Cawan kosong ini bukti saya sudah minum air.
This empty cup is proof that I have already drunk water.
Breakdown of Cawan kosong ini bukti saya sudah minum air.
saya
I
air
the water
minum
to drink
ini
this
adalah
to be
kosong
empty
sudah
already
cawan
the cup
bukti
proof
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Questions & Answers about Cawan kosong ini bukti saya sudah minum air.
Why is ini placed after cawan kosong instead of before it?
In Malay, demonstratives like ini (“this”) typically follow the noun they modify, unlike English where “this” precedes the noun. So cawan kosong ini literally means “cup empty this,” which we translate as “this empty cup.”
What role does ini play in the sentence?
Here ini is a demonstrative adjective indicating proximity: “this.” It points to the specific empty cup you are talking about. If you wanted to talk about “that empty cup,” you’d use itu instead.
Why is there no linking verb like “is” or adalah before bukti?
Malay often omits the verb “to be” in nominal clauses. Saying Cawan kosong ini bukti saya sudah minum air is grammatically complete. You could add adalah for emphasis or formality—Cawan kosong ini adalah bukti...—but it isn’t required.
What exactly does bukti mean in this context?
Bukti means “proof” or “evidence.” In this sentence, it indicates that the empty cup serves as the evidence that you have already drunk water.
Why is sudah used here, and could I use telah instead?
Sudah means “already” and marks a completed action. Telah is a more formal synonym of sudah. You could say saya telah minum air, but in everyday speech sudah is more common.
What’s the word order rule for saya sudah minum air compared to English?
Malay follows a Subject–Time–Verb–Object (STVO) pattern. Here:
- Subject: saya (I)
- Time/completion marker: sudah (already)
- Verb: minum (drink)
- Object: air (water)
In English, we’d say “I have already drunk water,” which is Subject–Auxiliary–Verb–Object.
Do we need an article like “some” before air, as in “drank some water”?
Malay does not use indefinite articles like “a” or “some.” Air on its own can mean “water” in general. If you really wanted to specify “some water,” you could say sedikit air, but it’s not necessary here.
Could the sentence be ambiguous about saya being the owner of the cup?
No, saya is the subject (“I”), not a possessive pronoun attached to cawan. If you wanted to say “my empty cup,” you’d say cawan kosong saya. In the original sentence, saya clearly refers to the person who drank the water.