Sebelum bersenam, adik saya meletakkan fail penting di atas bangku dekat pejabat.

Before exercising, my younger sibling places an important file on the bench near the office.

Breakdown of Sebelum bersenam, adik saya meletakkan fail penting di atas bangku dekat pejabat.

• sebelum: before
• penting: important
• pejabat: the office
• bersenam: to exercise
• di atas: on
• meletakkan: to place
• fail: the file
• bangku: the bench
• dekat: near

Questions & Answers about Sebelum bersenam, adik saya meletakkan fail penting di atas bangku dekat pejabat.

What does "Sebelum bersenam" mean?

It means "Before exercising." Here, sebelum translates as "before," and bersenam is the verb form meaning "to exercise."

How is "adik saya" translated into English?

"Adik saya" translates as "my younger sibling." The word adik refers to a younger brother or sister, and saya means "my."

What role does the verb "meletakkan" play in this sentence?

"Meletakkan" means "to place" or "to put." It is a transitive verb that describes the action taken by the subject (adik saya) in the sentence. Notice that Malay verbs do not change form to indicate tense.

What does the phrase "fail penting" signify?

The phrase "fail penting" means "important file." Fail is the direct translation of "file," and penting means "important." In Malay, adjectives typically follow the nouns they modify.

How is the location of the file described in the sentence?

The location is detailed by the phrases "di atas bangku" and "dekat pejabat." Di atas bangku translates as "on top of the bench," and dekat pejabat means "near the office."

Why is there a comma after "Sebelum bersenam"?

The comma is used to separate the introductory adverbial clause "Sebelum bersenam" from the main clause. This punctuation helps clarify that the action of exercising is a temporal marker for the main action that follows.

How is tense conveyed in this Malay sentence since the verbs don't change form?

In Malay, tense is generally inferred from context or through time expressions rather than by conjugating verbs. The use of "sebelum" (meaning "before") sets the time frame, so even though "meletakkan" does not change form, its timing is understood from the context provided.

What are some structural differences between Malay and English as illustrated by this sentence?

One structural difference is the placement of adjectives. In Malay, adjectives like "penting" come after the noun (fail) they modify, while in English such adjectives typically come before the noun. Additionally, Malay does not rely on verb conjugation for tense, instead using context or explicit time markers—such as "sebelum"—to indicate when an action occurs.