Saya bentang tikar di ruang tamu sebelum keluarga sampai.

I spread out the mat in the living room before the family arrives.

Breakdown of Saya bentang tikar di ruang tamu sebelum keluarga sampai.

• saya: I
• di: in
• sebelum: before
• keluarga: the family
• ruang tamu: the living room
• sampai: to arrive
• bentang: to spread out
• tikar: the mat

Questions & Answers about Saya bentang tikar di ruang tamu sebelum keluarga sampai.

What does bentang mean exactly, and why is it not membentangkan here?

The root verb bentang means “to spread out / to lay out / to unroll (something flat)”, like a mat, cloth, map, carpet, etc.

In standard Malay you often see the meN- form membentang or membentangkan:

• membentang tikar – to spread out a mat
• membentangkan tikar – also possible; the -kan can make the object slightly more explicit/emphatic

In everyday conversation, Malays often use just the root form instead of the meN- form, especially with very common actions:

• Saya bentang tikar. (colloquial, very common)
• Saya membentang tikar. (more formal/standard, but still natural)

So bentang here is a perfectly natural, spoken-style shortcut for membentang. It’s still understood as an active verb: I spread out the mat.

Why is there no word for “arrived” like past tense? Why just sampai?

Malay verbs generally do not change form for tense (past, present, future). The word sampai is a bare verb that can mean:

• arrive / reach (as a verb), or
• until / up to (as a preposition/conjunction in other contexts)

Tense is usually shown by:

• time words: semalam (yesterday), tadi (just now), esok (tomorrow)
• context and connectors: sebelum (before), selepas (after)

In this sentence:

• sebelum keluarga sampai = before the family arrived / before the family arrives

Because of sebelum, we know it’s a “before X happens/happened” meaning. English must choose past or present (“arrived/arrives”), but Malay can leave it neutral and let context decide.

Could this also mean “before the family arrives” (future), not just “arrived” (past)?

Yes. On its own, sebelum keluarga sampai is flexible:

• If you are talking about a habit or plan, it can mean “before the family arrives” (future or general):

  • Setiap hari saya bentang tikar di ruang tamu sebelum keluarga sampai.
    = Every day I spread out the mat in the living room before the family arrives.

• If you are narrating a past event, it can mean “before the family arrived.”

  • Semalam saya bentang tikar di ruang tamu sebelum keluarga sampai.
    = Yesterday I spread out the mat in the living room before the family arrived.

English must choose a tense; Malay does not need to, so you rely on surrounding context (like semalam, nanti, etc.) to know if it is past, present, or future.

What is the difference between sampai, datang, and tiba?

All three can be translated as “come/arrive”, but they’re used a bit differently:

• datang – “to come” (focus on the movement toward you)

  • Keluarga saya datang pukul 8. = My family comes/comes over at 8.

• sampai – “to arrive / to reach (a place)”

  • Keluarga saya sampai pukul 8. = My family arrives (reaches here) at 8.
  • Common in speech and writing, very general.

• tiba – “to arrive” (more formal, often in announcements, news, or writing)

  • Kereta api akan tiba pada pukul 8. = The train will arrive at 8.

In your sentence, sampai makes sense because we are focusing on the moment when the family reaches home, and it’s a neutral, everyday choice. You could say:

• …sebelum keluarga datang. – before the family comes (slightly more about the act of coming)
• …sebelum keluarga tiba. – before the family arrives (sounds a bit formal here)

Why is it di ruang tamu and not ke ruang tamu?

di and ke have different roles:

• di = at / in / on (location – where something is)
• ke = to / toward (direction – where something is going)

In the sentence:

• di ruang tamu = in the living room / at the living room

You are describing where you spread the mat, not where you are going. So you use di, not ke.

Compare:

• Saya bentang tikar di ruang tamu. – I spread out the mat in the living room.
• Saya pergi ke ruang tamu. – I go to the living room.

What exactly does ruang tamu mean, and is it the same as “living room”?

Yes, ruang tamu is the standard term for “living room / sitting room” in Malay.

• ruang = space / area / room
• tamu = guest

So literally, ruang tamu is “guest area/guest room”, which matches the function of a living room: a place for receiving and sitting with guests. In normal usage, just think of it as living room.

Should it be sehelai tikar instead of just tikar? Don’t we need a classifier?

Malay often uses classifiers (like sehelai, sebuah, orang, etc.), but they are not always required.

• tikar = mat (general, can be singular or plural, depending on context)
• sehelai tikar = one mat (using helai, the classifier for flat, flexible things like cloth, mats, paper)

Your sentence:

• Saya bentang tikar di ruang tamu…
  = I spread out a mat / the mat / some mats in the living room…

All of these are possible translations depending on context. If you want to be explicit:

• Saya bentang sehelai tikar di ruang tamu… = I spread out one mat…
• Saya bentang beberapa helai tikar di ruang tamu… = I spread out several mats…

It’s common in conversation to omit the classifier when number is not important.

Why is it just keluarga, not keluarga saya for “my family”?

Malay often omits possessive pronouns when the context makes the meaning obvious.

keluarga literally means “family”, but in everyday speech:

• If you’re clearly talking about your own family, keluarga is understood as “my family”.
• If you need to be explicit or contrast with another family, you can say:
  • keluarga saya – my family
  • keluarga dia – his/her family
  • keluarga mereka – their family

Your sentence would still be correct as:

• Saya bentang tikar di ruang tamu sebelum keluarga saya sampai.

That version is just slightly longer and more explicit. Leaving out saya is natural when there’s no ambiguity.

How does sebelum work here? Could I put the sebelum-clause at the start of the sentence?

sebelum is a conjunction meaning “before”. It introduces a clause that expresses the earlier action.

Structure in your sentence:

• Main clause: Saya bentang tikar di ruang tamu
• Subordinate clause: sebelum keluarga sampai

So: I spread out the mat in the living room before the family arrived.

You can move the sebelum-clause to the front with no change of meaning:

• Sebelum keluarga sampai, saya bentang tikar di ruang tamu.

This word order is also natural and perhaps slightly more formal or “story-like.” Both orders are correct:

1. Saya bentang tikar… sebelum keluarga sampai.
2. Sebelum keluarga sampai, saya bentang tikar…

Why is it keluarga sampai (subject + verb) instead of sampai keluarga?

Malay standard word order (outside of some special constructions) is:

• Subject + Verb + (Object / Complement)

In the clause:

• keluarga = subject (the family)
• sampai = verb (arrives)

So keluarga sampai = the family arrives.

The order sampai keluarga would sound wrong or at least incomplete in this context, because it would be like saying “arrives the family” in English, which is not standard word order.

You sometimes do see sampai first when it’s used as a preposition/conjunction meaning “until / up to,” but that’s a different usage, for example:

• Sampai sekarang, saya tak tahu. = Until now, I don’t know.

Is bentang related to the word for “presentation” in Malay?

Yes. They come from the same root.

• bentang = to spread out / to lay out
• pembentangan = a presentation (literally something like “the act/process of laying out (information)”)
• membentang (kertas kerja, laporan) = to present (a paper, report)

The idea is similar: when you present something, you “lay it out” in front of people. But in your sentence bentang is used in the concrete, physical sense: to spread out (a mat).

Is saya always the best choice for “I”? What about aku?

Both saya and aku mean “I”, but they differ in politeness and context:

• saya

  • Neutral, polite, and safe in almost all situations.
  • Used with strangers, in formal settings, in writing.

• aku

  • More intimate, informal, or casual.
  • Used with close friends, between siblings, in songs, sometimes in prayers.

Your sentence with aku would be:

• Aku bentang tikar di ruang tamu sebelum keluarga sampai.

This sounds more casual and “homey,” like talking to a close friend. With saya, it’s neutral and polite, which is a good default for learners.