Mereka sedang berehat di rumah selepas kerja panjang.

to be

Breakdown of Mereka sedang berehat di rumah selepas kerja panjang.

• mereka: they
• di: at
• sedang: currently
• kerja: the work
• berehat: to rest
• rumah: the house
• selepas: after
• panjang: long

Questions & Answers about Mereka sedang berehat di rumah selepas kerja panjang.

I notice the word sedang in the sentence. Do I always need to use sedang to indicate the present continuous tense in Malay?

Sedang signals that an action is happening right now (similar to "be + -ing" in English). However, it’s optional in casual conversation. You might omit sedang and still be understood, but including it is useful when you want to emphasize that something is happening at the moment of speaking.

Why is the phrase di rumah (at home) placed before selepas kerja panjang (after a long job/long work)? Can I rearrange the sentence?

Malay word order is generally flexible. The core meaning remains the same if you say Mereka sedang berehat selepas kerja panjang di rumah. However, the original sentence emphasizes the location (home) first before specifying "after a long job/work."

What is the difference between selepas and other words like kemudian (then, afterward)? Are they interchangeable?

They both indicate something happening later in time. Selepas is closer to "after," while kemudian is often used to mean "then." For example, if you said Selepas kerja panjang, mereka berehat di rumah, it means "After a long job, they rest at home." If you said Kerja mereka panjang; kemudian mereka berehat di rumah, it suggests a sequence of events ("Their work is long; then they rest at home").

Why is kerja described as panjang (long)? Does it literally mean long in physical length or does it refer to the duration of the job?

The word panjang usually refers to length, but it can also mean a long duration. In this context, kerja panjang means a long or lengthy period of work rather than physically long.