Bos menerangkan tugas baru di pejabat dengan jelas.

The boss explains the new task at the office clearly.

Breakdown of Bos menerangkan tugas baru di pejabat dengan jelas.

• di: at
• dengan: with
• baru: new
• pejabat: the office
• bos: the boss
• jelas: clear
• tugas: the task
• menerangkan: to explain

Questions & Answers about Bos menerangkan tugas baru di pejabat dengan jelas.

What does Bos mean in Malay, and is it formal?

Bos is a loanword from English boss, and it means “boss / superior / manager”.

• It’s commonly used in everyday, informal or semi-formal spoken Malay.
• In more formal language (e.g. official writing), you are more likely to see:
  • ketua – head (of a department, committee, etc.)
  • pengurus – manager
  • penyelia – supervisor

Using Bos to address your own boss directly (e.g. “Bos, boleh saya tanya…?”) is common in casual office environments, but in very formal situations people might use titles like Tuan, Puan, or the person’s professional title (e.g. Encik Ahmad, Dr. Lim).

How is menerangkan formed, and what is its exact meaning?

menerangkan comes from the root terang, which means “bright, clear”.

Morphology:

• terang (adj) – clear, bright
• meN- + terang + -kan → menerangkan
  • meN-: verb-forming prefix
  • -kan: suffix often marking a transitive verb (doing something to something)

Meaning:

• menerangkan = to explain, to make something clear, literally “to make [something] clear/bright”.
• It takes an object:
  • Bos menerangkan tugas baru – The boss explains the new task.
  • Boleh awak menerangkan perkara ini? – Can you explain this matter?

Related words:

• terangkan (imperative) – “explain (it)!”
  Terangkan sekali lagi, tolong. – Explain (it) once more, please.
• penerangan (noun) – explanation, clarification
  Terima kasih atas penerangan tadi. – Thank you for the explanation just now.

Why is it “tugas baru” and not “baru tugas”?

In Malay, adjectives usually come after the noun they describe.

• tugas – task
• baru – new

So:

• tugas baru = new task
• baru tugas is not natural; it sounds wrong in standard Malay.

This noun–adjective order is very regular:

• kereta besar – big car
• baju merah – red shirt
• pejabat baharu – new office

What’s the difference between tugas, kerja, and pekerjaan?

They’re all related to “work,” but used differently:

• tugas

  • Means task, duty, assignment, responsibility.
  • Often used in official/organizational contexts.
  • tugas baru – a new task / new responsibility

• kerja

  • Very common; can mean work (in general) or a job.
  • Saya ada banyak kerja hari ini. – I have a lot of work today.
  • Dia sedang cari kerja. – She is looking for a job.

• pekerjaan

  • More formal; usually means occupation / profession.
  • Apakah pekerjaan anda? – What is your occupation?

In your sentence, tugas baru is appropriate because the boss is explaining a specific task or duty, not your overall job/occupation.

How do we know the tense in Bos menerangkan tugas baru…? Is it past, present, or future?

Malay does not mark tense on the verb the way English does.
menerangkan itself is “explain/explains/is explaining/was explaining/will explain” depending on context.

Bos menerangkan tugas baru di pejabat dengan jelas can mean:

• The boss explains the new task…
• The boss is explaining the new task…
• The boss explained the new task…

To make the time clearer, you can add time markers:

• telah / sudah – past (has/had/already)
  Bos telah menerangkan tugas baru… – The boss has explained the new task…
• sedang – in the middle of doing (progressive)
  Bos sedang menerangkan tugas baru… – The boss is explaining the new task…
• akan – future
  Bos akan menerangkan tugas baru… – The boss will explain the new task…

What does di pejabat mean exactly, and how is di used?

di pejabat means “at the office / in the office.”

• di is a preposition for location: at, in, on.
• pejabat means office.

Common patterns:

• di rumah – at home
• di sekolah – at school
• di restoran – at the restaurant

Unlike English, there is no separate word for “the”:

• di pejabat can mean “in the office” or “in an office”, depending on context.

In more casual Malaysian speech you may also hear di ofis, using the English loanword ofis instead of pejabat.

How does dengan jelas work, and is it like an adverb in English?

Yes – dengan jelas functions like an English adverb phrase “clearly.”

• dengan – with, by, in a … way
• jelas – clear

So literally, dengan jelas means “with clarity / in a clear way.”

Malay often forms adverb-like phrases using dengan + adjective:

• dengan perlahan – slowly (lit. with slowness)
• dengan sopan – politely
• dengan serius – seriously

Your sentence:

• Bos menerangkan tugas baru di pejabat dengan jelas.
  = The boss explained the new task at the office clearly.

Can the word order be changed? For example, can I move di pejabat or dengan jelas?

Yes, you have some flexibility, especially with the adverbial phrases (di pejabat, dengan jelas). All of these are grammatical, with slight differences in emphasis:

1. Bos menerangkan tugas baru di pejabat dengan jelas.
   – Neutral; common: what, where, how.

2. Bos menerangkan tugas baru dengan jelas di pejabat.
   – Slightly more emphasis on how (dengan jelas) before where.

3. Di pejabat, bos menerangkan tugas baru dengan jelas.
   – Emphasizes the location (“At the office, the boss…”).

4. Bos di pejabat menerangkan tugas baru dengan jelas.
   – Suggests “the boss who is at the office explains…”, but still natural in many contexts.

Malay generally keeps:

• Verb + object together: menerangkan tugas baru
• Adverbials (time, place, manner) can move more freely around that core.

Is tugas baru different from tugas yang baru?

Both are possible, but there is a nuance:

• tugas baru – “a new task” (simple adjective)
• tugas yang baru – literally “the task that is new”

tugas baru is what you would normally say for “a new task”.

tugas yang baru can be used:

• for slight emphasis that this is the new one (contrasting it with others), or
• when “yang baru” functions more like a relative clause (“which is new”).

In most everyday contexts, tugas baru is the natural, default choice.

Is Bos here a name or a common noun? Why is it capitalized?

In this sentence, Bos functions as a role/title, not a personal name, but in practice:

• People often capitalize it when it refers to a specific person in that role (like a title):
  Bos menerangkan tugas baru… – The Boss explained…
• If you’re using it as a general noun (any boss), you might also see bos in lowercase, especially in less formal writing.

So:

• Bos (capital B) – “the Boss” (a particular person)
• bos (lowercase b) – “a boss” / “bosses” in general

Both are widely understood; capitalization often follows how people treat role titles in that text.

Are there other natural ways to express this same idea in Malay?

Yes, here are a few natural variants with slightly different wording:

1. Bos menerangkan dengan jelas tugas baru di pejabat.
   – Same meaning; just moves dengan jelas earlier for emphasis on clarity.

2. Bos memberi penerangan yang jelas tentang tugas baru di pejabat.
   – “The boss gave a clear explanation about the new task at the office.”

   • memberi penerangan – to give an explanation
   • tentang – about
   • penerangan yang jelas – a clear explanation

3. Di pejabat, bos menjelaskan tugas baru dengan jelas.
   – “At the office, the boss explained the new task clearly.”

   • menjelaskan – another common verb for “to explain / to clarify”

All of these would be understood as conveying the same core idea as your original sentence.