Learn Hardcore Malay: Awak perlukan latihan memandu sebelum guna kereta baru. - You need driving training before using a new car.

Awak is an informal second-person pronoun (“you”) used among friends, family, or people of similar status. Anda is the polite or formal “you,” often used in official settings, customer service, or when addressing strangers respectfully.

Why is perlukan used here instead of perlu?

Perlukan is a transitive verb meaning “to need” or “to require” and must take a direct object (in this case, latihan memandu). Perlu functions more like “need to” followed by another verb (e.g., Awak perlu tidur = “You need to sleep”). Since the sentence expresses needing something (training), perlukan is appropriate.

Why is the phrase latihan memandu structured as a noun followed by a verb? Could we say latihan untuk memandu instead?

Malay often forms compound nouns by placing the action verb in its root form after the noun, so latihan memandu literally means “training (in) driving.” You can say latihan untuk memandu (“training to drive”), but it’s more wordy and less idiomatic than the concise compound latihan memandu.

Why does the sentence say sebelum guna kereta baru instead of sebelum menggunakan kereta baru?

Guna is the colloquial root verb “to use,” common in everyday speech.
Menggunakan is the formal, prefixed form of the same verb, typical in writing.
Dropping the me- prefix in casual contexts is normal. Also, sebelum (“before”) directly connects to the verb phrase without needing an additional preposition (“to”).

Why is there no article like “the” or “a” before kereta baru?

Malay has no definite or indefinite articles. A noun phrase stands alone, and context determines if it’s “a,” “the,” or just the concept of that noun. To specify, you can add demonstratives:

kereta baru ini = “this new car”
kereta baru itu = “that new car”

Is the sentence formal or informal? How would you make it more formal?

Using awak and guna gives a neutral-to-informal tone. A more formal version might be:
Anda perlu menjalani latihan memandu sebelum menggunakan kereta baharu.
Here, anda, perlu + menjalani, menggunakan, and the adjective baharu contribute to a formal register.

Can we rephrase the sentence using perlu instead of perlukan? How would that look?

Yes. For example:
Awak perlu menjalani latihan memandu sebelum menggunakan kereta baru.
Here, perlu is followed by menjalani (“to undergo”), and the overall meaning remains “You need to take driving lessons before using the new car.”

What is the passive form of this sentence?

A passive equivalent focuses on the training and car rather than on “you”:
Latihan memandu diperlukan sebelum kereta baru digunakan.

Latihan memandu diperlukan = “Driving training is required”
sebelum kereta baru digunakan = “before the new car is used.”

Why is baru placed after kereta and not before?

In Malay, adjectives generally follow the nouns they modify. So kereta baru (“car new”) translates to “new car.” There’s no change in form or agreement—adjectives simply come after nouns.