Dia membentuk tanah liat dengan acuan.

he/she

Breakdown of Dia membentuk tanah liat dengan acuan.

• dengan: with
• tanah liat: clay
• acuan: a mould

Questions & Answers about Dia membentuk tanah liat dengan acuan.

What does dia mean here? Does it mean he or she?

Dia is a third-person singular pronoun, and it can mean either he or she. Malay does not usually mark gender in pronouns the way English does.

So:

• dia = he, she, or sometimes that person, depending on context

You need context to know which one is meant.

Why is there no tense marker? How do I know whether this means shapes, shaped, or is shaping?

Malay often leaves tense unmarked unless time needs to be made explicit. The sentence by itself does not force one tense the way English usually does.

So Dia membentuk tanah liat dengan acuan could mean:

• He/She shapes the clay with a mold
• He/She shaped the clay with a mold
• He/She is shaping the clay with a mold

Time is usually understood from:

• context
• time words such as semalam (yesterday), sekarang (now), nanti (later)

For example:

• Semalam dia membentuk tanah liat dengan acuan. = Yesterday he/she shaped the clay with a mold.
• Sekarang dia membentuk tanah liat dengan acuan. = Now he/she is shaping the clay with a mold.