Learn Hardcore Malay: Tolong jawab soalan itu dengan jujur. - Please answer that question honestly.

Literal sense:
- Tolong saya! – Help me!
Polite-request sense (as in your sentence):
- Tolong jawab soalan itu dengan jujur. – Please answer that question honestly.

You don’t have to use tolong. Without it, the sentence becomes a more direct instruction:

Jawab soalan itu dengan jujur. – Answer that question honestly. (more direct, less “please”)

Where is the subject “you” in this sentence?

Malay often drops the subject pronoun when it’s obvious from context.

Tolong jawab soalan itu dengan jujur.
Literally: Please answer that question honestly.
The “you” is understood but not spoken.

If you really want to say “you”, you could add it:

Tolong kamu jawab soalan itu dengan jujur.
Tolong awak jawab soalan itu dengan jujur.
Tolong anda jawab soalan itu dengan jujur. (more formal)

But in everyday Malay, simply using the verb in imperative form (like jawab) usually implies “you” without saying it.

What is the role of jawab here? Is there a difference between jawab and menjawab?

Jawab is the base verb meaning “to answer”.

Jawab soalan itu. – Answer that question.

Menjawab is the meN- (active) form of the same root, and is also a verb:

Dia menjawab soalan itu. – He/She answered the question.

Main points:

After tolong, the base form is very common:
- Tolong jawab soalan itu… (more natural as a request)
In a normal sentence with a clear subject, menjawab is common:
- Saya akan menjawab soalan itu dengan jujur.

In imperatives/commands, the base form (jawab) is standard and sounds natural.

What does soalan itu literally mean, and why is itu after soalan?

Soalan = question
Itu = that

Malay usually places demonstratives (ini = this, itu = that) after the noun, not before it:

soalan itu – that question
soalan ini – this question

So:

Tolong jawab soalan itu… – Please answer that question…

You cannot say “itu soalan” here to mean “that question” as an object; that order is used in different structures (e.g. Itu soalan saya. – That is my question.).

Can I omit itu and just say Tolong jawab soalan dengan jujur?

You can, but the meaning changes slightly.

Tolong jawab soalan itu dengan jujur.
Please answer *that specific question honestly.*
Tolong jawab soalan dengan jujur.
Please answer *the question / questions honestly.* (more general)

Without itu, you lose the “that” and refer more generally to “the question(s)” in context rather than a clearly pointed-out one.

What does dengan jujur mean literally, and do I need the word dengan?

Literally:

dengan = with
jujur = honest

So dengan jujur is like “with honesty”, i.e. honestly (adverb).

Malay often uses dengan + adjective to express an adverb-like meaning:

dengan perlahan – slowly (with slowness)
dengan pantas – quickly
dengan jujur – honestly

You should keep dengan here. Jawab soalan itu jujur sounds incomplete or awkward; dengan jujur is the natural way to say “honestly” after the verb.

Can I move dengan jujur to another position in the sentence?

Yes, there is some flexibility, but the original version is the most natural.

Common, natural options:

Tolong jawab soalan itu dengan jujur.
Jawab soalan itu dengan jujur, tolong. (still okay; a bit more “pleading” or informal)

Less common, but possible in speech for emphasis:

Tolong, dengan jujur jawab soalan itu. (emphasises “honestly”)

But you wouldn’t normally put dengan jujur in between jawab and soalan itu:

✗ Tolong jawab dengan jujur soalan itu. (understandable but feels clumsy)

Is this sentence polite or rude? When would I use it?

Tolong jawab soalan itu dengan jujur. is polite but direct.

Tolong softens it (like “please”).
There’s no rude word or harsh tone.

You might use it:

In a classroom (teacher to student).
In a meeting or interview.
When you want someone to stop avoiding or dodging and answer honestly, but you still remain polite.

If you want it more formal, you could say:

Sila jawab soalan itu dengan jujur.
(sila is more formal/polite, often used in official or public contexts.)

What is the word order pattern in this sentence?

The structure is:

Tolong (polite request marker)
jawab (verb)
soalan itu (object: noun + demonstrative)
dengan jujur (adverbial phrase)

So the basic pattern is:

[Tolong] + [Verb] + [Object] + [Adverbial]

Compare with English:

Please + answer + that question + honestly

The word order is actually very similar to English here, except for itu coming after the noun.

How would I say the same idea in a more casual, friendly way?

Some common casual variants:

Jawab je soalan tu dengan jujur.
- je = “just” (casual)
- tu = colloquial form of itu
Jawab la soalan tu dengan jujur.
- la / lah is a softening particle often used in informal speech.
Jawab je, jujur-jujur.
- jujur-jujur (reduplication) can sound more conversational, like “just be really honest”.

These are mostly spoken or text-chat forms, not for formal writing. The original sentence is neutral and safe in most situations.