Breakdown of Sepupu saya berharap dapat melukis pemandangan pulau di seberang sungai itu.
itu
that
di seberang
across
dapat
to be able
sungai
the river
pemandangan
the view
sepupu
the cousin
berharap
to hope
melukis
to draw
pulau
the island
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Questions & Answers about Sepupu saya berharap dapat melukis pemandangan pulau di seberang sungai itu.
What does Sepupu saya mean, and why is the word order “noun + saya” instead of “saya + noun”?
Sepupu means “cousin” and saya means “my.” In Malay, the possessed noun comes before the possessor, so Sepupu saya literally reads “cousin my,” i.e. “my cousin.” There’s no need for an apostrophe or separate possessive marker.
What is the role of berharap in this sentence?
berharap is the verb “to hope.” It’s formed by adding the active prefix ber- to the root harap. Here it tells us that “my cousin” is doing the hoping. Malay verbs with ber- do not change form for person, number, or tense.
Why do we have dapat after berharap, as in berharap dapat melukis?
dapat means “can” or “be able to.” When you say berharap dapat [verb], you stress “hope to be able to [do something].” Without dapat, berharap melukis would simply mean “hope to draw,” but with dapat it adds the nuance of ability (“hopes to be able to draw”).
What does melukis mean, and why is it not just lukis?
melukis means “to draw” or “to paint.” It’s formed from the base lukis by adding the active prefix me- (which assimilates to me- before l, giving melukis). The me- prefix turns the root into a transitive action verb.
What is pemandangan, and how is this noun derived?
pemandangan means “view” or “scenery.” It comes from the root pandang (“to look”) with the instrument/result noun affixes peN- and -an, so pemandangan literally means “the result/view of looking.”
Why isn’t there a word for “the” or “a” before pemandangan pulau?
Malay does not use definite or indefinite articles like “the” or “a.” Nouns stand alone, and specificity is shown by context or by adding demonstratives (e.g. itu = “that”). Here pemandangan pulau simply means “the view of the island,” understood from context.
Why is di used in di seberang sungai itu, and what does seberang mean?
di is a locative preposition meaning “at” or “on.” seberang means “the opposite side.” Together di seberang sungai means “on the other side of the river.”
What is itu doing after sungai, and could we omit it?
itu is a distal demonstrative meaning “that,” so sungai itu means “that river.” It makes the reference specific or indicates distance from the speaker. You could drop itu if the river is already clear from context, but including it emphasizes “that particular river over there.”