Learn Hardcore Malay: Muzium bandar itu memberi diskaun kepada pelajar setiap Isnin. - That city museum gives a discount to students every Monday.

The head noun comes first: muzium
Modifiers (like bandar itu) come after the head.
Demonstratives like ini (this) and itu (that/the) usually come after the noun or noun phrase they modify:
- bandar itu = that/the city
- muzium bandar itu = the museum (of) that city

So itu is not before the noun like English “that city”, but after: bandar itu.

Could I say “the city museum” as bandar muzium itu instead of muzium bandar itu?

No. That word order would be wrong in Malay.

Basic rule:

Head noun first, modifier after.

So:

muzium bandar itu
- head: muzium
- modifier: bandar itu
- meaning: the museum of that/the city

If you say bandar muzium itu, it sounds like “the city of that museum”, which is the opposite relationship and ungrammatical in this context.

Correct options for “the city museum” / “the museum in that city” are:

muzium bandar itu – the city’s museum (implies the main museum of that city)
muzium di bandar itu – the museum in that city (neutral location; maybe one of several)

What’s the difference between muzium bandar itu and muzium di bandar itu?

Both can often be translated as “the museum in that city”, but there’s a nuance:

muzium bandar itu
- Structure: [museum] [city that]
- Feels more like “the city’s museum”, often implying the main museum associated with that city.
muzium di bandar itu
- di = in/at
- Structure: [museum] [in that city]
- Just states the location: a museum that happens to be in that city (not necessarily “official” or main).

In everyday speech, either might be used depending on what you want to emphasise: ownership/association (muzium bandar itu) vs location (muzium di bandar itu).

Why is there no word for “the” or “a” in this sentence? How does Malay show definiteness?

Malay has no articles like “a/an/the”. Definiteness (specific vs non-specific) is shown by:

Context – what’s already known in the conversation.
Demonstratives – ini (this) and itu (that/the).

In muzium bandar itu:

itu marks bandar (city) as specific: that/the city
It also makes the whole phrase feel definite: the city’s museum.

If you removed itu:

muzium bandar could mean “a city museum” or “the city museum”, depending on context.
Malay leaves it more flexible; English forces you to choose a or the.

In memberi diskaun, what’s the role of the me- prefix in memberi? Why not just beri?

The root verb is beri = “to give”.

beri (no prefix) is more basic and often used in casual speech.
memberi is the meN--prefixed form, often:
- a bit more formal / standard,
- used more in writing, news, announcements, etc.

In your sentence, memberi diskaun sounds natural and slightly formal, like something you might read in a notice or brochure.

You can say:

Muzium bandar itu memberi diskaun… – fully standard.
Muzium bandar itu beri diskaun… – more conversational, but still fine in speech.

Could I say memberikan diskaun instead of memberi diskaun? Is there any difference?

Yes, you can. Both are grammatically correct:

memberi diskaun
memberikan diskaun

Nuance:

memberi is “to give (something) to someone”.
memberikan often slightly emphasizes the thing given (the object), and is very common in written/formal Malay.

In this particular sentence, the meaning is effectively the same. Many native speakers would see memberi diskaun and memberikan diskaun as interchangeable here.

Why do we use kepada before pelajar? Could I use ke or untuk instead?

kepada is the usual preposition for “to” (someone) when they are the recipient of something abstract (discount, information, help, etc.).

kepada pelajar = to (the) students

Compare:

kepada – to (a person/recipient)
- memberi diskaun kepada pelajar – give a discount to students
ke – to/towards (a place/direction)
- pergi ke muzium – go to the museum
untuk – for (benefit/purpose)
- diskaun untuk pelajar – a discount for students

So:

memberi diskaun kepada pelajar – focuses on the act of giving to them.
diskaun untuk pelajar – describes the discount’s purpose/target group.

You normally would not say memberi diskaun ke pelajar; ke doesn’t fit human recipients in this way.

Why isn’t it memberi diskaun pelajar without kepada?

In Malay, memberi (“to give”) normally takes:

the thing given as a direct object, and
the recipient introduced by kepada (or sometimes bagi, in some varieties).

So:

memberi diskaun = to give a discount
memberi diskaun kepada pelajar = to give a discount to students

If you drop kepada and say memberi diskaun pelajar, it becomes unclear:

It could look like “give student discount” where diskaun pelajar is one compound noun (student discount),
but it’s not the normal, clear pattern for “give a discount to students”.

To clearly show students are the recipients, you keep kepada: kepada pelajar.

How do I know pelajar means “students” (plural) and not “student” (singular)? There’s no -s.

Malay generally doesn’t mark plural with an ending like -s.

pelajar can mean “student” or “students”.

You get the number from context or from extra words:

seorang pelajar – one student
tiga orang pelajar – three students
para pelajar – the students (plural, group)

In your sentence:

A museum giving discounts is almost always aimed at more than one student.
So pelajar is naturally read as “students”.

How do we know the sentence refers to a habitual action (every Monday) and not a one‑time event, since there’s no tense marking in Malay?

Malay verbs do not change form for tense (past, present, future). Instead, time and aspect are shown by:

Time expressions: semalam (yesterday), esok (tomorrow), etc.
Adverbs: selalu (always), kadang-kadang (sometimes), etc.

In your sentence:

setiap Isnin = every Monday

This phrase itself clearly indicates a repeated, habitual action. There’s no need to change the verb.

So:

Muzium bandar itu memberi diskaun kepada pelajar setiap Isnin.
→ Naturally understood as: The city museum gives discounts to students every Monday (regularly).

Does setiap Isnin literally mean “every Monday”? Could I also say setiap hari Isnin?

Yes:

setiap = every / each
Isnin = Monday

So setiap Isnin = “every Monday”.

You can also say:

setiap hari Isnin – literally every Monday day

Both are used and understood.

setiap Isnin is slightly shorter, very common and natural.
setiap hari Isnin can feel a bit more explicit, but not more formal/colloquial in any strong way.

About capitalization: In standard modern Malay, days of the week are capitalized, so Isnin is correct.

Can I move setiap Isnin to the start of the sentence, like in English: “Every Monday, the city museum…”?

Yes, that’s perfectly acceptable and common for emphasis. You can say:

Setiap Isnin, muzium bandar itu memberi diskaun kepada pelajar.

Differences:

Muzium bandar itu memberi diskaun kepada pelajar setiap Isnin.
– neutral; time information comes at the end.
Setiap Isnin, muzium bandar itu memberi diskaun kepada pelajar.
– puts extra focus on when it happens.

Both are grammatical and natural.

What’s the difference between pelajar and murid? Both seem to mean “student”.

You’re right; both refer to students, but with different typical uses:

pelajar
- Common for students in general, especially secondary school, college, university.
- Neutral and widely used.
murid
- More often used for younger students, especially primary/elementary school pupils.

In practice:

A university student is almost always pelajar, not murid.
For this sentence about museum discounts, pelajar is the natural choice, covering students broadly.

Is diskaun just a borrowed English word? Are there more “native” ways to say “discount”?

Yes, diskaun is a loanword from English “discount”, and it’s very common and standard in Malay.

Other ways to express the idea:

potongan harga – price reduction / discount
harga diskaun – discount price

In your sentence, memberi diskaun is completely natural and widely used, especially in advertising, notices, and everyday speech.