Semalam kami berkelah di tepi tasik besar dekat bandar.

Yesterday we had a picnic by a big lake near the city.

Breakdown of Semalam kami berkelah di tepi tasik besar dekat bandar.

• bandar: the city
• besar: big
• semalam: yesterday
• dekat: near
• kami: we
• di tepi: by
• berkelah: to have a picnic
• tasik: the lake

Questions & Answers about Semalam kami berkelah di tepi tasik besar dekat bandar.

What is the basic word‑for‑word breakdown of Semalam kami berkelah di tepi tasik besar dekat bandar?

Roughly, word by word:

• Semalam – yesterday
• kami – we / us (excluding the listener)
• berkelah – to have a picnic
• di – at / in / on (location preposition)
• tepi – edge / side / beside
• tasik – lake
• besar – big / large
• dekat – near
• bandar – town / city

So the structure is:
[Yesterday] [we] [picnic-ed] [at] [side] [lake] [big] [near] [town].

Why is there no past tense word like “did” or “were” in this Malay sentence?

Malay verbs usually do not change form for tense. There is no equivalent of English -ed, did, or were built into the verb.

• berkelah just means to picnic / having a picnic, without tense.
• The time is shown by context words such as semalam (yesterday), sekarang (now), nanti (later), etc.

Because semalam clearly shows the time is in the past, Malay doesn’t need to change the verb form or add an auxiliary like did. The sentence is understood as past simply from semalam.

What is the difference between kami and kita, and why is kami used here?

Both kami and kita mean we / us, but:

• kami = we (not including the person you are talking to)
• kita = we (including the person you are talking to)

In this sentence:

• Semalam kami berkelah... implies Yesterday we had a picnic... and the listener was not part of the picnic group.

If the speaker wants to include the listener (for example, reminding a friend who was there yesterday), they would say:

• Semalam kita berkelah di tepi tasik besar dekat bandar.
  → Yesterday we (you and I, and maybe others) had a picnic...

What exactly does berkelah mean, and can I just say piknik like in English?

berkelah is a verb that means to have a picnic / to go on a picnic.

• Root: kelah (related to the idea of outing/picnic)
• Prefix ber- often makes “to do X” or “to be X” verbs.

So berkelah ≈ to picnic or to be picnicking.

You might also hear berpikinik or piknik used informally (from English picnic), for example:

• Kami pergi berkelah. – We went for a picnic.
• Kami pergi piknik. – We went for a picnic. (more informal, borrowed word)

In standard, neutral Malay, berkelah is fully natural and common.

Why is the time word Semalam at the beginning? Can it go in other positions?

Putting Semalam at the start is very common and natural:

• Semalam kami berkelah di tepi tasik besar dekat bandar.

You can also move semalam to other positions without changing the basic meaning:

• Kami berkelah semalam di tepi tasik besar dekat bandar.
• Kami berkelah di tepi tasik besar dekat bandar semalam.

Differences are mainly about emphasis and style:

• At the beginning, Semalam is emphasised (setting the time frame first).
• At the end, semalam sounds a bit like an “afterthought” or final detail: We had a picnic by a big lake near town yesterday.

All of these are grammatically acceptable.

What does di tepi mean exactly, and why do we need di before tepi?

• tepi means edge, side, beside.
• di is a location preposition meaning at / in / on.

Together, di tepi means at the side of / by / beside:

• di tepi tasik – by the lake / at the lakeside
• di tepi jalan – by the roadside
• di tepi pantai – by the beach / at the shore

You normally need di before location nouns like tepi, atas (on), bawah (under), dalam (inside) to mark them clearly as locations:

• di atas meja – on the table
• di dalam rumah – in the house

Why is it tasik besar and not besar tasik like in English “big lake”?

In Malay, adjectives usually come after the noun they describe.

• tasik = lake
• besar = big

So:

• tasik besar = big lake
• baju merah = red shirt
• kereta baharu = new car

If you say besar tasik, it would sound wrong or at least unnatural in standard Malay, because it reverses the normal noun–adjective order.

What is the difference between tasik besar and tasik yang besar?

Both can be translated as big lake, but there is a nuance:

• tasik besar – neutral, simple description: a big lake.
• tasik yang besar – adds a slight emphasis or contrast: the lake that is big / a lake which is big.

You might use tasik yang besar when:

• You want to stress the bigness (maybe compared to other lakes):
  
  • Kami berkelah di tasik yang besar, bukan di tasik kecil itu.
• Or when the adjective is part of a longer relative clause:
  
  • tasik yang besar dan sangat dalam itu – that big and very deep lake.

In this sentence, the simple tasik besar is perfectly natural and sufficient.

What does dekat bandar mean here, and how is it different from dekat dengan bandar?

• dekat means near / close.
• bandar means town / city.

In dekat bandar, dekat acts like a preposition: near (the) town/city.

• tasik besar dekat bandar – a big lake near the town/city

You can also say:

• tasik besar dekat dengan bandar

Here, dekat dengan is like a two‑word preposition: near to. Both are acceptable, but:

• In everyday speech, dekat bandar (without dengan) is very common.
• In more formal writing, dekat dengan or berhampiran dengan might sound slightly more formal.

Why are there no words for “a” or “the” in tasik besar dekat bandar?

Malay generally does not use articles like a, an, or the.

• tasik besar could mean:
  • a big lake
  • the big lake
• bandar could mean:
  • a town / a city
  • the town / the city

Which one is meant is understood from context and shared knowledge:

• If both speaker and listener know which lake is being discussed, tasik besar is effectively the big lake.
• If it’s just any big lake, it can be read as a big lake.

You can add words like sebuah (a classifier) if you really want to stress “a single one”:

• sebuah tasik besar – one big lake / a big lake
  But this is often optional and not needed in simple sentences like this.

Could the subject kami be left out, like in some other languages?

Malay can drop the subject pronoun when it is clear from context, especially in informal conversation.

For example, if everyone already knows you’re talking about “us”:

• Semalam berkelah di tepi tasik besar dekat bandar.

This could be understood as Yesterday (we) had a picnic by a big lake near town. However:

• In neutral, clear sentences (especially for learners, writing, or formal speech), it’s better to keep kami.
• Dropping it can sometimes create ambiguity: it might sound like some people (not necessarily “we”) had a picnic.

So the full sentence with kami is clearer and completely natural.

Is this sentence formal, informal, or neutral in Malay?

The sentence is neutral and conversational. It’s suitable for:

• Everyday spoken Malay (with friends, family, colleagues)
• Neutral written contexts (personal messages, simple narratives, exercises)

It is not extremely colloquial (there’s no heavy slang), and it’s also not particularly formal. To make it sound slightly more formal, someone might:

• Avoid borrowed words like piknik and stick to berkelah (which is already done here).
• Expand or rephrase surrounding context in a more elaborate style.

But as it stands, Semalam kami berkelah di tepi tasik besar dekat bandar. is a natural, standard sentence you can safely use.