Learn Hardcore Malay: Awak pernah memandu kereta?

Use awak when speaking casually with friends or people of the same age.
Anda is more formal or polite, often used in business, writing or with strangers.
Kamu is very casual and can sound rude if you use it with someone older or in a formal context.

What role does pernah play in this sentence?

Pernah is an adverb meaning “ever” in the sense of “at any time in the past.” It signals you’re asking about past experience. Placed before the main verb, it turns “you drive a car” into “Have you ever driven a car?”

Why isn’t there an auxiliary verb like “have” or “did” in this Malay question?

Malay doesn’t use separate auxiliary verbs for perfect or past simple tenses. Instead, you indicate aspect/time with words like pernah (ever), sudah (already), or telah (already). The basic structure here is:
Subject (Awak) + Aspect adverb (pernah) + Verb (memandu) + Object (kereta) + rising intonation/question mark.

How do you form a simple yes-no question in Malay?