Learn Hardcore Malay: Saya tiba lima minit sebelum mesyuarat. - I arrive five minutes before the meeting.

tiba means to arrive at a destination. It is the standard/written term for arrived. sampai is more colloquial for arrive or get to, and datang means to come (movement toward the speaker or context) but can sometimes mean arrive too.

How do you indicate past tense in Malay? Why isn’t there a past-tense verb here?

Malay verbs don’t change form for tense. You indicate time with words like lima minit sebelum or optional particles such as telah or sudah before the verb. You could say Saya telah tiba to make the past explicit, but lima minit sebelum already implies the past.

Why is there no article like the before mesyuarat, and how would you say the meeting explicitly?

Malay does not use definite or indefinite articles. mesyuarat can mean either a meeting or the meeting, depending on context. To specify “that meeting,” you can say mesyuarat itu or mesyuarat ini for “this meeting.”

Why isn’t minit pluralized with an “s” or doubled as minit-minit?

Measure words like minit, jam, and hari remain unchanged in singular and plural. Quantity is shown by the number: satu minit, lima minit, etc.

Can you move the time phrase lima minit sebelum mesyuarat to the beginning of the sentence?

Yes. For emphasis, you can say Lima minit sebelum mesyuarat, saya tiba. Within that phrase, lima minit (duration) must precede sebelum mesyuarat. Sebelum mesyuarat lima minit, saya tiba is not correct.

Why doesn’t this sentence include a preposition like di before mesyuarat?

sebelum is a preposition meaning before, so you don’t add di. If you say Saya tiba di mesyuarat, it means I arrived at the meeting (location), not before the meeting.

Is saya necessary here, or can the pronoun be omitted?

Subject pronouns like saya can be dropped when context is clear. Tiba lima minit sebelum mesyuarat still conveys I arrived five minutes before the meeting. Including saya adds clarity or formality.