Mereka sudah berkahwin.

They are already married.

Breakdown of Mereka sudah berkahwin.

• mereka: they
• sudah: already
• berkahwin: to be married

Questions & Answers about Mereka sudah berkahwin.

What does each word in Mereka sudah berkahwin mean, and how is the sentence structured?

The sentence breaks down like this:

• Mereka = they (3rd person plural pronoun, usually for people)
• sudah = already / has/have done (something), indicating that an action is completed
• berkahwin = to be married / to get married (verb; literally “be-married”)

Word order is: Subject (mereka) + Aspect marker (sudah) + Verb (berkahwin).
Natural translation: They are already married or They have already married.

Does Mereka sudah berkahwin mean “They are already married” or “They have already married”? Is there a tense difference in Malay?

It can mean both:

• They are already married (focusing on their current marital status)
• They have already married (focusing on the completed action of getting married)

Malay does not mark tense with verb endings like English does. The verb berkahwin itself has no tense.
The word sudah indicates that the action/state is already completed or in effect, and the exact English tense (present perfect, simple present, etc.) depends on context.

What exactly does sudah do? Is it a past tense marker?