Pagi tadi, saya pergi kerja dengan kereta saya.

This morning, I went to work with my car.

Breakdown of Pagi tadi, saya pergi kerja dengan kereta saya.

• saya: I
• pergi: to go
• pagi tadi: this morning
• kerja: the work
• dengan: with
• kereta: the car

Questions & Answers about Pagi tadi, saya pergi kerja dengan kereta saya.

Why is Pagi tadi used instead of Pagi ini?

In Malay, Pagi tadi refers to this morning that has already passed, while Pagi ini can imply the morning that is still ongoing or you are still in. So you use Pagi tadi to indicate a completed action earlier today.

Could we say saya pergi bekerja instead of saya pergi kerja?

Yes, saya pergi bekerja is also acceptable. In Malay, kerja can act both as a noun (kerja = “work”) and as part of the verb phrase pergi kerja (“go to work”). Saying pergi bekerja would place more emphasis on the verb form of “to work,” while pergi kerja is very commonly used in everyday speech.

Why do we say dengan kereta saya instead of dengan saya punya kereta?

Both phrases can be understood, but dengan kereta saya (literally, “with my car”) is more standard in formal and everyday speech. Dengan saya punya kereta is less formal and can sound more colloquial or dialectal.

Can Pagi tadi be placed somewhere else in the sentence?

Yes, you could also say Saya pergi kerja dengan kereta saya pagi tadi. Malay allows flexibility in word order, especially for adverbs of time like pagi tadi, but placing it at the start helps emphasize when the action happened.

Why do we use saya before pergi kerja and again in kereta saya? Isn’t that repetitive?

In Malay, pronouns (like saya) and possessive pronouns are typically repeated whenever you want to indicate who is performing an action or to whom something belongs. It may feel repetitive from an English perspective, but in Malay, it is natural to clarify ownership or the subject acting.