Questions & Answers about Dia membaca tentang seks.
Does dia mean he or she?
Yes. Dia is gender-neutral, so it can mean either he or she.
Malay usually does not mark gender in third-person singular pronouns the way English does. You figure it out from context.
- Dia membaca tentang seks. = He is reading about sex. / She is reading about sex.
If the context already makes the person clear, dia is perfectly normal.
Why is it membaca and not just baca?
Baca is the root word meaning read.
Membaca is the standard active verb form.
The prefix meN- is commonly added to roots to form an active verb in standard Malay:
- baca → membaca
So membaca is the normal textbook/written form for to read or reads/is reading.
In casual speech, especially colloquial Malay, people may sometimes use baca without the prefix, but membaca is the safer standard form for learners.
Does this sentence mean is reading, reads, or read?