Dia makan roti manakala saya makan nasi.

He/She eats bread whereas I eat rice.

Breakdown of Dia makan roti manakala saya makan nasi.

• saya: I
• makan: to eat
• dia: he/she
• nasi: the rice
• roti: the bread
• manakala: whereas

Questions & Answers about Dia makan roti manakala saya makan nasi.

What does dia mean in this sentence?

In Malay, dia is a third-person singular pronoun that can mean he or she. The gender is not specified by the word itself, so additional context is needed to determine whether it refers to a male or a female.

What is the function of manakala in this sentence?

Manakala is a conjunction used to contrast two clauses. It translates roughly to "while" or "whereas" in English, indicating that different subjects are performing different, often contrasting, actions simultaneously.

Does the verb makan indicate any specific tense?

No, makan does not change with tense in Malay. Malay verbs remain in their basic form regardless of whether the action is in the past, present, or future. Context or additional time expressions clarify the intended timing of the action.

Why are there no articles like a or the before roti and nasi?

Malay does not use articles in the way English does. Nouns such as roti (bread) and nasi (rice) appear without articles because Malay grammar does not require them to indicate definiteness or indefiniteness.

Is the sentence structured in a Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) order?

Yes, the sentence follows a standard SVO order. In the first clause, dia is the subject, makan is the verb, and roti is the object. Similarly, in the second clause, saya (meaning “I”) is the subject, makan is the verb, and nasi is the object. The conjunction manakala then links these two clauses together.