Saya belajar di universiti tahun lalu.

I studied at university last year.

Breakdown of Saya belajar di universiti tahun lalu.

• saya: I
• di: at
• belajar: to study
• universiti: the university
• tahun lalu: last year

Questions & Answers about Saya belajar di universiti tahun lalu.

Why is there no article before universiti?

Malay does not use articles like the or a. Nouns stand alone. To make it definite you can add a demonstrative after the noun (e.g., universiti itu for “that university”) or an indefinite classifier before (e.g., sebuah universiti for “a university”).

What does di mean in di universiti?

di is a locative preposition meaning “at” or “in.” It is placed directly before place nouns. It’s different from ke, which indicates direction (“to the university”) rather than static location.

Why isn’t there a past tense marker on belajar?

Malay verbs are not inflected. There’s no change in the verb form for past, present, or future. Instead, tense is shown by context or time expressions like tahun lalu.

Can I add telah or sudah to emphasize the past action?

Yes. telah or sudah are auxiliary words that mark aspect (completion). Both options are correct:

• Saya belajar di universiti tahun lalu.
• Saya telah belajar di universiti tahun lalu.
  Adding telah or sudah makes the past aspect explicit but isn't required.

Is tahun lepas the same as tahun lalu?

Yes, both mean “last year.” tahun lalu is a bit more formal or common in writing, while tahun lepas is more colloquial in speech. They’re interchangeable in most contexts.

Do I need pada before tahun lalu?

No, you can drop pada. Time expressions like tahun lalu often stand alone. If you want a more formal style, you may add pada (e.g., pada tahun lalu), but it's optional.

Why is tahun lalu at the end of the sentence?

In Malay, time expressions typically follow the verb phrase or come at the end. The usual order is Subject–Verb–Object–Time (S–V–O–T).

Why is there no object after belajar, and how would I specify the subject I studied?

Here belajar is used intransitively (“to study” in general). To mention what you studied, add an object immediately after the verb:

• Saya belajar sejarah di universiti tahun lalu.
  This adds the field (“history”) as the direct object of belajar.