Polis memeriksa kenderaan itu.

Malay often leaves articles out completely. Unlike English, it usually does not require words like the or a/an before nouns.

So:

• polis can mean police, the police, or sometimes a police officer / police officers, depending on context
• kenderaan can mean vehicle or the vehicle, again depending on context

In this sentence, itu helps make kenderaan definite, so kenderaan itu is that vehicle or sometimes the vehicle.

Itu is a demonstrative, usually meaning that.

In Malay, demonstratives normally come after the noun, not before it. So:

• kenderaan itu = that vehicle

This is different from English, where we say that vehicle, with that before the noun.

Depending on context, itu can sometimes also sound like the in natural English translation, especially when the speaker is referring to a specific known thing.

Malay commonly uses Subject–Verb–Object word order, just like English.

So here:

• Polis = subject
• memeriksa = verb
• kenderaan itu = object

That makes the structure very straightforward for an English speaker: Subject + Verb + Object

The base form is periksa, which means inspect, examine, or check.

The form memeriksa is built with the active verb prefix meN-, which often marks a transitive verb, meaning a verb that takes a direct object.

So:

• periksa = base/root
• memeriksa = to inspect / is inspecting / inspect(s)

This is a very common pattern in Malay.

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

With roots beginning with p, the p is usually dropped and meN- becomes mem-.

So:

• periksa → memeriksa

This kind of sound change is normal in Malay verb formation.

A few similar patterns are:

• pakai → memakai
• baca → membaca
• tulis → menulis

It can depend on context.

Polis in Malay can refer to:

• the police as an institution
• police officers in general
• sometimes even a police officer, if the context makes that clear

Malay nouns usually do not change form for singular vs. plural the way English nouns do.

If the speaker wants to be very specific, they may add other words, for example:

• seorang polis = one police officer
• anggota polis = police officer / member of the police
• para polis or context-based plural wording = police officers

So in this sentence, polis could naturally be understood as the police or a police officer, depending on the situation.

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

So memeriksa by itself does not specifically mean:

• inspected
• inspects
• is inspecting
• will inspect

The time is usually understood from:

• context
• time words
• aspect markers

For example:

• Polis sedang memeriksa kenderaan itu. = The police are inspecting that vehicle.
• Polis telah memeriksa kenderaan itu. = The police have inspected / inspected that vehicle.
• Polis akan memeriksa kenderaan itu. = The police will inspect that vehicle.

Without any marker, the sentence is often understood as a general present or context-dependent action.

Yes. Malay uses passive constructions quite often.

A common passive version would be:

• Kenderaan itu diperiksa oleh polis.

This means That vehicle is inspected / was inspected by the police.

Compare:

• Polis memeriksa kenderaan itu. = active
• Kenderaan itu diperiksa oleh polis. = passive

Both are grammatical, but the active sentence focuses first on polis, while the passive focuses first on kenderaan itu.

Yes, but it is a bit broader and slightly more formal or general than some other choices.

Kenderaan means vehicle, so it can refer to:

• a car
• a motorcycle
• a truck
• other vehicles

In everyday conversation, if you specifically mean car, people often say:

• kereta = car

So if the intended meaning is specifically car, you might also hear:

• Polis memeriksa kereta itu.

But if the idea is vehicle in a general sense, kenderaan is the right word.

Kenderaan itu is the normal noun phrase meaning that vehicle.

• kenderaan itu = that vehicle

Itu kenderaan can be grammatical too, but it usually works more like:

• That is a vehicle
• That one is a vehicle

So the position changes the function:

• kenderaan itu = noun + demonstrative
• itu kenderaan = demonstrative used more like a subject or pointing word

A simple learner-friendly guide:

• memeriksa ≈ muh-meh-REEK-sah
• kenderaan ≈ kuhn-duh-rah-AHN

A few helpful points:

• Malay pronunciation is usually fairly phonetic
• e in Malay can vary, but in many cases it is a neutral uh sound
• the r is usually tapped or lightly rolled, not the English r
• stress is generally not as strong or contrastive as in English

So the whole sentence is roughly:

• Polis memeriksa kenderaan itu
• POH-lis muh-meh-REEK-sah kuhn-duh-rah-AHN EE-too

Yes, Malay can use reduplication to show plurality:

• kenderaan-kenderaan = vehicles

But in many real sentences, Malay does not need to mark plural explicitly if context already makes it clear.

So:

• Polis memeriksa kenderaan itu usually refers to one specific vehicle
• Polis memeriksa kenderaan-kenderaan itu would mean The police are inspecting those vehicles

Plural marking in Malay is often more optional than in English.

Yes, and that is very natural.

Sedang marks an action in progress, so it makes the sentence more clearly mean:

• The police are inspecting that vehicle

Compare:

• Polis memeriksa kenderaan itu. = The police inspect / are inspecting / inspected that vehicle, depending on context
• Polis sedang memeriksa kenderaan itu. = The police are inspecting that vehicle

Adding sedang is useful when you want to be explicit about an ongoing action.