Askar itu ingat pertempuran.

In Malay, demonstratives such as ini and itu normally come after the noun.

So:

• askar itu = that soldier / the soldier
• pertempuran itu = that battle / the battle

This is different from English, where that comes before the noun.

It can mean either one, depending on context.

In Malay, itu often points to something specific that both speaker and listener can identify. Because of that, English may translate it as either:

• that soldier
• the soldier

The surrounding context decides which sounds best in English.

By itself, askar does not change form for singular vs. plural. Malay nouns usually do not inflect for number.

So askar can mean:

• soldier
• soldiers

In this sentence, it is usually understood as singular because of the context and the English meaning given to the learner. If you want to make the plural very clear, Malay can use reduplication:

• askar-askar itu = those soldiers / the soldiers

Here, ingat means remember.

A learner may notice that ingat can also have related meanings in other contexts, such as think, keep in mind, or be aware of. But in Askar itu ingat pertempuran, the natural meaning is remember.

Ingat pertempuran is understandable and quite natural, especially in less formal usage.

However, Malay also has forms like:

• mengingati pertempuran
• ingat akan pertempuran

These can sound more formal or more explicitly verbal. So the given sentence is fine, but it is useful to know that Malay often has more than one way to express remember.

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

So ingat can be interpreted as:

• remembers
• remembered
• will remember

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

• semalam = yesterday
• sekarang = now
• esok = tomorrow

Without extra context, the sentence is simply tenseless in form.

Pertempuran means battle, combat, or fighting.

It is a noun formed from the root tempur. For a learner, the important point is that pertempuran is the thing being remembered in the sentence.

So the structure is:

• Askar itu = subject
• ingat = verb
• pertempuran = object

Because Malay does not always mark every noun as definite.

Pertempuran by itself can be understood from context. If the speaker wants to make it explicitly specific, they could say:

• Askar itu ingat pertempuran itu

That would more clearly mean The/That soldier remembers the/that battle. Without the second itu, the noun is a little less explicitly marked, but context can still make it definite in translation.

The sentence follows the common Malay word order Subject + Verb + Object.

• Askar itu = subject
• ingat = verb
• pertempuran = object

So in that sense, the structure is similar to English: The soldier remembers the battle.

You usually put tidak before the verb.

So:

• Askar itu tidak ingat pertempuran.

If you want the object to sound more specific, you could also say:

• Askar itu tidak ingat pertempuran itu.

Here tidak negates the verb ingat.