Learn Hardcore Malay: Dalam kumpulan belajar kecil, ada yang suka membaca, ada yang suka mendengar. - In our small study group, some like to read, some like to listen.

Existential: there is / there are
- Di meja itu ada buku. = There is a book on the table.
Possession: to have
- Saya ada buku. = I have a book.

In your sentence, ada is being used in the existential sense:

Dalam kumpulan belajar kecil, ada yang suka membaca...
= Within the small study group, there are (some who) like reading...

So here ada does not mean “have”, but “there are”.

What does the structure ada yang suka ... express, and can I leave out yang?

The pattern ada yang + verb/adjective is very common and roughly means:

ada yang suka membaca ≈ there are some (people) who like reading
ada yang tidak setuju ≈ there are some who do not agree

Here is what is happening:

ada = there are
yang = introduces a clause describing “which ones” (who/that)
suka membaca = like reading

So ada yang suka membaca is literally: “there are those who like reading”.

You cannot normally drop yang here.
✗ ada suka membaca is not natural; ada needs either:

a noun phrase: ada orang (there are people), ada pelajar (there are students), or
yang + clause, which functions like “those who ...”: ada yang suka membaca.

Fuller versions would be:

Ada orang yang suka membaca.
Ada pelajar yang suka membaca.

In everyday speech, people often omit the noun (orang, pelajar) and just keep ada yang ... because it’s clear from context.

Where is the word for “people” or the subject “they” in this sentence?

Malay often leaves the subject implied when it is obvious from context. In your sentence:

Dalam kumpulan belajar kecil, ada yang suka membaca, ada yang suka mendengar.

The subject is understood to be the members of the study group. You could make it more explicit in a few ways:

Add orang (people):
- Dalam kumpulan belajar kecil, ada orang yang suka membaca, ada orang yang suka mendengar.
Add pelajar (students):
- Dalam kumpulan belajar kecil, ada pelajar yang suka membaca...

You could also rephrase with an explicit pronoun in a second sentence:

Dalam kumpulan belajar kecil itu, mereka suka membaca atau mendengar.
(In that small study group, they like reading or listening.)

But in the original, Malay simply omits “people/they” and lets ada yang ... stand for “there are some (people) who ...”.

How is kumpulan belajar kecil put together, and can I change the word order?

Breakdown:

kumpulan = group
belajar = study / learning
kecil = small

Malay noun phrases are typically:

Head noun + modifiers

So:

kumpulan belajar ≈ study group (group for studying)
kumpulan belajar kecil ≈ small study group

Structure:

Head noun: kumpulan
First modifier: belajar (what kind of group? a study/learning group)
Second modifier: kecil (what size? small)

About changing the order:

✗ kumpulan kecil belajar is not the same as kumpulan belajar kecil and is not natural in this meaning. If you said kumpulan kecil yang belajar, that would mean “small groups that study”, which is a different structure.
✗ kecil kumpulan belajar is ungrammatical; adjectives like kecil normally follow the noun, not precede it.

So for “small study group”, the natural order is kumpulan belajar kecil, with all modifiers after kumpulan.

What is the difference between dalam, di, and di dalam here? Could I say Di dalam kumpulan belajar kecil?

Basic roles:

di = at / in / on (general location)
dalam = in / inside / within
di dalam = at in / inside (often more literal or emphatic “inside”)

In your sentence, both are acceptable:

Dalam kumpulan belajar kecil, ...
Di dalam kumpulan belajar kecil, ...

Nuance:

Dalam kumpulan ... at the start of a sentence is very common to mean “within the group ...” (can be physical or abstract membership).
Di dalam kumpulan ... is also correct and may feel slightly more explicit: “inside the group ...”.

Di kumpulan belajar kecil is less natural for this meaning; when talking about being within a group (membership), dalam kumpulan is preferred.

So yes, Di dalam kumpulan belajar kecil, ada yang ... is fine; Dalam kumpulan belajar kecil, ... is just a bit more concise and typical.

Why membaca and mendengar instead of baca and dengar?

baca and dengar are the root forms.
membaca and mendengar are the active verb forms with the meN- prefix:

baca → membaca (to read)
dengar → mendengar (to listen / to hear)

Very rough guidelines:

Use meN- forms (like membaca, mendengar) for “normal” active verbs in full sentences:
- Saya suka membaca. = I like reading.
- Dia sedang mendengar muzik. = He/She is listening to music.
Use bare roots in:
- Imperatives (commands): Baca buku ini. (Read this book.)
- Some casual speech: Saya suka baca buku. (Conversational; common in many varieties.)

In your sentence, suka membaca and suka mendengar are standard and slightly more formal/neutral than suka baca / suka dengar, which you will hear in everyday speech, especially informally.

Can I omit the second ada yang and just say ... ada yang suka membaca dan suka mendengar?

You can say it, but the meaning changes.

Original sentence:
- ... ada yang suka membaca, ada yang suka mendengar.
  = there are some who like reading, (and) there are (others) who like listening.
  → Two different groups.
If you say:
- ... ada yang suka membaca dan suka mendengar.
  This normally means: there are some who like reading and (also) like listening.
  → One group that likes both reading and listening.

To keep the idea of two different groups, you should repeat ada yang, e.g.:

Dalam kumpulan belajar kecil, ada yang suka membaca dan ada yang suka mendengar.
Or with emphasis: ... ada yang suka membaca dan ada juga yang suka mendengar.

So: grammatically you can omit it, but it changes the interpretation.

How do I make “study groups” plural? Does kumpulan belajar kecil mean one group or many?

Malay usually does not mark plural on the noun itself, so:

kumpulan belajar kecil can mean “a small study group” or “small study groups”, depending on context.

If you want to make the plurality explicit, you add other words or reduplication:

Dalam beberapa kumpulan belajar kecil, ...
= In several small study groups, ...
Dalam banyak kumpulan belajar kecil, ...
= In many small study groups, ...
Dalam kumpulan-kumpulan belajar kecil, ...
= In the small study groups (all of them; more formal/literary due to reduplication).

Without any marker, Dalam kumpulan belajar kecil, ... is neutral; the listener decides singular vs plural from context.

Can I join the two clauses with dan instead of a comma? For example: ... ada yang suka membaca dan ada yang suka mendengar.

Yes. Both of these are natural:

... ada yang suka membaca, ada yang suka mendengar.
... ada yang suka membaca dan ada yang suka mendengar.

The comma version feels like listing two parallel observations. The dan version makes the connection more explicit, similar to English “some like reading and some like listening”.

In either case, it is good to repeat ada yang to keep the idea of two separate groups clear.