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Questions & Answers about Saya duduk lama di kelas.
What does Saya mean in the sentence "Saya duduk lama di kelas"?
Saya means I. It is the pronoun referring to the speaker, much like “I” in English.
What does the word duduk translate to, and what is its role in the sentence?
Duduk translates to sit. It is the verb that indicates the action performed by the subject, showing that the speaker was sitting.
How does the word lama function in this sentence?
Lama means for a long time. In this sentence, it acts as an adverb modifying the verb duduk, indicating that the sitting continued for an extended period.
What is the role of di in the phrase di kelas?
Di is a preposition that translates as in or at. It indicates the location of the action, so di kelas means “in class” or “in the classroom.”
Why is there no article before kelas, and what does this tell us about Malay grammar?
Malay does not use articles like “the” or “a.” The noun kelas stands alone, with context providing the necessary detail, which reflects a key difference between Malay and English grammar.
How is tense expressed in Malay, given that the sentence "Saya duduk lama di kelas" has no explicit tense markers?
Malay generally does not inflect verbs for tense. Instead, context, time adverbs, or additional phrases indicate the timing of an action. In this sentence, the action’s timing is understood from context without needing a specific tense marker.
What is the overall sentence structure of "Saya duduk lama di kelas"?
The structure follows a typical Malay sentence order: Subject (Saya) + Verb (duduk) + Adverb (lama) + Prepositional Phrase (di kelas). This simple sequence mirrors an English S-V-(adverbial)-PP format, making it straightforward for learners familiar with basic sentence components.