Questions & Answers about Petang tadi, saya bersenam di taman.
What does Petang tadi mean, and why is it placed at the beginning of the sentence?
Petang tadi literally means evening earlier but is used idiomatically as this afternoon (earlier today in the afternoon). In Malay, time expressions often come at the front to set the context, though you could also say Saya bersenam di taman petang tadi with the same meaning.
How does Malay express past tense? Why isn't there a word like did or an -ed ending?
Malay does not inflect verbs for tense. Instead, it relies on time markers such as tadi or semalam (yesterday) and context. The verb bersenam remains in its base form regardless of past or present; the presence of tadi tells us this happened in the past.
What does bersenam mean, and how does the ber- prefix function here?
Bersenam means to exercise. The prefix ber- is a verb-forming affix indicating an action or activity (often intransitive). The root senam is a noun meaning exercise or gymnastics.
Why is there no direct object after bersenam? Can you exercise something in Malay?
Bersenam is an intransitive verb, meaning to exercise oneself, so it does not take a direct object. If you practice a specific sport, you use a different verb, for example bermain bola ().