Mereka memilih beregu.

It follows a very common Malay pattern: Subject + Verb + Object/Complement.

• Mereka = subject
• memilih = verb
• beregu = what is being chosen

So the structure is straightforward and quite close to English word order.

Pilih is the root word.

memilih is the standard active verb form made with the meN- prefix. This prefix often marks an active transitive verb, meaning the verb acts directly on an object.

Here is the formation:

• pilih → root
• meN- + pilih → memilih

Because the root starts with p, the p drops after the prefix, giving memilih, not mempilih.

So:

• pilih = root / dictionary form / sometimes imperative or informal usage
• memilih = to choose, chooses, chose, choosing, depending on context

Malay pronouns usually do not change form for subject and object the way English pronouns do.

So mereka can correspond to either they or them, depending on where it appears in the sentence.

In Mereka memilih beregu, it comes before the verb, so it is clearly the subject, meaning they.

A useful extra note: mereka is mainly used for people, not usually for things.

No. Malay verbs do not change for person or number.

That means the verb stays the same with:

• saya memilih = I choose
• dia memilih = he/she chooses
• mereka memilih = they choose

Unlike English, there is no special verb ending for he/she or plural subjects.

Not by itself.

Malay verbs normally do not change form for tense, so memilih could be understood as:

• choose
• chooses
• chose
• are choosing

The time is usually understood from context or from extra words such as:

• sedang = in the process of
• telah / sudah = already
• akan = will
• semalam = yesterday
• esok = tomorrow

So the verb form itself does not tell you whether the action is present or past.

The word beregu contains the prefix ber-, which often forms intransitive verbs or words meaning having, using, or being in a certain state/form.

The base is regu, and beregu is commonly used in sports or competition contexts to mean something like:

• in pairs
• doubles
• paired/team format

In practice, it is often best to learn beregu as a whole vocabulary item, because its real meaning depends a lot on context.

In this sentence, it behaves most like a noun/object, because it is the thing being chosen.

However, Malay words are often more flexible than English words. A word like beregu may feel noun-like in one sentence and adjective-like in another.

For example, in a phrase like acara beregu, it describes the type of event, so it feels adjective-like. But in Mereka memilih beregu, it works more like the chosen category or option.

So the safest approach is:

• here, treat beregu as the object/complement of memilih

Malay normally does not use articles the way English does.

So a sentence can be perfectly complete without any direct equivalent of a, an, or the.

Malay usually leaves definiteness to context. If needed, speakers can make something more specific with other words, such as:

• itu = that / the
• a fuller noun phrase
• context from earlier sentences

But in a short sentence like this, leaving out articles is completely normal.

No.

memilih is a transitive verb, so it can take a direct object without any preposition.

So:

• memilih beregu = structurally normal

You do not need something equivalent to for, as, or into unless the sentence is being expressed in a different way.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

• Mereka → muh-REH-kah or muh-RUH-kah, depending on accent
• memilih → muh-MEE-lih
• beregu → buh-RUH-goo

A few pronunciation notes:

• The e in the first syllable of memilih and beregu is usually a schwa-like sound, like the a in about.
• The final h in memilih is light but not completely ignored in careful speech.
• Malay pronunciation is generally quite regular once you get used to it.