Learn Hardcore Malay: Ayah saya membeli baju baru di kedai yang murah. - My father buys a new shirt at the cheap shop.

Ayah saya translates to "my father". The word ayah means "father", and saya is the first-person pronoun that, when placed after a noun, indicates possession—so it conveys "my".

What does membeli mean, and how is it formed?

Membeli means "to buy" (or contextually, "bought"). It combines the prefix mem- with the root beli (meaning "buy"). In Malay, verbs are not conjugated for tense; instead, the time of the action is understood from context or accompanying time expressions.

Why is the adjective baru placed after the noun baju?

In Malay, adjectives typically follow the noun they modify. Thus, baju baru literally means "shirt new", which is understood as "new shirt" in English. This is different from English, where adjectives usually precede the noun.

What role does yang play in the phrase kedai yang murah?

Yang acts as a relative pronoun in Malay. In kedai yang murah, it links the noun kedai (shop) with the adjective murah (cheap), forming a relative clause that means "shop that is cheap."

Why is the preposition di used before kedai, and what does it indicate?

The preposition di in Malay denotes location, much like "in" or "at" in English. In the sentence, di kedai yang murah tells us "at a shop that is cheap," indicating where the action took place.

How does Malay express tense in a sentence like this without changing the verb form?

Malay verbs, such as membeli, do not alter their form to indicate different tenses. Instead, the language uses context, time markers, or adverbs to convey whether an action is in the past, present, or future. In this sentence, even though membeli is in its base form, context lets the learner know it refers to an action that has already occurred.