Question 1

Why is itu placed after pengumuman instead of before?

Accepted Answer

In Malay, demonstratives (words like ini “this” and itu “that”) and descriptive adjectives come after the noun they modify. So you say pengumuman itu (lit. “announcement that”) rather than itu pengumuman. This post-nominal position is the standard word order in Malay.

Question 2

What does dibuat mean, and how is it formed?

Accepted Answer

Dibuat is the passive form of the verb buat (“to do/make”). Malay forms passive verbs by adding the prefix di- to the root verb. So:  
• buat → dibuat (“(is/was) made”)  
Since this sentence focuses on the announcement, the doer (agent) is left out.

Question 3

Why is there no subject performing the action in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

Malay passive sentences often omit the agent when it is unknown, obvious from context, or unimportant. The focus here is on what happened (the announcement was made), not who made it.

Question 4

Why is the preposition di used before jabatan?

Accepted Answer

The preposition di marks location (“in/at”). In Malay it simply attaches to the noun:  
• di jabatan saya = “in my department”  
You don’t need an extra word for “at” or “in” beyond di.

Question 5

Could we say dalam jabatan saya instead of di jabatan saya?

Accepted Answer

Yes, dalam jabatan saya (“inside my department”) is grammatically correct and emphasizes being inside a department’s structure. However, Malay speakers commonly use di jabatan saya to mean “at my department” in a workplace context.

Question 6

Why is the time expression pagi tadi placed at the end? Could it go at the beginning?

Accepted Answer

Time phrases in Malay are flexible and can appear at the beginning or end of a sentence. So you could also say:  
• Pagi tadi, pengumuman itu dibuat di jabatan saya.  
Putting pagi tadi first simply shifts the emphasis to when it happened.

Question 7

What is the difference between pagi tadi and tadi pagi?

Accepted Answer

Both mean “this morning,” but tadi pagi is the more common collocation. Pagi tadi is still correct and understood, though slightly less frequent in everyday speech.

Question 8

Could we use ini instead of itu to say “this announcement”?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Pengumuman ini means “this announcement” (something closer to the speaker or contextually immediate), whereas pengumuman itu is “that announcement” (slightly more distant or already mentioned). Use ini when pointing out or introducing something new right in front of you.

Pengumuman itu dibuat di jabatan saya pagi tadi.

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