Learn Hardcore Malay: Saya tulis jadual belajar semula apabila guru ubah tarikh ujian. - I rewrite my study schedule when the teacher changes the test date.

Saya tulis jadual belajar semula apabila guru ubah tarikh ujian.

I rewrite my study schedule when the teacher changes the test date.

Breakdown of Saya tulis jadual belajar semula apabila guru ubah tarikh ujian.

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Questions & Answers about Saya tulis jadual belajar semula apabila guru ubah tarikh ujian.

What exactly does semula mean here, and what is the most natural position for it in this sentence?

Semula means again / afresh / over again. In this sentence it’s linked to the action of writing, so the idea is:

“I write my study schedule again…” or
“I rewrite my study schedule…”

In natural Malay, you would almost always place semula right after the verb it modifies:

Saya tulis semula jadual belajar apabila guru ubah tarikh ujian.
→ I rewrite my study schedule when the teacher changes the exam date.

If you say:

Saya tulis jadual belajar semula…

it can sound slightly ambiguous, as if semula might be modifying jadual belajar (the study schedule) instead of tulis (write). It isn’t “wrong”, but Saya tulis semula jadual belajar is clearer and more typical.

Why is it tulis and not menulis? Is one of them wrong?

Both are grammatically possible, but they differ in style and register:

tulis = base verb, often used in informal or spoken Malay.
menulis = standard / formal form, common in writing, exams, and formal speech.

So you can say:

Saya tulis semula jadual belajar… (colloquial / everyday)
Saya menulis semula jadual belajar… (more formal / textbook style)

Similarly, ubah ↔ mengubah follow the same pattern:

guru ubah tarikh ujian (informal)
guru mengubah tarikh ujian (more formal)

The original sentence mixes slightly informal verb forms (tulis, ubah) with the somewhat formal conjunction apabila, which is very common in real-life usage.

How does jadual belajar work grammatically? Why is it not belajar jadual?

Malay forms noun phrases in this order:

Head noun + modifier

So:

jadual belajar
- jadual = schedule/timetable
- belajar = to study
  → “study schedule” / “schedule for studying”

Putting belajar first (belajar jadual) would mean “to study the schedule”, which changes the meaning completely and doesn’t fit here.

Other similar patterns:

buku latihan = exercise book (book for exercises)
kelas bahasa Melayu = Malay language class
guru matematik = maths teacher

So jadual belajar is the standard way to say “study schedule”.

Why is there no word for “my” in jadual belajar? Should it be jadual belajar saya?

Malay often omits possessive pronouns like saya (my) when the owner is obvious from context.

All of these can be correct, with slightly different emphasis:

Saya tulis semula jadual belajar…
→ Literally: I rewrite the study schedule…
→ Naturally understood as “my study schedule”.
Saya tulis semula jadual belajar saya…
→ More explicit: “my study schedule”.
Saya tulis semula jadual belajar kamu / awak…
→ “your study schedule”

So jadual belajar alone is fine here; adding saya is optional for clarity or emphasis.

How is past tense expressed here? There’s no word like “did”, but the English meaning is past.

Malay verbs do not change form for tense (past, present, future). The base verb can refer to any time; tense is shown by:

Time words: semalam (yesterday), nanti (later), esok (tomorrow), tadi (earlier)
Context: what you’ve already established in the conversation

So:

Saya tulis semula jadual belajar apabila guru ubah tarikh ujian.
can mean:
- “I rewrite / rewrite my study schedule when the teacher changes the exam date.” (general habit)
- “I rewrote my study schedule when the teacher changed the exam date.” (past)
- “I will rewrite my study schedule when the teacher changes the exam date.” (future)

If you want to make the time very clear, add an adverb:

Semalam saya tulis semula jadual belajar apabila guru ubah tarikh ujian.
→ Yesterday I rewrote my study schedule…
Nanti saya akan tulis semula jadual belajar apabila guru ubah tarikh ujian.
→ Later I will rewrite my study schedule…

What does apabila do here, and how is it different from bila or ketika?

Apabila is a conjunction meaning when (introducing a time clause):

… apabila guru ubah tarikh ujian
→ when the teacher changes the exam date

Comparison:

apabila
- Slightly formal / neutral.
- Very common in writing and careful speech.
- Good in both past and future contexts.
bila
- More informal / everyday.
- Used a lot in conversation.
- Can be a conjunction (“when”) or a question word (“when?”).
ketika / semasa
- Often “when / while (at the time that…)” with more focus on the time period.
- E.g. ketika saya kecil = when I was small.

You could say:

Saya tulis semula jadual belajar bila guru ubah tarikh ujian. (very natural spoken Malay)
Saya tulis semula jadual belajar apabila guru ubah tarikh ujian. (perfect in writing or more formal contexts)

Why is it guru ubah tarikh ujian instead of including pronouns or longer forms like dia or mengubah?

Malay frequently omits elements that are obvious from context, especially in simple clauses.

In your example:

guru ubah tarikh ujian
- guru = the teacher (subject)
- ubah = change (verb)
- tarikh ujian = the exam date (object)

Longer, equally correct forms include:

apabila guru mengubah tarikh ujian (more formal, uses mengubah)
apabila dia mengubah tarikh ujian (if “he/she” is understood to be the teacher)
apabila guru itu mengubah tarikh ujian (more clearly “that teacher”)

In many everyday sentences:

The subject is just a noun (guru) without dia.
The verb often appears in its base form (ubah) instead of the meN- form (mengubah) in speech.

So the short form guru ubah tarikh ujian is natural and efficient in conversation.

Can the order of the two clauses be reversed, like starting with apabila guru ubah tarikh ujian?

Yes, you can reverse the clause order without changing the meaning.

Original order:
- Saya tulis semula jadual belajar apabila guru ubah tarikh ujian.
  → I rewrite my study schedule when the teacher changes the exam date.
Reversed order (often with a comma):
- Apabila guru ubah tarikh ujian, saya tulis semula jadual belajar.

Both are correct. Putting the apabila clause first can make the condition/time feel more prominent, which is often preferred in explanations or instructions.

What is the difference between ujian and peperiksaan? Could I use peperiksaan here?

Both relate to tests/exams, but there is a nuance:

ujian
- General word for a test, quiz, assessment.
- Can be small or big, written or oral.
- Common in everyday school contexts.
peperiksaan
- Usually a more formal or major exam (e.g. midterms, finals, national exams).
- Often written, standardized.

In this sentence, both are possible, depending on context:

tarikh ujian = the date of a (normal) test.
tarikh peperiksaan = the date of a major exam.

So:

Saya tulis semula jadual belajar apabila guru ubah tarikh ujian.
→ natural if it’s just a class test.

If you’re talking about a big official exam, peperiksaan might feel more appropriate.

Is the original sentence fully natural, or would a native speaker tweak it?

A native speaker would understand the original, but would very likely adjust two things for naturalness:

Position of semula
- Original: Saya tulis jadual belajar semula apabila…
- More natural: Saya tulis semula jadual belajar apabila…
Verb forms, depending on formality
- Informal / neutral spoken:
  - Saya tulis semula jadual belajar apabila guru ubah tarikh ujian.
- More formal / written:
  - Saya menulis semula jadual belajar apabila guru mengubah tarikh ujian.

So a very natural, smooth version in standard Malay would be:

Saya menulis semula jadual belajar apabila guru mengubah tarikh ujian.

How would I say this in a clearly future sense, like “I will rewrite my study schedule when the teacher changes the exam date”?

You can make the future sense explicit with akan (will) and/or a future time word:

Saya akan menulis semula jadual belajar apabila guru mengubah tarikh ujian.
→ I will rewrite my study schedule when the teacher changes the exam date.

In everyday speech, many speakers omit akan and rely on context:

Nanti saya tulis semula jadual belajar apabila guru ubah tarikh ujian.
→ Later I’ll rewrite my study schedule when the teacher changes the exam date.

Both are correct; adding akan or a word like nanti just makes the future time reference clearer.