Kami berlatih di stadium kecil dekat sekolah setiap petang.

We train at a small stadium near the school every evening.

Breakdown of Kami berlatih di stadium kecil dekat sekolah setiap petang.

• di: at
• setiap: every
• kecil: small
• dekat: near
• kami: we
• petang: the evening
• sekolah: the school
• berlatih: to train
• stadium: the stadium

Questions & Answers about Kami berlatih di stadium kecil dekat sekolah setiap petang.

Why does the sentence use kami instead of kita for we?

Malay has two common words for we:

• kami = we (excluding the listener)
• kita = we (including the listener)

In this sentence, kami berlatih... means we (but not you) practice....
So the speaker is saying that their group practices there, and the person being spoken to is not part of that group.

If the listener were part of the training group, you would normally say:

• Kita berlatih di stadium kecil dekat sekolah setiap petang.
  = We (you and I / all of us including you) practise at the small stadium…

So the choice between kami and kita depends on whether the listener is included in the group or not.

What exactly does berlatih mean, and how is it different from latihan or melatih?

All three are related but have different functions:

• latih – root meaning to train / to coach / to drill
• berlatih – ber-
  • latih
    • intransitive verb: to practise / to train (oneself / as a group)
    • used when the subject is the one practising
    • Kami berlatih. = We practise.
• melatih – meN-
  • latih
    • transitive verb: to train (someone/something)
    • needs an object
    • Jurulatih itu melatih kami. = The coach trains us.
• latihan
  • noun: practice / training / exercise
  • e.g. latihan bola sepak = football practice

In the sentence Kami berlatih..., the group is doing the practising themselves, so berlatih is the correct form.

Why is di used before stadium? Could I say ke stadium kecil instead?

di and ke are different prepositions:

• di = at / in / on (location, no movement)
• ke = to / towards (movement, direction)

In the sentence:

• Kami berlatih di stadium kecil...
  → They practise at the small stadium (location).

If you used ke:

• Kami pergi ke stadium kecil dekat sekolah.
  = We go to the small stadium near the school.

So:

• Use di when you are talking about where something happens.
• Use ke when you are talking about going to that place.

In your sentence, they are already there doing the practice, so di is correct.

Why is it stadium kecil and not kecil stadium? What is the normal word order for adjectives?

In Malay, the usual order is:

noun + adjective

So:

• stadium kecil = small stadium
• sekolah besar = big school
• baju merah = red shirt

Putting the adjective before the noun (kecil stadium) is incorrect in standard Malay; that would sound very wrong to a native speaker.

So stadium kecil follows the normal Malay pattern: noun first, then describing word.

Does stadium kecil mean only one stadium, or could it also mean small stadiums (plural)?

By itself, stadium kecil is not marked for number. It could mean:

• a small stadium
• the small stadium
• small stadiums

Malay normally does not add an ending for plural like English -s. Context tells you whether it’s singular or plural.

If you really want to make plural clear, you can use:

• beberapa stadium kecil = several small stadiums
• dua stadium kecil = two small stadiums
• semua stadium kecil = all the small stadiums

In your sentence, most learners would read stadium kecil as a single specific stadium (the small stadium near the school), because it sounds like a particular, familiar place.

Can I drop di and just say Kami berlatih stadium kecil dekat sekolah?

No, you should not drop di here.

Without di, stadium kecil would be understood as a direct object of berlatih, which doesn’t make sense (we practise the small stadium).

To express location, you need a preposition like di:

• Kami berlatih di stadium kecil... = We practise at the small stadium...

So the di is necessary to show that stadium kecil dekat sekolah is the place where the practising happens.

What is dekat doing in dekat sekolah? Should it be dekat dengan sekolah or di dekat sekolah?

dekat basically means near / close. It can act a bit like:

• an adjective: rumah itu dekat = that house is near/close (by)
• a preposition: dekat sekolah = near the school

In everyday Malay:

• dekat sekolah (near the school) – very common and natural
• dekat dengan sekolah – also correct; a bit more explicit/formal
• di dekat sekolah – possible, but often felt a bit heavier; more like at a place near the school

In your sentence:

• stadium kecil dekat sekolah
  = the small stadium (that is) near the school

Here dekat sekolah works like a phrase describing where the stadium is, and it is very natural without extra di or dengan.

Is stadium kecil dekat sekolah all one noun phrase, or is dekat sekolah separate?

stadium kecil dekat sekolah is best understood as one long noun phrase:

• stadium – stadium
• kecil – small
• dekat sekolah – (which is) near the school

So you can think of it as:

the small stadium near the school

The whole phrase answers where they practise:

• Kami berlatih [di stadium kecil dekat sekolah] setiap petang.

Everything inside the brackets is one location expression introduced by di.

What does setiap petang add to the meaning, and is it the same as tiap petang or tiap-tiap petang?

setiap petang means every afternoon and shows that the action is habitual / repeated.

Variations:

• setiap petang – very common, neutral: every afternoon
• tiap petang – also common, slightly shorter/more informal: every afternoon
• tiap-tiap petang – more emphatic or old‑fashioned/bookish in some contexts, but still understood: every single afternoon

In most modern, neutral Malay, setiap petang or tiap petang are preferred.

Other related words:

• setiap hari = every day
• setiap pagi = every morning
• setiap malam = every night

In your sentence, setiap petang clearly shows it’s something they regularly do, not a one‑time event.

Malay doesn’t show tense the way English does. How do we know this is about a regular habit (present) and not past or future?

Malay verbs usually do not change form for tense (no -ed, -s, will, etc.). Instead, tense and aspect are understood from:

1. Time words

   • setiap petang = every afternoon → usually present/future, repeated
   • semalam = last night → past
   • esok = tomorrow → future

2. Context

In Kami berlatih di stadium kecil dekat sekolah setiap petang, the phrase setiap petang tells us it is a repeated, habitual action. In English we express that with the present simple:

• We practise at the small stadium near the school every afternoon.

If you wanted to make past or future clearer, you could add extra markers:

• Dulu kami berlatih... = We used to practise...
• Esok kami akan berlatih... = Tomorrow we will practise...

Can I move setiap petang to the front of the sentence, like in English: Every afternoon, we practise...?

Yes. Malay word order for time expressions is quite flexible. These are all acceptable:

1. Kami berlatih di stadium kecil dekat sekolah setiap petang.
2. Setiap petang, kami berlatih di stadium kecil dekat sekolah.
3. Kami setiap petang berlatih di stadium kecil dekat sekolah. (less common, but possible in speech)

The most neutral/common are:

• time at the end: ... setiap petang, or
• time at the beginning with a comma pause: Setiap petang, kami...

The meaning stays the same; you’re just changing the emphasis a bit.