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Questions & Answers about Semalam, saya makan nasi.
What does Semalam mean in this sentence?
Semalam translates to "yesterday". It provides the time context, indicating when the action happened.
Why is there a comma after Semalam?
The comma separates the introductory time phrase (Semalam) from the main clause. This punctuation is common in Malay to help clarify that the time setting applies to the action that follows.
How is past tense expressed in this sentence even though the verb makan isn’t changed?
Malay does not conjugate verbs for tense. Instead, temporal adverbs like Semalam indicate when the action occurred. This means makan remains in its root form regardless of whether it refers to a past, present, or future action.
What is the grammatical structure or word order in Semalam, saya makan nasi?
The sentence follows a basic Subject-Verb-Object order. Saya is the subject (meaning "I"), makan is the verb (meaning "eat/ate"), and nasi is the object (meaning "rice").
How is plurality handled with a noun like nasi in Malay?
In Malay, most nouns remain unchanged regardless of whether they are singular or plural. Nasi means "rice" and, in this context, refers to the food served without needing a separate plural form.