Learn Hardcore Malay: Saya tulis ayat itu dalam diari kecil setiap malam. - I write that sentence in a small diary every night.

Saya menulis ayat itu... is the more standard / textbook form.
Saya tulis ayat itu... is very common in everyday speech and informal writing.

In Malay, the bare root verb (like tulis) often appears after a pronoun, especially in casual usage, without the meN- prefix. It does not change the basic meaning; it mainly affects formality and style, not tense.

Is dropping the meN- prefix (using tulis instead of menulis) considered informal or incorrect?

It is generally considered informal/colloquial, but not incorrect in normal spoken Malay.

In formal writing (essays, news, official documents), you will usually see menulis.
In speech, messages, and casual writing, people very often say saya tulis, dia baca, kami makan, etc.

So the sentence is natural in conversation; if you were writing a formal piece, you’d probably prefer Saya menulis ayat itu...

How do we know the tense (present, past, or habitual) if there is no tense marker in the sentence?

Malay usually does not mark tense on the verb. Instead, it relies on time expressions and context.

Here, setiap malam (every night) tells us:

The action is repeated regularly.
So we understand it as habitual: I write that sentence in the small diary every night.

If you changed the time phrase, the interpretation would change:

semalam = yesterday → past
esok malam = tomorrow night → future
sekarang = now → present/ongoing

The verb form tulis / menulis itself doesn’t change for tense.

Why is it ayat itu and not itu ayat? What is the rule for itu?

In Malay, the demonstrative itu (that) usually comes after the noun:

ayat itu = that sentence
buku itu = that book
kereta itu = that car

itu ayat by itself is usually not how you say that sentence.
itu can come first when it is used as:

A standalone pronoun:
- Itu ayat yang saya suka. = That is the sentence that I like.
- Here itu means that (thing), not just that modifying ayat.
Part of a longer structure, like Itu ayat yang..., Itu buku yang..., etc.

So for simple “that sentence” as a noun phrase, you want ayat itu.

What exactly does ayat mean here? Does it mean “word”, “sentence”, or something else?

In this context, ayat means “sentence”.

Common meanings:

ayat = sentence; also verse (for scripture, especially Quranic verses)
perkataan / kata = word
frasa / ungkapan = phrase / expression

So:

ayat itu = that sentence
Not that word (which would be perkataan itu or kata itu).

Why do we say dalam diari kecil and not just di diari kecil?

Both di and dalam can be translated as “in”, but their usage differs slightly:

di = at / in / on (general location)
dalam = inside (emphasizes inside-ness, like inside a container or space)

Here:

dalam diari kecil highlights that the writing is inside the diary.
Many speakers would also accept di dalam diari kecil, which explicitly combines di
- dalam and can sound a bit more formal.

di diari kecil is grammatically possible but sounds less natural than dalam diari kecil or di dalam diari kecil for this context.

Is there any difference between dalam diari kecil and di dalam diari kecil?

Functionally, they are very close, and both are used.

Subtle points:

dalam diari kecil – slightly more compact, common in speech and writing.
di dalam diari kecil – can feel a bit more explicit or formal, literally “in the inside of the small diary”, so it strongly emphasizes being inside.

In everyday use, you can treat them as near-synonyms here. Both sound natural in this sentence.

Why is the adjective kecil placed after diari, instead of before it like in English?

In Malay, descriptive adjectives normally come after the noun:

diari kecil = small diary
buku besar = big book
kereta merah = red car

So the pattern is usually:

noun + adjective

This is the opposite of English in most cases (small diary, red car, etc.).
So diari kecil is the normal, correct order.

Can we drop saya and just say Tulis ayat itu dalam diari kecil setiap malam?

If you drop saya here, the sentence changes its feel:

Saya tulis ayat itu... = a statement: I write that sentence...
Tulis ayat itu... (without saya) is most naturally heard as an imperative:
- Write that sentence in the small diary every night. (a command/instruction to “you”)

Malay often omits pronouns when context is clear, but at the start of a sentence with a bare verb, leaving out saya typically makes it sound like a command, not a statement.

To keep it clearly as a statement, you generally keep saya:
Saya tulis / saya menulis ayat itu dalam diari kecil setiap malam.

Are there other common ways to say “every night” besides setiap malam?

Yes, a few alternatives:

tiap-tiap malam – also “every night”; very common and natural.
tiap malam – shorter, casual version of tiap-tiap malam.
saban malam – “every night”, a bit more literary or regional in feel.

All of these can usually replace setiap malam in this sentence without changing the basic meaning:

Saya tulis ayat itu dalam diari kecil tiap-tiap malam.
Saya menulis ayat itu dalam diari kecil saban malam.

Can we move setiap malam to the beginning of the sentence? Does it change the meaning?

Yes, you can move it:

Setiap malam saya tulis ayat itu dalam diari kecil.

The basic meaning stays the same: it still means you do this every night.

Moving setiap malam to the front gives it a bit more emphasis, like:

Every night, I write that sentence in the small diary.

Malay word order is fairly flexible for time expressions; placing them at the end or at the beginning is both normal.