Usaha awak penting.

Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Malay grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning Malay now

Questions & Answers about Usaha awak penting.

What part of speech is usaha in this sentence?
Usaha is a noun meaning effort. (In other contexts it can also function as a verb meaning “to endeavor,” but here it’s clearly a noun.)
Why is there no word for is (the copula) in Usaha awak penting?

In Malay, you normally drop the copula in present-tense equational sentences. The word adalah can serve as “is,” but it’s optional, especially in informal speech.
– Without adalah: Usaha awak penting.
– With adalah (more formal/emphatic): Usaha awak adalah penting.

What does awak mean and how formal is it?

Awak is the informal second-person pronoun you, widely used in Malaysia.
Anda is the formal “you.”
Kamu is more colloquial and often heard in Indonesia.

Why does awak come after usaha, and how does Malay show possession?

Malay marks possession by placing the pronoun after the noun. For example:
buku saya = “my book”
usaha awak = “your effort”

How would I say My effort is important instead?

Just replace awak with the first-person pronoun saya:
Usaha saya penting.

How can I make Usaha awak penting more formal?

Use anda instead of awak, and you may include adalah for emphasis or formality:
Usaha anda adalah penting.

How do I turn this into a question (“Is your effort important?”)?

Introduce the question particle Adakah at the beginning:
Adakah usaha awak penting?
(Formal version: Adakah usaha anda adalah penting?)

Can I intensify penting to say “very important”?

Yes. Insert sangat (meaning “very”) before penting:
Usaha awak sangat penting.