Kasut boling itu dekat rak bola.

In Malay, a present-tense to be verb is often omitted.

So instead of saying something like The bowling shoes are near the ball rack, Malay can simply say:

• Kasut boling itu dekat rak bola.

This is completely normal. The relationship between the two parts of the sentence is understood without needing a separate word for are.

Itu literally often means that/those, but in sentences like this it can also work a lot like the in English, especially when referring to something already known or identifiable.

So kasut boling itu can mean:

• those bowling shoes
• the bowling shoes

Which one sounds best depends on context.

A useful pattern is:

• rumah itu = that house / the house
• buku itu = that book / the book

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

So Malay says:

• kasut itu = that shoe / the shoe
• buku ini = this book

not the English-style order that shoe.

Because boling describes kasut, the whole noun phrase is kasut boling, and then itu goes after the whole phrase:

• kasut boling itu

Malay usually puts the main noun first and the describing word after it.

So:

• kasut boling = bowling shoes
• rak bola = ball rack

This is the opposite of normal English order in many cases.

Think of it like:

• kasut = the main thing, shoes
• boling = what kind of shoes, bowling

So kasut boling literally follows a noun + modifier pattern.

Kasut can refer to shoe or shoes, depending on context.

Malay nouns do not have to change form for singular vs plural the way English nouns often do. So kasut may mean:

• a shoe
• shoes
• the shoes

Context tells you which meaning is intended.

If a speaker wants to make plurality very clear, Malay can use reduplication:

• kasut-kasut = shoes

But in normal speech, this is often unnecessary if the meaning is already obvious.

Here, dekat means near, close to, or sometimes by.

So dekat rak bola means that the bowling shoes are located near the ball rack.

In everyday Malay, dekat is very common for location. Depending on context, it can sometimes also mean at:

• Saya dekat rumah. = I’m at home / I’m near home.

So it is a very flexible everyday word.

For learners, the easiest way to understand it here is as a location word functioning much like a preposition.

In practice, Malay speakers use dekat very naturally in sentences like:

• Buku itu dekat meja. = The book is near the table.
• Dia dekat dapur. = He/She is in the kitchen area / near the kitchen.

You do not need to force it into exactly the same grammar category as English near in order to use it correctly. The key thing is that it marks location.

Both are possible, but rak bola is shorter and very natural.

Malay often expresses this kind of idea by simply putting nouns together:

• rak bola = ball rack
• literally, rack ball

This means a rack for balls or the ball rack.

If you say rak untuk bola, that is more explicit and means a rack for balls, but it sounds more wordy.

Like many Malay nouns, bola can mean either ball or balls, depending on context.

So rak bola is understood as:

• ball rack
• rack for balls

Even though English might prefer a plural idea in meaning, Malay does not need to mark it explicitly.

Malay does not have articles that work exactly like English a/an/the.

Whether something is definite or indefinite is often understood from context.

So rak bola can mean:

• a ball rack
• the ball rack

In this sentence, the context probably makes it clear which rack is meant, so no separate word is needed.

Yes, but the meaning changes slightly.

• dekat rak bola = near the ball rack / by the ball rack
• di rak bola = on/at/in the ball rack, depending on context

So if the shoes are merely close to the rack, dekat is the better choice. If they are actually located on or in the rack, di may be more appropriate.

Yes. Boling is a borrowed word from English bowling, adapted to Malay spelling.

Malay often changes borrowed words so they fit Malay pronunciation and spelling patterns. So:

• bowling → boling

This is very common in Malay vocabulary.

Yes, you could.

• Kasut boling itu dekat rak bola.
• Kasut boling itu berada dekat rak bola.

The version with berada sounds a little more explicit or formal, because berada means something like to be located.

In everyday conversation, the shorter version without berada is very natural.

You usually know from context.

If the speaker is contrasting something farther away, itu may feel more like that/those. If the speaker is simply referring to an already known item, it may feel more like the.

For example:

• Kasut boling itu milik Ali.
  This could mean Those bowling shoes belong to Ali or The bowling shoes belong to Ali.

Malay often leaves this kind of distinction to context rather than marking it as strictly as English does.