Malam itu, ibu saya memasak sup panas di dapur.

That night, my mother cooked hot soup in the kitchen.

Breakdown of Malam itu, ibu saya memasak sup panas di dapur.

• di: in
• memasak: to cook
• panas: hot
• dapur: the kitchen
• ibu: the mother
• sup: the soup
• malam itu: that night

Questions & Answers about Malam itu, ibu saya memasak sup panas di dapur.

Why is there a comma after Malam itu?

In Malay, it’s common to set off time expressions like Malam itu (that night) with a comma when they appear at the beginning of a sentence. It helps signal to the reader that you’re establishing when something happened before moving on to the main clause.

What does Malam itu literally mean, and why isn’t there an article like “the”?

Literally, Malam itu means that night. Malay doesn’t use articles like the or a. Instead, you indicate specificity with words like itu (that) or ini (this). So malam (night) + itu (that) = that night.

Why is it ibu saya instead of saya ibu for “my mother”?

Malay marks possession by putting the possessor after the noun. So you always say noun + saya to mean my noun. Hence ibu saya (mother my) = my mother. Reversing it to saya ibu would sound like I am mother.

Could we just say ibu instead of ibu saya?

Yes, if context makes it clear whose mother you mean, you can just say ibu. But if you’re referring specifically to your mother and need to avoid confusion, you say ibu saya.

What is the role of the prefix me- in memasak?

The prefix me- is an active verb prefix. You attach it to the root masak (cook) to form memasak (to cook). Because masak starts with m, it becomes memasak through a simple attachment of the prefix (no sound change).

How do you express past tense in Malay? Why isn’t there a tense marker on memasak?

Malay doesn’t inflect verbs for tense. Instead, you use time words (like malam itu) or adverbs (like sudah for already) to show when something happened. Here, malam itu tells us it’s in the past, so memasak stays the same.

Why is it sup panas instead of panas sup?

In Malay, adjectives come after the noun they modify. So you always say noun + adjective, e.g. sup panas (soup hot) = hot soup.

What does di dapur mean? How does the preposition di work?

Di is a preposition meaning in/at/on. So di dapur means in the kitchen. Malay uses di + location to mark where an action takes place.

Could you say memasak sup panas di dalam dapur?

Yes. Adding dalam (inside) after di — making di dalam dapur — emphasizes inside the kitchen. It’s slightly more specific but not required if you just mean “in the kitchen.”

Why is the sentence in active voice with memasak, not passive like dimasak?

Active voice (memasak) is used because ibu saya is the doer (agent) of cooking. If you say sup panas dimasak oleh ibu saya, you’d be using passive voice: the hot soup was cooked by my mother. Both are correct, but the active is more direct.