Learn Hardcore Malay: Dia puji bahasa yang jelas, tetapi dia cadangkan saya kuatkan bahagian kesimpulan. - He/She praised the clear language, but suggested that I strengthen the conclusion section.

dia puji
- Uses the bare root verb puji.
- Very common in speech and in relatively informal or neutral writing.
- Sounds a bit more direct and conversational.
dia memuji
- Uses the meN- verb form memuji (from puji).
- Slightly more formal or written style.
- Often appears in essays, reports, or news writing.

In your sentence, Dia puji bahasa yang jelas… is natural in everyday Malay. In a more formal written context, you might see Dia memuji bahasa yang jelas… instead, but the meaning is the same.

What exactly does “yang” do in “bahasa yang jelas”? Why can’t I just say “bahasa jelas”?

Yang is a linker that turns what follows it into a descriptive clause for the noun before it.

bahasa yang jelas
- Literally: language that is clear
- bahasa = language
- yang jelas = that is clear

In Malay, adjectives can follow the noun directly (e.g. bahasa jelas), but:

bahasa yang jelas feels a bit more specific/definite, like “the language which is clear” or “language that is clear”.
It’s also the normal structure when the description could be expanded into a clause, e.g.
- bahasa yang jelas dan tepat (language that is clear and accurate)
- bahasa yang sangat jelas (language that is very clear)

bahasa jelas is not wrong, but bahasa yang jelas is more natural in many contexts, especially in written or slightly more careful speech.

How do I know that “dia puji” means “he/she praised” (past) and not “he/she praises” (present)?

Malay verbs normally do not show tense through their form. dia puji can mean:

he/she praises (present/habitual)
he/she praised (past)
he/she will praise (future), depending on context

The time reference comes from:

Time words:
- tadi (earlier), semalam (yesterday), minggu lepas (last week), etc.
- nanti (later), esok (tomorrow), and so on.
Context of the conversation: what you were just talking about.

In your example, English needs a tense, so we translate it as “praised” because it sounds like feedback that already happened, but the Malay form puji itself is neutral.

What does “cadangkan” mean exactly, and how is it different from “cadang”?

Both come from the root cadang (to propose/suggest), but they’re used differently:

cadang
- Often used as a verb in more casual speech.
- Example: Saya cadang kita balik awal.
  → I suggest we go back early.
cadangkan
- Verb with the suffix -kan, which often makes it:
  - More clearly transitive (takes a direct object), and
  - Slightly more formal.
- In dia cadangkan saya kuatkan bahagian kesimpulan, the thing suggested is the whole clause saya kuatkan bahagian kesimpulan.

Here, dia cadangkan… = he/she suggested (that)…. You could also say dia mencadangkan… (with meN-), which is more formal still.

Could I say “Dia mencadangkan supaya saya menguatkan bahagian kesimpulan” instead? Is that the same?

Yes, that is also correct and natural, but it’s a bit more formal and explicit.

Dia cadangkan saya kuatkan bahagian kesimpulan.
- Short, more conversational.
- No extra linking word; the clause just follows directly.
Dia mencadangkan supaya saya menguatkan bahagian kesimpulan.
- Uses mencadangkan (meN- form) + supaya (so that / that).
- Sounds more formal or careful, like something in a report, essay, or formal feedback.

Meaning-wise, both are: “He/She suggested that I strengthen the conclusion section.”

What does “kuatkan” literally mean, and why is it used for writing (like a conclusion)?

kuatkan comes from:

kuat = strong
-kan = a suffix often meaning to make [adjective] or to cause [something] to be [adjective]

So kuatkan literally means “to make strong / to strengthen”.

In this context:

kuatkan bahagian kesimpulan = strengthen the conclusion section
- Make it more convincing, more solid, more developed.

Similar English metaphor: “strengthen your argument/the conclusion.” Malay uses kuatkan in the same metaphorical way.

Is it correct to say just “kuat bahagian kesimpulan” instead of “kuatkan bahagian kesimpulan”?

No, that would change the meaning.

kuat bahagian kesimpulan
- Sounds like a fragment: the conclusion section is strong.
- You’re describing the conclusion, not telling someone to make it stronger.
kuatkan bahagian kesimpulan
- kuatkan = make strong / strengthen (verb)
- This is a command/suggestion: strengthen the conclusion section.

Because the sentence is reporting what someone suggested you do, you need the verb form kuatkan, not just the adjective kuat.

In “bahagian kesimpulan”, which word is the main one? Is it like “conclusion part” or “the part of conclusion”?

In Malay noun–noun phrases, the first noun is usually the main noun, and the following noun(s) narrow it down.

bahagian = part / section
kesimpulan = conclusion

So bahagian kesimpulan literally is:

“the conclusion section” or “the conclusion part”
- Main idea: it is a section (bahagian),
- Type of section: the conclusion (kesimpulan) section.

You can also say bahagian pendahuluan (introduction section), bahagian isi (body/content section), etc.

Why is “dia” used for both “he” and “she”? How do people know which one it means?

In Malay:

dia = he or she (and sometimes they in casual, singular sense)
The pronoun itself does not mark gender.

People figure out whether dia means he or she from:

Earlier context: “We were talking about my supervisor, Puan Aida. Dia puji bahasa yang jelas…” → obviously female.
Names, titles, job roles mentioned earlier.
Additional phrases, if needed (e.g. lelaki itu, perempuan itu, that man/woman).

In your sentence alone, dia is gender-ambiguous. English forces you to choose “he” or “she”, but Malay doesn’t.

Can I drop the second “dia” and just say: “Dia puji bahasa yang jelas, tetapi cadangkan saya kuatkan bahagian kesimpulan.”?

Yes, that’s possible and natural in speech:

Dia puji bahasa yang jelas, tetapi cadangkan saya kuatkan bahagian kesimpulan.

Malay often drops repeated subjects when it’s clear who is being talked about. However:

Keeping dia in both clauses (dia puji… tetapi dia cadangkan…)
- Feels slightly clearer and more careful, especially in writing.
In casual conversation, dropping the second dia is very common.

Both versions are acceptable; the original one is just a bit more explicit.