Learn Hardcore Malay: Saya baca berita pagi ini tentang gerai baharu di depan stesen. - I read the news this morning about a new stall in front of the station.

In this sentence, pagi ini (this morning) gives the time reference, so in natural English we understand it as “I read the news this morning …” (a completed action).

To make tense/aspect clearer, Malay often adds particles:

Saya sedang baca berita… – I am reading the news (right now).
Saya sudah / telah baca berita… – I have (already) read / I read the news.
Saya akan baca berita… – I will read the news.

Without these markers, the time word (pagi ini) and context decide the tense in translation.

What’s the difference between baca and membaca? Is Saya membaca berita pagi ini… also correct?

Both are correct; the difference is mainly style and formality.

Saya baca berita…
– More informal / everyday speech, especially in Malaysia and Indonesia.
– Uses the bare root verb baca.
Saya membaca berita…
– More formal or written style.
– Uses the meN- verb form membaca.

In most everyday conversation you’ll hear Saya baca. In formal writing, news reports, essays, or exams, Saya membaca is often preferred.

Grammatically, both mean the same thing: I read / am reading the news.

When should I use saya instead of aku for I?

Both saya and aku mean I, but they differ in politeness and context:

Saya
- Polite, neutral, and safe in almost all situations.
- Used with strangers, older people, formal situations, work, studies.
- Works fine with this sentence: Saya baca berita…
Aku
- Informal and intimate.
- Used with close friends, family (depending on culture), or when talking to yourself.
- Saying Aku baca berita… is casual and might sound too familiar or rude with someone you don’t know well.

If in doubt, choose saya.

Can I move pagi ini to a different place in the sentence, and does the meaning change?

Yes, you can move pagi ini (this morning) around. The meaning stays essentially the same; only the emphasis changes slightly.

Common options:

Pagi ini, saya baca berita tentang gerai baharu di depan stesen.
– Emphasis on this morning.
Saya baca berita pagi ini tentang gerai baharu di depan stesen.
– Neutral; time is in the middle (like your original).
Saya baca berita tentang gerai baharu di depan stesen pagi ini.
– Also natural; slight emphasis on when this news was read.

Malay is quite flexible with time expressions; they often appear at the beginning or after the verb phrase.

What exactly does tentang mean here, and are there other ways to say about?

Tentang means about / regarding / concerning and introduces the topic of the news:

berita … tentang gerai baharu
– news … about a new stall

Other common ways to say about (depending on context):

mengenai – about, regarding (a bit more formal)
perihal – about, regarding (formal/literary)
soal – about the issue of, in terms of (more like “the matter of”)

You could also say:

Saya baca berita pagi ini mengenai gerai baharu di depan stesen.

In everyday speech, tentang is very common and perfectly natural.

Why is it gerai baharu and not baharu gerai? What is the usual noun–adjective order?

In Malay, adjectives usually come after the noun they describe.

gerai baharu = new stall
(gerai = stall, baharu = new)

So the pattern is:

noun + adjective
- baju merah – red shirt
- rumah besar – big house
- telefon lama – old phone

Baharu gerai would be wrong in standard Malay; the adjective almost always follows the noun.

What’s the difference between baharu and baru? Which should I use?

Both can mean new, but there are nuances:

baharu
- More formal and closer to the “pure” Malay form.
- Common in formal writing, official documents, or careful speech.
- In your sentence, gerai baharu sounds slightly formal/standard.
baru
- Very common in everyday speech.
- Can mean new, but also just / recently depending on context:
  - gerai baru – new stall
  - saya baru baca berita – I just read the news

In casual conversation, gerai baru is extremely common. In formal or written contexts, gerai baharu is a good choice.

How does di depan work, and what’s the difference between di depan, depan, and di hadapan?

Di is a preposition meaning at / in / on, and depan means front.

di depan stesen – in front of the station

Comparisons:

di depan
- Neutral, common, standard.
- Used very widely in both speech and writing.
depan stesen
- In casual speech, people sometimes drop di, especially in some dialects or fast speech.
- Standard Malay prefers di depan stesen.
di hadapan stesen
- More formal or literary; also means in front of the station.
- Often found in written instructions, signs, or formal texts.

So di depan stesen is the most natural, general-purpose choice here.

How do I know if stesen means the station or a station, since there’s no a/the in Malay?

Malay doesn’t use articles like a or the. The noun stesen by itself can be translated as:

a station
the station

Which one you choose in English depends on context and what sounds natural.

To be more specific, Malay can add:

sebuah stesen – a station (one station; sebuah is a classifier)
stesen itu – that station / the station (specific)
stesen ini – this station

In your sentence, di depan stesen will usually be translated as in front of the station, because in English that sounds more natural than in front of a station unless you’re introducing it for the first time in a very generic way.

Is berita singular or plural? How would I say news stories or pieces of news?

Berita is like English news – it doesn’t normally change form for singular/plural.

Saya baca berita pagi ini.
– I read the news this morning.
(Could be one item or many; context decides.)

To be more specific:

beberapa berita – several news items
banyak berita – a lot of news
berita-berita – news items (reduplication for plural; sounds a bit formal/emphatic)

If you want to emphasize multiple stories, you might say:

Saya baca beberapa berita pagi ini tentang gerai baharu di depan stesen.
– I read several news stories this morning about the new stall in front of the station.

If I want to say clearly that I have already finished reading the news, how can I change the sentence?

You can add sudah or telah before the verb:

Saya sudah baca berita pagi ini tentang gerai baharu di depan stesen.
Saya telah membaca berita pagi ini tentang gerai baharu di depan stesen.

Notes:

sudah – very common in speech and writing; means already / have (done).
telah – more formal; often seen in written or official language.

Both make it clear that the action is completed: I have (already) read the news this morning…