Polis melihat tebusan itu.

Malay usually uses Subject–Verb–Object order here, just like basic English sentences:

• Polis = subject
• melihat = verb
• tebusan itu = object

So the structure is:

• Polis → melihat → tebusan itu
• The police → saw → the hostage / that hostage

That makes this sentence quite straightforward for an English speaker.

In Malay, demonstratives like ini and itu usually come after the noun:

• tebusan itu = that hostage / the hostage
• rumah itu = that house
• buku ini = this book

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

Also, in many contexts itu can make the noun sound definite, so tebusan itu may be understood as the hostage as well as that hostage, depending on context.

Malay does not normally use articles like a, an, or the.

So:

• polis can mean police, a police officer, or the police, depending on context.
• tebusan itu gives more definiteness because of itu.

Malay relies heavily on context instead of articles.

It can depend on context.

Polis can refer to:

• the police as a force or group
• a police officer in less specific everyday usage

If you want to be clearly singular, Malay often uses something like:

• seorang polis = a police officer
• seorang anggota polis = a police officer

So Polis melihat tebusan itu could be understood as:

• The police saw the hostage, or
• A police officer saw the hostage

The wider context usually makes the intended meaning clear.

Melihat is the verb to see or to look at in a more fully marked verb form.

It comes from the root:

• lihat = see/look

With the meN- verb prefix, it becomes:

• melihat = to see, to look at

In formal or standard Malay, melihat is a normal transitive verb meaning to see something.

You may also hear lihat by itself in casual speech, but melihat is grammatically more complete in standard written Malay.

Not exactly.

• melihat = to see / to look at
• nampak = to be visible / to see / to notice, depending on context

Very roughly:

• Polis melihat tebusan itu = The police saw/looked at the hostage.
• Polis nampak tebusan itu = The police saw/noticed the hostage.

In many situations they overlap, but melihat is often a little more neutral or formal.

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

So melihat can refer to:

• see
• saw
• is seeing

depending on context.

Malay usually shows time through:

• context
• time words such as semalam (yesterday), sekarang (now), esok (tomorrow)
• aspect markers like sudah, telah, sedang, akan

Examples:

• Polis melihat tebusan itu semalam. = The police saw the hostage yesterday.
• Polis sedang melihat tebusan itu. = The police are looking at the hostage.
• Polis akan melihat tebusan itu. = The police will see the hostage.

Tebusan is commonly related to the idea of ransom or a hostage, depending on context and usage.

Because meaning has already been given to the learner, the important point is that this is the object noun in the sentence.

Still, it is worth knowing that words in this semantic area can be a little context-sensitive, so in real usage you may also meet related expressions such as:

• wang tebusan = ransom money
• tebusan or orang tebusan = hostage, depending on context

So always pay attention to the surrounding sentence.

Because in Malay, noun phrases usually put the noun first and the demonstrative after it:

• tebusan itu = that hostage / the hostage
• polis itu = that police officer / that policeman
• kereta itu = that car

So itu tebusan would not be the normal way to say it in standard Malay.

Yes, very often it can.

Malay does not have a separate word exactly matching English the, so itu often helps make a noun definite.

As a result:

• tebusan = hostage / a hostage
• tebusan itu = that hostage / the hostage

Which English translation sounds best depends on context.

If you want to make the subject clearly one police officer, you could say:

• Seorang polis melihat tebusan itu.

Here:

• seorang = one person / a

So this clearly means:

• A police officer saw the hostage.

Without seorang, polis is less specific and more context-dependent.

A simple learner-friendly pronunciation is:

• me-li-hat

The stress in Malay is usually not as strong or dramatic as in English. Try to say it smoothly, with all syllables pronounced clearly.

Also:

• e in me- is often a schwa-like sound, similar to the a in about
• lihat has two clear syllables: li-hat

So overall: meh-LEE-hat is a rough guide, though exact pronunciation varies by speaker.

Yes, depending on context, that is possible.

Because Malay verbs do not mark tense directly, melihat by itself does not force a single English tense.

Possible translations include:

• The police saw the hostage
• The police see the hostage
• The police are looking at the hostage

Context decides which one is best. If the meaning shown to the learner gives a specific tense, that comes from the broader context or the exercise, not from melihat alone.