Breakdown of Selepas itu, saya semak semula semua nota dengan perlahan.
Questions & Answers about Selepas itu, saya semak semula semua nota dengan perlahan.
Selepas itu literally means after that.
- selepas = after
- itu = that
So the idea is after that (event/moment).
You can usually translate it as after that or then in English.
Difference from kemudian:
- Selepas itu = after that (specific previous action) – it feels slightly more connected to the previous thing that was mentioned.
- Kemudian = then / later – more general; often just means then in a sequence.
In many contexts they can both be used for then in a narrative:
- Selepas itu, saya semak semula semua nota…
- Kemudian, saya semak semula semua nota…
Both are fine and common.
Here itu is not pointing at a physical object like that book, but at a previous time or event.
- selepas itu = after that (time/event)
If you only say selepas, it sounds incomplete, like saying after in English without saying after what.
So:
- Selepas itu, saya semak… = After that, I checked…
- Selepas makan, saya tidur. = After eating, I slept. (Here makan plays the role of itu.)
You normally need something after selepas:
- selepas itu
- selepas makan
- selepas kelas
Selepas on its own is rare in standard sentences.
Yes, mainly in formality and tone:
- selepas – more formal / standard; used in writing, news, formal speech, but also in normal conversation.
- lepas – more informal / colloquial; very common in everyday spoken Malay.
So you might often hear:
- Lepas tu, saya semak semula semua nota dengan perlahan.
This is basically the spoken equivalent of:
- Selepas itu, saya semak semula semua nota dengan perlahan.
The comma helps mark a pause and separates the time phrase from the main clause:
- Selepas itu, saya semak semula semua nota dengan perlahan.
In writing, it’s standard and recommended to put a comma after an initial time expression like:
- Selepas itu, …
- Kemudian, …
- Pada masa itu, …
In casual writing (texts, chats), people sometimes drop the comma, but in proper written Malay it’s better to include it.
Malay usually does not mark tense with a specific word like English does. It relies on:
- Context
- Time expressions (like selepas itu, semalam, tadi)
Here, Selepas itu already tells you this is a later point in a narrative, so it naturally feels like past tense in English:
- Selepas itu, saya semak semula semua nota…
→ After that, I went through all my notes again…
If you really want to emphasize that it’s completed, you can add:
- Selepas itu, saya telah semak semula semua nota…
- Selepas itu, saya sudah semak semula semua nota…
But they’re not necessary; the original sentence is perfectly complete.
Both are grammatically correct, but they differ in register:
- semak – base verb; widely used in spoken Malay and also acceptable in casual or semi-formal writing.
- menyemak – meN- verb form; often feels more formal and book-like.
You could say:
- Selepas itu, saya semak semula semua nota… (everyday, natural)
- Selepas itu, saya menyemak semula semua nota… (a bit more formal)
Both mean I checked / I reviewed.
Many verbs allow this shorter spoken form:
- baca / membaca (to read)
- tulis / menulis (to write)
- semak / menyemak (to check/review)
semak on its own = check / review / go through
semak semula = check again / re-check / review again
So:
- saya semak semua nota = I check / I review all the notes.
- saya semak semula semua nota = I check all the notes again / once more.
The role of semula is to add the meaning again / anew.
It’s similar to adding re- in English (review, redo), but placed after the verb in Malay.
All can relate to doing something again, but they’re used slightly differently.
semula – most common with verbs of checking, fixing, arranging
- semak semula – check again
- susun semula – rearrange
- bina semula – rebuild
lagi – means again / more / another depending on context
- buat lagi – do (it) again
- minta lagi – ask again / ask for more
- tengok lagi – watch again
sekali lagi – literally one more time
- Cuba sekali lagi. – Try one more time.
- Ulang sekali lagi. – Repeat once again.
In this sentence, semak semula is very natural; semak lagi is also understandable, but semak semula sounds more standard for reviewing notes again.
In Malay, words like semua (all) normally come before the noun:
- semua nota – all the notes
- semua buku – all the books
- semua pelajar – all the students
nota semua is not natural here. That order (noun + semua) is only used in a few special cases, often with pronouns or for emphasis, e.g.:
- mereka semua – all of them
- kita semua – all of us
- kami semua – all of us (excluding the listener)
So for notes, you keep semua in front: semua nota.
Not necessarily. Nota is already a countable item by itself in many contexts, especially as a general set of notes (like what you take in a lecture).
- semua nota – all the notes (as a collection)
You would bring in a classifier like helai (sheet of) if you want to emphasize individual sheets:
- semua helai nota – all the sheets of notes
- tiga helai nota – three sheets of notes
In your sentence, semua nota is completely natural and doesn’t feel incomplete.
Literally:
- dengan = with
- perlahan = slow
So dengan perlahan = with slow(ness), but the natural translation is slowly.
This is a common pattern in Malay:
- dengan cepat – quickly
- dengan hati-hati – carefully
- dengan senyap – quietly
It’s how Malay often forms something similar to an adverb (how the action is done) from an adjective or descriptive word.
Yes, both are possible and common:
- perlahan – slow / slowly
- perlahan-lahan – slowly / very gently (repetition often adds a softer, more gradual feel)
So you might see:
- … semak semula semua nota perlahan-lahan.
- … semak semula semua nota perlahan.
- … semak semula semua nota dengan perlahan.
All three can mean reviewed all the notes slowly.
dengan perlahan and perlahan-lahan are especially common in writing. In speech, perlahan-lahan is very frequent because it sounds expressive.
Both saya and aku mean I / me, but they differ in formality and social distance:
- saya – polite, neutral, used with strangers, in formal or semi-formal situations, and is safe almost everywhere.
- aku – informal, used with close friends, family, or people of the same age group when there is mutual agreement on informality.
So:
- Selepas itu, saya semak semula semua nota… – sounds polite and neutral.
- Lepas tu, aku semak semula semua nota… – sounds casual, friendly, spoken style.
In a textbook or neutral written sentence, saya is the default choice.
You can, but it will sound incomplete or unnatural in most standard contexts.
Malay sometimes allows the subject to be dropped if it is very clear from context, particularly in imperatives or instructions:
- Semak semula semua nota dengan perlahan. – (You) review all the notes slowly.
- Selepas itu, semak semula semua nota. – After that, (you) review all the notes.
In your original sentence, including saya makes it clear it’s I who did it, and it reads as a normal statement:
- Selepas itu, saya semak semula semua nota dengan perlahan.
Without saya, that sentence looks more like an instruction to someone else, especially in written form.
Malay word order here is quite fixed in its main structure:
- [Time] + [Subject] + [Verb] + [Object] + [Manner]
So:
- Selepas itu (time)
- saya (subject)
- semak semula (verb phrase)
- semua nota (object)
- dengan perlahan (manner)
You can sometimes move the manner phrase a bit, but too much movement can sound odd:
- Selepas itu, saya semak semula semua nota dengan perlahan. ✅
- Selepas itu, saya dengan perlahan semak semula semua nota. ❌ (sounds unnatural)
- Selepas itu, saya semak semula dengan perlahan semua nota. – possible, but less natural than the original.
The original order is the most natural and clear.