact time usually comes from context or from time words such as:

• semalam = yesterday
• sekarang = now
• tadi = earlier
• akan = will

So Polis menangkap pencuri itu could mean different things in English depending on context, though it is often translated as something like The police arrested the thief or The police are arresting that thief.

itu usually means that, but after a noun it can also make the noun feel specific or definite, similar to the in some contexts.

So:

• pencuri = a thief / thief
• pencuri itu = that thief / the thief

In this sentence, itu tells us that the speaker has a particular thief in mind.

In Malay, demonstratives like ini (this) and itu (that) usually come after the noun, not before it.

So Malay says:

• pencuri itu = that thief
• rumah ini = this house

This is different from English, where this and that come before the noun.

Polis can refer to the police in a general or collective sense. Malay nouns usually do not have special singular/plural forms the way English often does.

So polis can mean:

• the police
• police officers
• sometimes a police officer, depending on context, though that is less likely here

In this sentence, English would most naturally translate it as the police.

Malay does not use articles in the same way English does.

There is no exact everyday equivalent of a/an and the that must always be used before nouns. Instead, definiteness is often understood from:

• context
• word order
• demonstratives like ini and itu
• other markers such as seorang, seekor, etc. in some situations

So pencuri itu feels definite because of itu, while pencuri by itself could be more general.

Yes. pencuri is related to the root curi, which means to steal.

The noun pencuri means thief or stealer. It is formed with the prefix peN-, which often creates a noun for a person who does an action.

So:

• curi = steal
• pencuri = thief

This is a useful pattern in Malay vocabulary.

A simple approximate pronunciation is:

POH-lis men-NGKAH-kap pen-CHOO-ree EE-too

A few notes:

• c in Malay is pronounced like ch in church
• ng is like the sound in sing
• u is usually like oo in food

So:

• polis ≈ poh-lis
• menangkap ≈ menang-kap
• pencuri ≈ pen-choo-ree
• itu ≈ ee-too