Learn Hardcore Malay: Dia berpesan supaya saya berjalan di sebelah kiri laluan sempit itu. - He/She advised me to walk on the left side of that narrow path.

berpesan uses the ber- prefix on pesan to form an intransitive verb meaning “to instruct/advise/ask someone to do something.” In contrast, memesan uses the me- prefix to form a transitive verb meaning “to order/request something” (e.g., food, tickets). They share the same root pesan, but the different affixes change both the meaning and how the verb is used grammatically.

Why is supaya used here, and how is it different from untuk or agar?

supaya introduces a subordinate clause with its own subject and indicates purpose or intended result (“so that”).
untuk attaches directly to a verb or noun to express purpose without a new subject (e.g., untuk berjalan = “to walk”).
agar is similar to supaya but slightly more formal or literary.

In this sentence, supaya links Dia berpesan to saya berjalan, showing what he instructed.

How do we know the tense of berpesan and berjalan in Malay?

Malay verbs do not change form for past, present, or future. Context or time markers (like telah or sudah for past) indicate tense. For example:

Dia berpesan can mean “He tells me” (present) or “He told me” (past).
To make the past explicit, add sudah or telah: Dia sudah berpesan…

Why is berjalan used instead of jalan?

berjalan is the standard intransitive verb “to walk,” formed with the ber- prefix.
jalan by itself can be a root verb in casual speech or a noun meaning “road/path.”

In formal contexts and writing, berjalan clearly marks the action of walking.

What does di sebelah kiri mean, and why is the preposition di necessary?

di is a locative preposition meaning “at/on/in.”
sebelah is a bound noun meaning “side.”
kiri means “left.”

Together, di sebelah kiri = “on the left side.” The di is needed to show location. Without it, you’d just have “left side” as a noun phrase.

What is the structure of laluan sempit itu, and what does each word mean?

laluan = “path” or “route” (noun)
sempit = “narrow” (adjective)
itu = “that” (demonstrative)

In Malay, adjectives follow nouns, and demonstratives follow the entire noun phrase. So laluan sempit itu = “that narrow path.”

Why does itu come at the end of the noun phrase?

Malay grammar places demonstratives (like itu = “that”) after the noun phrase they modify. This differs from English, where the demonstrative precedes the noun.

Can the subject pronoun saya be omitted in supaya saya berjalan?

Yes, Malay often drops pronouns when context makes the subject clear. You could say Dia berpesan supaya berjalan di sebelah kiri laluan sempit itu. However, including saya removes ambiguity, especially in writing.

Is it possible to drop supaya and say Dia pesan saya berjalan…?

In informal spoken Malay, you might hear Dia pesan saya jalan di sebelah kiri… without supaya and with the root verb jalan. While understandable, it’s less formal and the structure is more abrupt than using berpesan supaya saya berjalan.