Learn Hardcore Malay: Guru tuisyen saya menulis sasaran harian di papan putih. - My tuition teacher writes daily targets on the whiteboard.

Guru tuisyen is the usual Malay phrase for a private teacher who gives extra lessons outside normal school hours – what English speakers commonly call a tutor or tuition teacher.

Notes:

guru = teacher (quite neutral; can be used in formal writing)
tuisyen = extra classes / tuition (borrowed from English tuition)

You may also hear:

cikgu tuisyen – more informal / everyday (since cikgu is a familiar word for teacher)
tutor – directly borrowed from English; often used in universities or more formal contexts

In your sentence, guru tuisyen saya is a very natural way to say my tutor.

3. What level of formality is saya here? Could I use aku instead?

Saya is the default polite / neutral word for I / me and also functions as my when used after a noun:

guru tuisyen saya = my tuition teacher

Aku is more informal / intimate, usually used:

with close friends
with family
in casual speech among people of the same age or lower status

You could say guru tuisyen aku, but:

it sounds more casual and a bit rougher
it might feel disrespectful if the tutor is older or in a position of authority

For learners, sticking with saya is safer and always polite.

4. How would I say "our / his / her tuition teacher" using this pattern?

The structure stays the same: guru tuisyen + pronoun.

Common pronouns in this position:

kami = we / us (excluding the listener) → guru tuisyen kami = our tuition teacher
kita = we / us (including the listener) → guru tuisyen kita = our tuition teacher (yours and mine)
dia = he / she / him / her → guru tuisyen dia = his / her tuition teacher
mereka = they / them → guru tuisyen mereka = their tuition teacher

So the pattern is:

guru tuisyen + [person]

and the meaning is [person]’s tuition teacher.

5. Why is there no word for "is" in Guru tuisyen saya menulis…?

Malay usually does not use a verb like "to be" (is/are/am) before an action verb.

The pattern is simply:

[Subject] + [Verb] + [Object / Place]

So:

Guru tuisyen saya = my tuition teacher (subject)
menulis = writes / is writing (verb)
sasaran harian = daily targets (object)
di papan putih = on the whiteboard (place)

You only see a linking verb like ialah or adalah when you’re linking noun to noun or in some formal structures, not before action verbs like menulis.

6. How do I know if menulis means "writes", "is writing", or "wrote"?

Malay verbs do not change form for tense. Menulis can mean:

writes (habitual):
- Guru tuisyen saya menulis sasaran harian di papan putih setiap hari.
  → My tutor writes daily targets on the whiteboard every day.
is writing (right now):
- Guru tuisyen saya sedang menulis sasaran harian di papan putih.
  → My tutor is writing the daily targets on the whiteboard.
wrote (past):
- Tadi guru tuisyen saya menulis sasaran harian di papan putih.
  → Earlier my tutor wrote the daily targets on the whiteboard.

Time words and aspect markers give the tense-like meaning:

sedang / tengah → in the process of doing (present continuous)
tadi / semalam / tadi pagi → earlier / yesterday / this morning (past)
sudah / telah → already (completed action)
akan → will (future)

Without extra words, Guru tuisyen saya menulis… is neutral; context decides which English tense fits best.

7. What is the difference between menulis and tulis?

Tulis is the base verb (root) meaning write.
Menulis is the meN- form, which is the usual active verb form in sentences.

General guidelines:

Use menulis as the main verb in a normal sentence:
- Guru tuisyen saya menulis sasaran harian.
Use tulis in:
- commands / instructions:
  - Tulis nama kamu di sini. = Write your name here.
- some short informal speech:
  - Saya nak tulis sesuatu. (instead of menulis)

For learners, using menulis as the main verb form in statements is the safest and most standard choice.

8. What does sasaran harian literally mean? Is it singular or plural?

Breakdown:

sasaran = target / aim / goal
harian = daily, related to the day (from hari = day + suffix -an)

So sasaran harian literally means daily target(s).

Malay does not mark plural with -s like English, and there is no article a/the. So:

sasaran harian can mean:
- a daily target
- the daily target
- daily targets (plural)

Context tells you whether it’s singular or plural.

If you really want to emphasise plural, you can:

repeat the noun: sasaran-sasaran harian (sounds a bit formal/written)
add a number or quantity word:
- beberapa sasaran harian = several daily targets
- banyak sasaran harian = many daily targets

9. Why does harian come after sasaran, unlike English "daily targets"?

In Malay, describing words usually come after the noun they describe.

Pattern:

Noun + Adjective / Describing word

Examples:

buku merah = red book
kereta baru = new car
makanan pagi = morning food (breakfast)
sasaran harian = daily targets

So where English says daily targets (adjective then noun), Malay says sasaran harian (noun then descriptor).

10. What does di do here, and could I use pada or atas instead?

Di is a preposition meaning at / in / on (location).

In di papan putih, it shows where the writing happens:

di papan putih = on the whiteboard / at the whiteboard

About alternatives:

atas = on top of.
- You often see di atas together: di atas meja = on the table.
- di atas papan putih is possible but feels a bit redundant; for boards, di papan putih is already understood as "on the board".
pada is a more formal at / on / to, but:
- often used for time: pada hari Isnin = on Monday
- pada papan putih is grammatically possible but sounds unnatural in everyday speech. People would say di papan putih.

So in this sentence, di is the natural choice.

11. Does papan putih always mean "whiteboard"? Could it just mean "a white board"?

Literally:

papan = board / plank
putih = white

So papan putih literally is white board.

In modern usage, though, papan putih is the standard phrase for a whiteboard (the classroom writing board), especially when the context is teaching or a classroom.

Could it literally mean a board that is white? Yes, in theory. If the context is carpentry or materials, papan putih might be understood literally. But in a sentence about a teacher writing, the default understanding is whiteboard.

12. How can I show the difference between "a whiteboard" and "the whiteboard" when Malay has no articles?

Malay has no direct equivalent of a / an / the. Definiteness is shown by:

Context
- If there is only one relevant whiteboard in the room, di papan putih is naturally understood as on the whiteboard.
Demonstratives ini (this) and itu (that/the):
- di papan putih itu = on that whiteboard / on the whiteboard
- di papan putih ini = on this whiteboard

If you really want to emphasise a whiteboard (any), you can say:

di sebuah papan putih = on a whiteboard

But in everyday speech, people usually just say di papan putih and let context decide whether English should use a or the.

13. Can I drop saya and just say Guru tuisyen menulis sasaran harian di papan putih?

Yes, you can drop saya, but the meaning changes slightly.

Guru tuisyen saya menulis…
→ My tuition teacher writes…
Guru tuisyen menulis…
→ The / a tuition teacher writes… (no possessor)

Without saya, it sounds more general, as if you’re talking about a tutor (not specifically yours) or the tutor in some context already known.

So if you want to emphasise that it’s your tutor, keep saya.

14. Are there more casual or more explicit versions of this sentence?

Yes. Some common variations:

To make the ongoing action explicit (present continuous):
- Guru tuisyen saya sedang menulis sasaran harian di papan putih.
  → My tutor is writing the daily targets on the whiteboard (right now).
Sedang = in the middle of doing (similar to is ...-ing).
More informal (spoken) Malay might use cikgu and a more colloquial preposition:
- Cikgu tuisyen saya tengah tulis sasaran harian kat papan putih.
Features here:
- cikgu instead of guru (more colloquial/familiar)
- tengah instead of sedang (informal is ...-ing)
- tulis instead of menulis (root form, common in speech)
- kat instead of di (very informal spoken form of di)

For learners and for writing, your original sentence:

Guru tuisyen saya menulis sasaran harian di papan putih.

is clear, natural, and appropriately neutral.