Questions & Answers about Lif di hotel ini laju dan senang digunakan.
Why isn’t there a verb like is (or adalah) in this sentence?
In Malay, the copula “is/are” (often adalah) is frequently omitted in simple descriptive sentences. You can say Lif ini laju and it’s understood as “This elevator is fast” without inserting a separate word for “is.”
Why do the adjectives laju (fast) and senang digunakan (easy to use) come after the noun lif (elevator)?
Malay adjective order is noun + adjective. English places adjectives before nouns (“fast elevator”), but Malay places them after (“lif laju”). The same goes for phrases: lif senang digunakan means “elevator easy to use.”
What does di hotel ini literally mean, and why is di used?
di is the preposition “at/in.” So di hotel ini literally means “at this hotel.” In Malay, locative phrases put di before the place name, and the demonstrative ini follows the noun (“hotel ini” = “this hotel”).
Why does ini come after hotel, unlike English where “this” comes before the noun?
Malay demonstratives (ini = “this,” itu = “that”) follow the noun they modify. So you say hotel ini (“hotel this”) rather than ini hotel.