Esok pagi, saya akan berjoging di taman.

Tomorrow morning, I will jog in the park.

Breakdown of Esok pagi, saya akan berjoging di taman.

• saya: I
• di: in
• taman: the park
• akan: will
• berjoging: to jog
• esok pagi: tomorrow morning

Questions & Answers about Esok pagi, saya akan berjoging di taman.

Why does the sentence start with esok pagi? Can I put the time later in the sentence?

Malay often puts time expressions at the beginning of the sentence to set the scene, but the position is flexible. All of these are grammatical and natural:

• Esok pagi, saya akan berjoging di taman.
• Saya akan berjoging di taman esok pagi.

Both mean the same thing. Starting with esok pagi puts a little extra emphasis on when it happens. Putting it at the end is more neutral, closer to typical English word order.

Is the comma after esok pagi necessary?

In writing, a comma after a fronted time phrase like esok pagi is common but not strictly required. It just shows a small pause:

• With comma (very common): Esok pagi, saya akan berjoging di taman.
• Without comma (also acceptable): Esok pagi saya akan berjoging di taman.

In speech, people naturally pause there, but in everyday writing you will see both versions.

What does esok pagi literally mean? Is it different from esok or pagi esok?

• esok = tomorrow
• pagi = morning
  So esok pagi literally = tomorrow morning.

Some related expressions:

• esok – tomorrow (no time of day specified)
• pagi – (a) morning / in the morning (today, or understood from context)
• pagi esok – also tomorrow morning, used more in some dialects or in narratives (e.g. the next morning after some past event).

In everyday Malaysian Malay, esok pagi is very natural for tomorrow morning.

What is the function of akan? Is it like English “will”?

Yes, akan is roughly equivalent to English will or going to.

• saya berjoging – I jog / I am jogging (no time specified)
• saya akan berjoging – I will jog / I am going to jog

Important point: Malay verbs themselves do not change for tense. akan is a separate word that adds a future meaning, especially for plans or intentions.

Do I really need akan if I already say esok pagi?

You don’t need akan here; the time word esok pagi already makes it clear that it’s in the future.

All of these are understandable:

• Esok pagi, saya akan berjoging di taman.
• Esok pagi, saya berjoging di taman.

Differences:

• With akan: a bit more explicit, careful, or formal; often used in writing or polite speech.
• Without akan: very natural in everyday conversation; the future time is understood from esok pagi.

So akan is not redundant, but it’s optional when you already have a future time expression.

What does the ber- prefix in berjoging do? Can I just say joging?

The prefix ber- often turns a noun or root into an intransitive verb meaning to have / engage in / do X.

• joging (from English jogging) – the activity jogging
• berjoging – to jog / to go jogging

In standard Malay:

• berjoging is the more correct, dictionary-style form for the verb.

In informal spoken Malay:

• Many people just say joging as a verb: Esok pagi, saya jogging di taman.
  This is very common in speech but less formal/standard.

So:

• Formal / neutral: berjoging
• Casual speech: joging is widely understood and used.

If I want to say “run” instead of “jog”, what word should I use?

The common verbs are:

• berlari – to run
• lari – to run (also very common; ber- is often dropped in everyday speech)

So your sentence could become:

• Esok pagi, saya akan berlari di taman.
• Esok pagi, saya akan lari di taman. (more casual)

berjoging = to jog (slower, exercise pace)
(ber)lari = to run (can be faster, more general running)

Why do we use di before taman? When do I use di vs ke?

• di = at / in / on (location)
• ke = to (direction / movement towards)

In your sentence, you are describing where the activity happens, so you use di:

• saya akan berjoging di taman – I will jog in/at the park.

Compare:

• Saya akan pergi ke taman. – I will go to the park.
• Saya akan berjoging di taman. – I will jog in the park.

So use:

• ke for the destination of movement
• di for the place where something happens or is located.

What does taman mean exactly? Is it only “park”?

taman most commonly means:

• park (public park)
• garden

Examples:

• taman permainan – playground
• taman bunga – flower garden

In Malaysia, taman also appears in the names of residential areas, like Taman Melati, meaning something like Melati Gardens / Melati residential area.

In your sentence, taman by itself is naturally understood as a park.

What is the basic word order of this sentence? Is it the same as English?

Yes, the core word order is very similar to English: Subject – Auxiliary – Verb – Place.

Breakdown of Esok pagi, saya akan berjoging di taman.:

• Esok pagi – tomorrow morning (time phrase, placed at the start)
• saya – I (subject)
• akan – will (future marker / auxiliary)
• berjoging – jog (verb)
• di taman – in the park (prepositional phrase)

If you move the time phrase, you can get an order very close to English:

• Saya akan berjoging di taman esok pagi.
  (I will jog in the park tomorrow morning.)

Why is saya used here? How is it different from aku and other Malay words for “I”?

Malay has several words for I / me. The most important two:

• saya – polite, neutral, and safe in almost all situations (formal and informal).
• aku – informal, used with close friends, family, or when talking to yourself; can sound too casual or rude in formal situations.

In a neutral example sentence (like in a textbook or with someone you don’t know well), saya is the best choice.

Very roughly:

• To a teacher / stranger / in writing: saya
• To a close friend (in casual speech): often aku

Is it redundant or wrong to have both esok and akan, since both indicate the future?

It’s not wrong, and it’s not considered bad style in Malay.

• esok pagi – tells you when (tomorrow morning).
• akan – makes the verb explicitly future / planned.

Using both:

• Esok pagi, saya akan berjoging di taman.

is very normal. Leaving one out is also fine:

• Esok pagi, saya berjoging di taman. (future understood from esok pagi)
• Saya akan berjoging di taman. (future understood from akan, time unspecified)

So they can overlap in meaning, but they are both acceptable together.

How do I say “Tomorrow morning, I will not jog in the park”?

To make it negative, add tidak before akan (or before the main verb if there is no akan).

Two natural versions:

• Esok pagi, saya tidak akan berjoging di taman.
  = Tomorrow morning, I will not jog in the park.

• Esok pagi, saya tidak berjoging di taman.
  Also understandable as future because of esok pagi, but with a slightly more casual feel.

How would this sentence sound in very casual spoken Malay?

In everyday colloquial Malaysian Malay, people often:

• drop akan,
• use aku instead of saya,
• and sometimes say kat instead of di.

For example:

• Esok pagi aku jogging kat taman.

This is not standard written Malay, but you will hear something like this very often in casual conversation among friends.