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Questions & Answers about Saya lihat anjing di taman.
What does saya mean in this sentence?
saya means “I.” It is the first person singular pronoun and serves as the subject of the sentence.
Why is there no article (such as a or the) before anjing?
Malay does not use articles like a or the as English does. Nouns are used without these determiners, and context helps the listener or reader understand whether the reference is definite or indefinite.
How is tense indicated in Malay, given that the verb lihat doesn’t change form?
In Malay, verbs do not conjugate for tense. The verb lihat remains the same whether the action is past, present, or future. Tense is usually understood from context or specified with time markers such as sudah (already), sedang (currently), or akan (will).
What does di taman mean, and how is it used in the sentence?
di taman translates to “in the park.” The word di is a preposition indicating location, and taman means “park.” Together, they describe where the action takes place.
Can lihat mean both “see” and “look at”? How do I know which is intended here?
Yes, lihat can mean either “to see” (a passive act of perceiving) or “to look at” (a more active observance). In this sentence, without any additional context or modifiers, it is generally understood to mean “see” in the sense of noticing or perceiving the dog.
What is the overall word order of the sentence, and how does it compare to English?
The sentence follows a Subject-Verb-Object-Place order: saya (subject) + lihat (verb) + anjing (object) + di taman (place). This order is similar to English, though English typically requires articles (e.g., “I see a dog in the park”) and may use auxiliary verbs for tense.
How do I indicate plurality in Malay, since anjing doesn’t explicitly show if it’s singular or plural?
Malay generally relies on context to indicate whether a noun is singular or plural. If you need to emphasize plurality, you can repeat the noun (for example, anjing-anjing to mean “dogs”), but in many cases the context makes the number clear without any changes to the noun.