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Saya simpan gambar itu di dalam telefon saya.

Saya simpan gambar itu di dalam telefon saya.
I store that picture in my phone.
FromLesson 11inHardcore Malay
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Breakdown of Saya simpan gambar itu di dalam telefon saya.

saya
I
itu
that
di
in
dalam
inside
saya
my
telefon
the phone
gambar
the picture
simpan
to store

Questions & Answers about Saya simpan gambar itu di dalam telefon saya.

Why do we use simpan instead of menyimpan in this sentence?
Malay verbs generally remain in their root form regardless of tense or subject. menyimpan is the formal affixed form often found in written Malay or after certain auxiliary words, but in everyday spoken or simple sentences you simply use simpan to mean store/save.
How do you indicate that the action of saving happened in the past?

Malay verbs do not change for tense. To show a completed action you add aspect markers like sudah or telah. For example: • Saya sudah simpan gambar itu di dalam telefon saya – I have already saved that picture in my phone
• Saya telah menyimpan gambar itu di dalam telefon saya – more formal way to express the same in standard Malay

Why is itu placed after gambar, and what does it mean here?
In Malay, demonstratives follow the noun. So itu means that, and gambar itu means that picture. To say this picture you would use gambar ini.
What is the difference between dalam and di dalam?

dalam alone means in, while di dalam combines the locative preposition di with dalam to emphasize inside of something.
• ada dalam telefon saya suggests something is in the phone
• ada di dalam telefon saya stresses that it is inside the phone rather than, for instance, on the screen

How do you express my phone in Malay?
Possessive pronouns follow the noun. To say my phone you say telefon saya.
Why is saya used twice in the sentence?
The first saya is the subject pronoun meaning I. The second saya in telefon saya is the possessive pronoun meaning my. Even though they look the same, they have different roles.
How do you indicate plural for words like picture in Malay?
Malay nouns do not change form for plural. gambar can mean one or many pictures. To be clear you can repeat the word (gambar-gambar) or use quantifiers such as beberapa gambar for several pictures.
Why isn't there an article like the or a before picture?
Malay does not use articles such as the or a. Definiteness or quantity is shown by context, demonstratives (ini, itu), numerals, or classifiers (e.g., sebuah gambar for a picture).
Could you use letak instead of simpan when talking about saving a digital picture?
letak means to place or put, which works for physical objects. For saving or storing a file you use simpan. Saying letak in this context would sound like physically placing something into the phone rather than saving the file.

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