Dia memeriksa enjin itu.

Malay third-person pronouns usually do not mark gender. So dia can mean he, she, or sometimes even they in certain informal contexts, depending on the situation.

In standard usage:

• dia = he/she
• gender is understood from context, not from the pronoun itself

This is very different from English, where you normally have to choose between he and she.

Memeriksa is the verb, meaning to inspect, to examine, or to check.

In this sentence, it is the action being done:

• Dia = the subject
• memeriksa = the verb
• enjin itu = the object

So the structure is:

• Dia memeriksa enjin itu
• He/She checks/checked/is checking that/the engine

Periksa is the base word, and memeriksa is the derived verb form with the prefix meN-.

This prefix often forms an active transitive verb, meaning a verb that takes a direct object.

So:

• periksa = inspect/check/examine (base/root form)
• memeriksa = to inspect/check something

In formal or standard Malay, memeriksa is the expected form in a full sentence like this.

In casual speech, you may also hear:

• Dia periksa enjin itu

That is common in conversation, but memeriksa is more standard.

This is due to how the meN- prefix changes shape depending on the first sound of the root word.

The root is periksa, which begins with p. With this prefix:

• the p is usually dropped
• meN- becomes mem-

So:

• meN- + periksa → memeriksa

This kind of sound change is very common in Malay verb formation.

Itu usually means that.

In enjin itu, it means:

• that engine
• or sometimes the engine, depending on context

Malay often puts demonstratives like ini and itu after the noun:

• enjin ini = this engine
• enjin itu = that engine

This is different from English, where this and that come before the noun.

That is the normal Malay pattern.

Malay noun phrases usually work like this:

• noun + demonstrative

So:

• rumah itu = that house
• buku ini = this book
• enjin itu = that engine

For an English speaker, this can feel reversed, but in Malay it is completely natural.

Malay does not have a direct equivalent of the English article the.

Instead, definiteness is often understood from context, or expressed with words like itu.

So enjin itu can often be translated as:

• that engine
• the engine

Which one sounds best depends on the English context.

No. Malay verbs generally do not change form for tense.

So memeriksa by itself does not tell you whether the action is:

• present: is checking / checks
• past: checked
• future: will check

Tense is usually understood from context or shown with time words such as:

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

For example:

• Dia memeriksa enjin itu semalam = He/She checked that engine yesterday.
• Dia sedang memeriksa enjin itu = He/She is checking that engine.

Yes, this sentence follows the basic Subject–Verb–Object order, just like English.

Breakdown:

• Dia = subject
• memeriksa = verb
• enjin itu = object

So the order is:

• Dia memeriksa enjin itu
• He/She checks that engine

This familiar word order often makes simple Malay sentences easier for English speakers to understand.

Yes, enjin is a loanword related to English engine.

Its spelling has been adapted to Malay spelling conventions:

• English: engine
• Malay: enjin

Malay uses many loanwords, including technical words, and they are often spelled in a way that matches Malay pronunciation.

A simple approximate pronunciation is:

• dia → DEE-ah
• memeriksa → muh-muh-REEK-sah
• enjin → EN-jin
• itu → EE-too

A few helpful points:

• Malay pronunciation is generally quite regular
• vowels are usually clearly pronounced
• r in Malay is often lightly rolled or tapped
• j in enjin sounds like the j in jam

No. Malay verbs do not agree with the subject in that way.

So the verb stays the same regardless of whether the subject is:

• dia = he/she
• saya = I
• mereka = they

For example:

• Saya memeriksa enjin itu
• Dia memeriksa enjin itu
• Mereka memeriksa enjin itu

The verb memeriksa does not change form. This is much simpler than English conjugation.

Yes, depending on context, it can.

Because Malay does not mark tense in the verb itself, Dia memeriksa enjin itu can be interpreted in several ways in English:

• He/She inspects that engine
• He/She is inspecting that engine
• He/She inspected that engine

If you want to make the ongoing meaning clearer, Malay often uses sedang:

• Dia sedang memeriksa enjin itu = He/She is inspecting that engine.