Anak perempuan itu menendang bola di taman.

That girl kicks the ball in the park.

Breakdown of Anak perempuan itu menendang bola di taman.

• itu: that
• di: in
• taman: the park
• bola: the ball
• anak perempuan: the girl
• menendang: to kick

Questions & Answers about Anak perempuan itu menendang bola di taman.

What does anak perempuan literally mean, and why not just say perempuan for “girl”?

Literally:

• anak = child
• perempuan = female / woman

So anak perempuan literally means “female child”, and in everyday Malay it usually corresponds to “girl” or “daughter”, depending on context.

• anak perempuan → girl / daughter
• perempuan alone usually means “woman”, not “girl”.

So:

• Anak perempuan itu → the girl / that girl
• Perempuan itu → the woman / that woman

What does itu do in anak perempuan itu? Is it like “the” or “that”?

Itu is a demonstrative that basically means “that”. In many contexts it also functions like an English definite article (“the”).

• anak perempuan = a girl / girl (not specified)
• anak perempuan itu = that girl / the girl (a specific one we both know)

So itu:

• points to a specific referent (like saying that girl over there), and
• often plays the role that “the” plays in English.

If you said Anak perempuan menendang bola di taman, it would sound incomplete or too generic: A girl kicked a ball in the park without clearly marking which girl. Itu makes it clearly that/the girl.

Why is there no separate word showing past tense like “kicked” vs “kicks” vs “is kicking”?

Malay generally does not mark tense on the verb the way English does. The verb menendang covers kick / kicked / is kicking / was kicking, etc.

Time is usually shown by:

• context, or
• time adverbs, for example:
  
  • tadi = earlier, just now
  • semalam = last night
  • akan = will, going to
  • sedang = in the middle of (doing something, continuous aspect)

So:

• Anak perempuan itu menendang bola di taman.
  → could be “The girl kicked the ball in the park” or “The girl kicks the ball in the park,” depending on context.

If you want to make it clearly past:

• Tadi, anak perempuan itu menendang bola di taman.
  → Earlier, the girl kicked the ball in the park.

What is the difference between tendang and menendang?

The basic root is tendang (kick).

• tendang: root form
• menendang: meN- prefix + root → standard active verb form

In sentences, the meN- form is usually preferred for a normal active verb:

• Anak perempuan itu menendang bola.
  → Standard, neutral, complete sentence.

tendang (without the prefix) appears in:

• commands: Tendang bola itu! = Kick the ball!
• dictionary entries: listed as tendang
• some informal speech, but learners are usually taught to use menendang in normal sentences first.

How would I clearly say “The girl is kicking the ball in the park (right now)” instead of just “kicked/kicks”?

You can add sedang before the verb to show an ongoing action:

• Anak perempuan itu sedang menendang bola di taman.
  → The girl is kicking the ball in the park (right now / currently).

Structure:

• [Subject] + sedang + [verb] + [object] + [place]

So sedang roughly corresponds to English “is/are … -ing”.

What does di mean in di taman, and why not use ke?

di is a preposition meaning “at / in / on” (location).

• di taman = in the park / at the park

ke means “to” (movement towards a place).

• ke taman = to the park

So:

• Anak perempuan itu menendang bola di taman.
  → The girl kicked the ball in/at the park. (Location)

If you said:

• Anak perempuan itu menendang bola ke taman.
  → The girl kicked the ball to the park (the ball’s direction is towards the park),
  which is a different meaning.

Can bola mean “football/soccer ball,” or is it just “ball” in general?

bola by itself means “ball” in general.

In Malay:

• bola = ball (any kind)
• bola sepak = football / soccer (literally “kick ball”)

In casual conversation, context can make bola understood as “the football”, especially if people are already talking about football. But strictly speaking:

• Anak perempuan itu menendang bola di taman.
  → The girl kicked the ball in the park (type of ball not specified).

Is anak perempuan itu definitely singular, or could it mean “the girls”?

As written, anak perempuan itu is understood as singular: “the girl / that girl”.

Malay often leaves plural unmarked, but here:

• anak = child (singular)
• anak-anak = children (plural, reduplication)

To make it clearly plural, you would usually say:

• Anak-anak perempuan itu menendang bola di taman.
  → The girls kicked the ball in the park.

Note that itu can also refer to plural nouns:

• anak-anak perempuan itu = those girls / the girls.

What is the basic word order in this sentence, and can it be changed?

The basic word order here is Subject – Verb – Object – Place:

• Anak perempuan itu (Subject)
• menendang (Verb)
• bola (Object)
• di taman (Place phrase)

This is the most natural order for a simple active sentence.

You can change the structure to, for example, a passive:

• Bola itu ditendang oleh anak perempuan itu di taman.
  → The ball was kicked by the girl in the park.

But for a learner, keeping S–V–O–(place/time) is the safest and most natural pattern.

Could I say “The woman kicked the ball in the park” using a similar structure?

Yes. Just change anak perempuan (“girl”) to perempuan (“woman”):

• Perempuan itu menendang bola di taman.
  → The woman / that woman kicked the ball in the park.

Structure and grammar stay the same; only the noun changes.

What are some other common ways to say “girl” in Malay, and how do they differ from anak perempuan?

Common options:

• anak perempuan

  • literal “female child”
  • neutral, common; can mean girl or daughter, depending on context.

• budak perempuan

  • budak = kid
  • “female kid,” also girl, often with a slightly more childish feel (young girl).

• gadis

  • often means a young unmarried woman / young lady
  • slightly more formal or literary; used in phrases like gadis itu (that young lady).

So for a general neutral “girl”, anak perempuan or budak perempuan are very common.

Why is there no word like “a” or “an” (indefinite article) in the sentence?

Malay does not have articles like “a/an” and “the” as separate words.

• Definiteness is often shown with demonstratives like itu (that) or ini (this).
• Indefinite “a/an” is usually just implicit, or sometimes shown with seorang (a person), sebuah (a thing), etc.

In your sentence:

• Anak perempuan itu … → that/the girl … (definite, because of itu)

If you wanted a more clearly indefinite “a girl,” you might say:

• Seorang anak perempuan menendang bola di taman.
  → A girl kicked the ball in the park.

Here seorang functions roughly like “a (person)”.