Bos sudah menerima permohonan saya.

The boss has already accepted my application.

Breakdown of Bos sudah menerima permohonan saya.

• bos: the boss
• saya: my
• sudah: already
• menerima: to accept
• permohonan: the application

Questions & Answers about Bos sudah menerima permohonan saya.

What exactly does sudah do in this sentence? Is it like English past tense or like already?

Sudah is an aspect marker that usually implies:

• the action is completed, and
• often carries the sense of already.

In this sentence, sudah does two jobs at once:

1. It tells you the receiving happened before now (so it often translates naturally with English present perfect or simple past).
2. It adds the nuance that the action is already done, complete.

So it is closer to has already or already than to a pure tense marker like -ed. Malay does not have verb tenses like English; it uses words like sudah, telah, akan, sedang, etc. to show time or aspect.

Can I leave out sudah and just say Bos menerima permohonan saya?

Yes, you can. It is still grammatical, but the nuance changes:

• Bos sudah menerima permohonan saya
  → clear that the action is completed; your boss has already received it.

• Bos menerima permohonan saya
  → more neutral. Depending on context, it can be interpreted as:

  • a general statement: The boss accepts my application (habitually / generally), or
  • a past event, if the context is clearly in the past.

If you specifically want to stress that it has already happened, keep sudah.

What is the difference between sudah and telah? Could I say Bos telah menerima permohonan saya?

You can say:

• Bos telah menerima permohonan saya.

The meaning is essentially the same: the action is already completed.

Differences in nuance and usage:

• sudah

  • Very common in everyday spoken Malay.
  • Neutral register; used in both speech and writing.
  • Often feels a bit more natural in casual conversation.

• telah

  • Feels more formal or bookish.
  • Very common in official writing: news reports, formal letters, government documents.
  • Less common in casual speech.

So:

• Talking to a friend/colleague: Bos sudah menerima permohonan saya.
• Writing a formal report/letter: Pihak pengurusan telah menerima permohonan saya.

Is bos a proper Malay word, or just a borrowed English word? How formal is it?

Bos is a borrowed word from English boss, adapted to Malay spelling and pronunciation (usually pronounced roughly like boss with a short o).

Usage and formality:

• Very common in everyday, informal or semi‑formal speech.
• You can refer to your actual boss as bos when speaking casually with colleagues.
• In formal writing or very polite speech, people often prefer:
  • majikan – employer
  • ketua – head/leader
  • pengurus – manager
  • tuan / puan – polite forms of address (sir / madam), not job titles but used to address a superior directly.

Capitalisation:

• As a common noun: bos (lowercase).
• When used as a kind of nickname or title in direct address, you might see Bos capitalised, e.g. Bos, boleh saya masuk?

What does menerima come from? Why not just terima like in terima kasih?

Menerima is formed from the root terima with the prefix meN-:

• terima – to receive (basic root)
• meN- (here → menerima) – an active verb prefix meaning to do [the action].

In practice:

• menerima is the normal verb form meaning to receive, to accept (an object).

  • Bos sudah menerima permohonan saya. – My boss has already received my application.

• terima appears:

  • inside fixed expressions: terima kasih (thank you), terima duit in some colloquial speech.
  • often learners are taught menerima as the main dictionary verb.

So you generally use menerima as the active verb when you have a subject performing the action on an object.

What does permohonan mean exactly, and how is it formed?

Permohonan comes from the root mohon, which means to request / to apply / to ask (formally).

Formation:

• mohon – to request/apply
• per- … -an – a nominalising pattern that often means the act/result of [verb]
• permohonan – a request, application, often in a formal sense.

Typical uses:

• permohonan kerja – job application
• permohonan visa – visa application
• permohonan maaf – request for forgiveness / apology
• mengemukakan permohonan – to submit an application

So permohonan saya is my application / my request, usually in a somewhat formal context (e.g. job, scholarship, leave request).

What is the difference between permohonan and permintaan?

Both relate to asking for something, but they differ in nuance:

• permohonan

  • From mohon.
  • Sounds more formal and official.
  • Common for applications, formal requests, letters.
  • E.g. permohonan kerja, permohonan cuti, permohonan bantuan.

• permintaan

  • From minta (to ask/request).
  • Can be less formal and broader in meaning: requests, demands, even demand in an economic sense.
  • E.g. permintaan pelanggan (customer requests), permintaan maaf (apology), permintaan tinggi (high demand).

In a sentence about an application to a boss (e.g. for a job, leave, etc.), permohonan is usually the better, more natural choice.

Why is it permohonan saya and not something like saya punya permohonan?

Both are possible, but they differ in style:

• permohonan saya

  • Standard, neutral, and more formal.
  • Very common in writing and polite speech.
  • Literally my application (application + I).

• saya punya permohonan

  • Colloquial; literally I own application.
  • Common in some spoken varieties or very informal context.
  • Usually avoided in formal writing.

In anything even slightly formal (letters, emails to a boss, official forms), permohonan saya is the correct and natural choice.

Why do we use saya here and not aku? What is the difference?

Both mean I, but they differ in politeness and formality:

• saya

  • Polite, neutral, and safe in almost all situations.
  • Used with strangers, superiors, in formal speech and writing.
  • Standard choice in work contexts and when referring to yourself in front of or about your boss.

• aku

  • Informal, intimate.
  • Used with close friends, family, or people of the same age in casual contexts.
  • Can sound rude or too familiar if used about yourself in relation to a boss, unless you are very close and the culture of the workplace is extremely casual.

So in a sentence involving your boss, saya is definitely the appropriate pronoun.

What is the basic word order in this sentence? Is Malay always Subject–Verb–Object like English?

Yes, this sentence follows the typical Malay word order:

• Bos – Subject
• sudah menerima – Verb phrase
• permohonan saya – Object

So the pattern is:

Subject – (aspect marker) – Verb – Object

Malay often uses S–V–O, like English, especially with active verbs:

• Ali makan nasi. – Ali eats rice.
• Dia membaca buku itu. – He/She reads that book.
• Bos sudah menerima permohonan saya.

However, Malay also uses passive structures quite frequently, which can move the object to the front (see next question).

Could I make this sentence passive, like My application has already been received by the boss? How would that look in Malay, and what is the nuance?

Yes, a common passive version is:

• Permohonan saya sudah diterima bos.

Breakdown:

• Permohonan saya – My application (now the grammatical subject)
• sudah – already / has
• diterima – passive form of terima / menerima (with di- prefix)
• bos – by the boss (the agent, without oleh in casual style)

Nuance:

• Active (original): Bos sudah menerima permohonan saya.

  • Focus on the boss doing the action.

• Passive: Permohonan saya sudah diterima bos.

  • Focus on the application and the fact that it has been received.
  • Very natural if you want to highlight the status of your application.

In more formal writing, you might see oleh:

• Permohonan saya sudah diterima oleh bos.

But in everyday speech and many texts, oleh is often omitted when the agent is clear.

How would I make this more clearly about a job application, or a leave request, instead of a generic application?

You can specify the type of permohonan with an extra noun:

• For a job application:

  • Bos sudah menerima permohonan kerja saya.
    • permohonan kerja – job application

• For a leave request:

  • Bos sudah menerima permohonan cuti saya.
    • permohonan cuti – leave request (application for leave/holiday)

• For a scholarship application:

  • Bos sudah menerima permohonan biasiswa saya.

The structure remains the same; you just insert a more specific noun after permohonan.