Learn Hardcore Malay: Peminat menunggu penyanyi di tepi pentas. - Fans wait for the singer at the side of the stage.

peminat means fan or enthusiast (someone who likes or supports something). It comes from the root minat (interest) with the agentive prefix pe-. Malay nouns do not change form for number, so peminat can mean a fan, the fan, or fans, depending on context.

How do you form menunggu from tunggu, and why doesn’t Malay use for after it?

The root tunggu means wait. Adding the active verb prefix meN- (which assimilates to the first consonant of the root) turns it into menunggu (waiting). In Malay, menunggu directly takes its object, so wait for the singer is simply menunggu penyanyi, without inserting a separate preposition for for.

What is the meaning and structure of penyanyi?

penyanyi means singer. It is formed from the verb root nyanyi (sing) plus the agentive prefix peN- and the suffix -i, creating a noun that denotes someone who performs the action.

Why are there no words like a or the in this sentence?

Malay does not use articles equivalent to a or the. Nouns stand alone, and context (or a word like satu for one) indicates definiteness or indefiniteness.

What role does di play in di tepi pentas?

di is a locative preposition meaning at, on, or in. It goes immediately before a noun or noun phrase to mark location. So di tepi pentas means at the side of the stage.

Can you explain tepi pentas, and why it’s not reversed as in English (stage side)?

In Malay, “at the side of X” is expressed as di tepi X. tepi means side and pentas means stage. You do not say pentas tepi or use of; the pattern is always di + tepi + place, e.g., di tepi pentas.

What is the basic word order here? Is Malay always SVO like English?

Malay’s default sentence structure is Subject-Verb-Object (SVO). In our example it is Peminat (Subject) menunggu (Verb) penyanyi (Object) di tepi pentas (adverbial phrase of place). Most simple Malay sentences follow this SVO pattern.