Learn Hardcore Malay: Saya tulis tarikh penting pada kalendar supaya saya tidak lupa hantar permohonan dan hadir temu duga tepat pada masanya. - I write important dates on the calendar so that I do not forget to send the application and attend the interview on time.

Saya tulis
- Uses the base verb tulis.
- Common in spoken Malay and in more informal or neutral writing.
- Often used in sequences of actions or habitual statements:
  - Setiap tahun, saya tulis tarikh penting pada kalendar.
Saya menulis
- Uses the meN- verb menulis, which sounds a bit more formal or explicit.
- Slightly emphasizes the action of writing itself.
- More common when you’re focusing on the activity of writing (e.g. writing articles, books, letters).

In this sentence, Saya tulis tarikh penting… sounds natural, everyday, and perfectly acceptable. You could say Saya menulis tarikh penting… without changing the meaning, just making it a little more formal-sounding.

How do we know the tense of saya tulis when there is no past/present/future marker?

Malay usually does not mark tense on the verb. Saya tulis can mean:

I write (habitually)
I am writing (right now)
I wrote (in the past, in the right context)
I will write (in the future, in the right context)

The time is understood from:

Context of the conversation
- If you’re talking about your usual habit, it’s understood as:
  - I write important dates on the calendar (as a habit).
Time words, if present
- tadi, semalam, esok, setiap tahun, selalu, etc., would clarify the timeframe.

In this sentence, the presence of supaya saya tidak lupa… suggests a general habit or strategy:

I write important dates on the calendar so that I don’t forget…

Why is it tarikh penting, not penting tarikh?

In Malay, the usual order is:

Noun + Adjective

So:

tarikh penting = important dates
orang kaya = rich person
baju merah = red shirt

Putting the adjective first (penting tarikh) is incorrect in standard Malay. The adjective follows the noun it describes.

Why does the sentence use pada kalendar instead of di kalendar or dalam kalendar?

All three can appear in real usage, but they have slightly different feels:

pada kalendar
- Often used in more formal or careful writing.
- Grammatically safe and accepted in standard Malay.
- Can sound a bit more “bookish”.
di kalendar
- Very common in speech.
- Many people would naturally say: Saya tulis tarikh penting di kalendar.
dalam kalendar
- Literally inside the calendar, more natural if you imagine entries within a planner/diary, not physically on the surface.
- E.g. Saya catat nota dalam kalendar telefon saya.

In this sentence, pada kalendar is fine and standard. In everyday spoken Malay, you will also hear di kalendar a lot, and it’s acceptable in most contexts.

What exactly does supaya mean here, and can I replace it with untuk or agar?

Supaya means so that / in order that, expressing a purpose with a clear result you want to achieve.

Saya tulis tarikh penting pada kalendar supaya saya tidak lupa…
= I write the important dates on the calendar so that I don’t forget…

Possible alternatives:

agar
- Very similar to supaya, slightly more formal or literary.
- You can say: …agar saya tidak lupa… with the same meaning.
untuk
- Usually translates as to / for / in order to.
- It is more natural before a verb phrase, not a full clause with a separate subject.
- More natural:
  - Saya tulis tarikh penting pada kalendar untuk mengelakkan saya lupa.
- Less natural in this exact structure:
  - ✗ untuk saya tidak lupa (heard, but stylistically weaker than supaya/agar).

So here, supaya is the most natural choice for so that I don’t forget….

Why do we use tidak and not jangan in supaya saya tidak lupa?

Malay has two main negatives:

tidak
- Used for statements with verbs or adjectives.
- Example: Saya tidak lupa. = I do not forget.
jangan
- Used for commands, prohibitions, or warnings.
- Example: Jangan lupa! = Don’t forget!

In the sentence:

supaya saya tidak lupa
= so that I do not forget (a statement about what you want to avoid happening)

If you said:

supaya saya jangan lupa

it would sound off in standard Malay, because jangan is for telling someone (including yourself) not to do something, not for a neutral statement about a hoped-for result. The correct standard form here is tidak.

Why are hantar and hadir used without meN- prefixes (menghantar, menghadiri)?

Malay verbs often have two forms:

Base form: hantar, hadir
meN- form: menghantar, menghadiri (note that hadir → menghadiri slightly changes the meaning)

In this sentence:

…supaya saya tidak lupa hantar permohonan dan hadir temu duga…

This is natural because:

The subject saya is clearly understood from earlier in the clause.
- Both hantar and hadir share saya as their subject.
In many everyday and even semi-formal contexts, the base verb is fine after tidak lupa or boleh/mahu/perlu, etc.
- saya mahu hantar
- jangan lupa bayar
- saya perlu hadir

menghantar would also be correct, just more explicitly verbal:

…supaya saya tidak lupa menghantar permohonan dan menghadiri temu duga…

However, notice the nuance:

hadir temu duga = attend (be present at) the interview
menghadiri temu duga = attend the interview (more formal, “to attend something”)

Both are acceptable; the original is slightly more neutral and everyday.

What is permohonan, and how is it related to the verb mohon?

Mohon is a verb meaning to apply / to request.

Permohonan is a noun formed with per-…-an, a common pattern in Malay:

mohon (to apply) → permohonan (an application)
daftar (to register) → pendaftaran (registration)
bantu (to help) → bantuan (help, assistance)

So:

hantar permohonan = send/submit an application
(for example, a job application, scholarship application, etc.)

If you want to be very explicit, you might see:

hantar borang permohonan = send the application form.

What does temu duga mean, and is it different from temuduga or interviu?

Temu duga literally comes from:

temu = meet
duga = to test/assess (in this compound)

Together, temu duga = interview (usually a job or formal interview).

About the variants:

temu duga
- This spaced form is preferred in standard Malay (Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, DBP).
- Used in formal writing, official documents, exams, etc.
temuduga
- The same word written as one unit; very common in everyday usage.
- You will see it in ads, informal writing, and speech.
interviu
- A loanword from interview.
- Understood, but temu duga/temuduga is more “Malay” and more common in formal contexts.

In your sentence, hadir temu duga = attend the interview.

What does tepat pada masanya mean exactly, and are there simpler alternatives?

Tepat pada masanya can be broken down as:

tepat = exact, precise, on the dot
pada = on/at
masanya = its time / the (expected) time

So the phrase means on time / at the correct time / punctually.

Common alternatives you might hear:

tepat pada masa (without -nya)
tepat masa
datang tepat waktu
datang tepat pada waktunya

All of these express the idea of being punctual.
In more casual speech, people might simply say:

jangan lewat = don’t be late
pastikan anda sampai awal / tepat masa

Can I drop the second saya and say supaya tidak lupa hantar permohonan…?

Yes, you can say:

Saya tulis tarikh penting pada kalendar supaya tidak lupa hantar permohonan dan hadir temu duga tepat pada masanya.

In Malay, if the subject is clear from context, it can often be omitted in the following clause. The meaning remains:

…so that I do not forget…

Keeping saya:

supaya saya tidak lupa…

makes it slightly clearer and more formal/explicit, but omitting it is common, especially in speech and informal writing. Both are acceptable.

Why isn’t tarikh penting made explicitly plural, like tarikh-tarikh penting?

Malay does not require explicit plural marking. Plurality is often understood from context.

tarikh penting can mean:
- an important date
- important dates

If you really want to emphasize that it is more than one date, you can duplicate the noun:

tarikh-tarikh penting = important dates (with stronger plural sense)

In everyday usage, tarikh penting is usually enough, especially with a context like a calendar, where it’s natural to assume there are multiple dates.