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Questions & Answers about Menuai padi biasanya selesai sebelum matahari terbenam.
What does menuai padi mean?
menuai is the verb “to harvest,” and padi means “rice (still in the field).” So menuai padi = “to harvest rice.”
Why is there no explicit subject (like “we” or “they”) in the sentence?
Malay often omits a subject when it’s general or obvious from context. Here, it implies “people” or “farmers” in general, so you don’t need “they” or “we.”
What part of speech is biasanya and where does it normally go?
biasanya is an adverb meaning “usually.” Common placements:
- Before the verb: “biasanya selesai”
- At the start: “Biasanya, menuai padi selesai…”
- At the end: “Menuai padi selesai sebelum matahari terbenam, biasanya.”
What does selesai mean in this sentence?
selesai functions as a verb “to finish” or “to be completed.” So selesai sebelum matahari terbenam means “finished before sunset.”
How is matahari terbenam constructed and what does it mean?
- matahari = “eye of the day,” i.e. the sun
- terbenam = be-prefix ter-
- root benam (“to sink”) = “has sunk”
Together matahari terbenam literally means “the sun has set,” i.e. “sunset.”
- root benam (“to sink”) = “has sunk”
Can I change this to the passive voice?
Yes. Active “Menuai padi biasanya selesai…” → Passive “Padi biasanya dituai sebelum matahari terbenam.”
Here dituai = passive form of menuai.
How is tense or aspect shown in Malay?
Malay does not have verb tenses like English. Instead, you rely on:
- Time adverbs (e.g. biasanya, sebelum)
- Context
In our sentence, biasanya indicates habitual action, and sebelum matahari terbenam gives the time reference.
Could I use panen instead of menuai?
In standard Malay, menuai is the common verb for “harvest” (especially rice). panen is borrowed from Indonesian or technical contexts, so it’s less common in everyday Malay.
Why not say sudah selesai or telah selesai before sebelum?
You could:
- Menuai padi biasanya sudah selesai sebelum matahari terbenam.
- Menuai padi biasanya telah selesai sebelum matahari terbenam.
Both are correct, but sudah/telah adds emphasis that the action is definitely completed. Without them, selesai already conveys completion.