Learn Hardcore Malay: Saya mengiringi sepupu saya kembali ke feri sebelum matahari terbenam. - I accompany my cousin back to the ferry before sunset.

mengiringi is the active verb “to accompany” or “to escort.” It comes from the root iring (“to follow, accompany”) plus the verb-forming prefix meN- and the suffix -i. The prefix meN- turns a root into an active, transitive verb, and the suffix -i marks that the action is directed toward an object (i.e., you accompany someone).

Why does the meN- prefix in mengiringi appear as meng- here?

The nasal N in meN- assimilates to match the initial sound of the root. Since iring starts with the vowel i, the N becomes ng, yielding meng-. Thus meN-iring → mengiring.

Why is there an -i suffix on mengiringi, and could -kan be used instead?

The suffix -i indicates that the verb takes a direct object without implying a change of state for that object. With iring, only -i is standard (giving mengiringi = “accompany someone”). The alternative suffix -kan usually means “to cause something” or “to provide something for someone,” and mengirikan is not used.

What role does kembali play in this sentence?

Here kembali is an adverb meaning “back” or “again.” It modifies mengiringi to show direction: “accompany my cousin back” to the ferry. It is not the main verb.

What does the preposition ke indicate in ke feri?

ke means “to” or “towards,” marking the destination of the action. So ke feri = “to the ferry.”

How is possession shown in sepupu saya, and why is saya used twice?

In Malay, possessive pronouns follow the noun, so sepupu saya = “my cousin.” The first saya is the subject pronoun (“I”), and the second is the possessive (“my”). They serve different roles and are both needed for clarity.

Why is there no past-tense marker on the verb? How do we know it’s past?

Malay verbs do not inflect for tense. Time is inferred from context or time words. Here, sebelum matahari terbenam (“before the sun set”) signals that the action took place in the past. If you wanted to be explicit, you could add sudah or telah before the verb to mean “already.”

How does sebelum matahari terbenam function, and what do these words mean?

sebelum is a preposition/conjunction meaning “before.” matahari = “sun,” and terbenam = “has set,” from the stative prefix ter- plus benam (“to submerge”). Together matahari terbenam means “sunset.” So sebelum matahari terbenam = “before sunset.”

What is the meaning of the prefix ter- in terbenam?

ter- often forms stative or involuntary verbs in Malay. In terbenam, it denotes the state of the sun having set. Thus terbenam means “to be set” (sunset).