Learn Hardcore Malay: Makanan di kantin itu sedap, dan saya mahu makan semuanya. - The food at that canteen is delicious, and I want to eat all of it.

It is not normally used before adjectives.
❌ Makanan di kantin itu adalah sedap sounds stiff/odd in everyday Malay.
It is used more before nouns or for emphasis:
- Dia adalah guru. – He/She is a teacher.
- Masalah utama adalah harga. – The main problem is the price.

So the normal way is simply: Subject + Adjective → Makanan di kantin itu sedap.

What does “di kantin itu” mean exactly, and what does “itu” add here?

Breakdown:

di = at / in / on (location preposition)
kantin = canteen
itu = that / the (demonstrative, points to something specific)

So “di kantin itu” = at/in that canteen (or at the canteen that both speaker and listener know about).

Without “itu”:

Makanan di kantin sedap.
→ Food at (a/the) canteen is tasty. (less specific)

With “itu”:

Makanan di kantin itu sedap.
→ The food at that particular canteen is tasty (the one we have in mind).

Also note: “di” is always written separately from the noun (di kantin, not dikantin). When attached, di- is a passive prefix, and that’s a different thing.

What is the difference between “saya” and “aku”? Why is “saya” used here?

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

saya
- Neutral and polite
- Used with strangers, in formal situations, with people older than you, in writing, etc.
- Safe default in almost all situations
aku
- Informal/intimate
- Used with close friends, family, sometimes in songs, casual speech
- Can sound rude or too familiar if used with the wrong person

In this sentence, “saya” is used because it’s a neutral, polite choice:

… dan saya mahu makan semuanya.
→ … and I want to eat all of it.

With close friends you might say:

… dan aku nak makan semuanya.

What’s the nuance of “mahu”? How is it different from “hendak”, “nak”, or “ingin”?

All of these can relate to wanting something, but their tone and formality differ.

mahu
- Very common, neutral; means “want”
- Works in both spoken and written Malay
- In the sentence: saya mahu makan semuanya → I want to eat all of it.
hendak
- Essentially a synonym of mahu
- A bit more formal / traditional in feel
- Often shortened to “nak” in speech
nak
- Colloquial spoken form (from hendak)
- Very common in casual conversation:
  - Saya nak makan semuanya. (informal)
ingin
- More like “wish / would like to / desire”
- Sounds more polite or slightly formal:
  - Saya ingin makan semuanya. → I would like to eat all of it.

All are grammatically possible; the original “mahu” is a neutral, standard choice.

Why is it “makan semuanya” and not just “makan semua”? What’s the difference between “semua” and “semuanya”?

Semua and semuanya are related but used slightly differently.

semua + noun = all (the) …
- Saya mahu makan *semua makanan.
  → I want to eat *all the food.
semuanya = all of it / all of them (acts like a pronoun)
- Refers back to something already mentioned.
- In the sentence:
  - Makanan di kantin itu sedap, dan saya mahu makan *semuanya.
    → The food at that canteen is tasty, and I want to eat *all of it.
semua alone
- Can sometimes mean “everything / everyone”, but without context it’s vaguer:
  - Saya mahu makan semua.
    Could mean “I want to eat everything” (very general, a bit odd unless context is clear).

So here “semuanya” is natural because it clearly means “all of it (the food)”.

Does “makanan” mean “food” or “foods”? How do you know if it’s singular or plural?

“Makanan” can mean “food” or “foods”; Malay usually does not mark plural with an ending like English -s.

makan = to eat
makanan = food / things to eat

Whether it’s singular or plural is understood from context or extra words:

makanan – food / the food
semua makanan – all the food / all the foods
banyak makanan – a lot of food / many kinds of food
pelbagai makanan – various foods

In the sentence:

Makanan di kantin itu sedap
→ The food at that canteen is tasty.
(Could be multiple dishes; Malay doesn’t need to mark it with a plural ending.)

Can I drop “saya” and just say “Mahu makan semuanya”?

Yes, in spoken Malay, it’s quite common to omit the subject pronoun if it’s clear from context.

Mahu makan semuanya.
Could mean “(I) want to eat all of it.”

However:

In writing or when the subject is not obvious, it’s better to keep “saya”:
- … dan saya mahu makan semuanya.

So:

Casual speech to friends: “Mahu makan semuanya!” (if everyone knows you’re talking about yourself)
Neutral/clear sentence (like in a textbook or formal writing): “Saya mahu makan semuanya.”

How do I know the tense of “mahu makan”? Is it present, future, or something else?

Malay verbs do not change form for tense like English verbs do. “mahu makan” is always just want to eat.

The time is understood from context or from time words:

now: sekarang
- Sekarang saya mahu makan semuanya. → Right now I want to eat all of it.
later: nanti / kemudian
- Saya mahu makan semuanya nanti. → I want to eat all of it later.
earlier: tadi
- Tadi saya mahu makan semuanya. → Earlier I wanted to eat all of it.

Without extra words, “saya mahu makan semuanya” usually means:

I want (now) to eat all of it (soon / in the near future).

What does “dan” do here, and is the comma before it necessary?

“dan” means “and”.

Makanan di kantin itu sedap, dan saya mahu makan semuanya.
→ The food at that canteen is tasty, and I want to eat all of it.

About the comma:

You can write it with a comma:
- Makanan di kantin itu sedap, dan saya mahu makan semuanya.
Or without a comma:
- Makanan di kantin itu sedap dan saya mahu makan semuanya.

Both are acceptable. The comma just marks a slight pause between the two clauses and is more of a style choice.

What’s the difference between “makan” and “memakan”? Could I say “saya mahu memakan semuanya”?

makan = to eat
- Everyday, general verb for eating
- Used with or without a clear object:
  - Saya makan. – I eat / I’m eating.
  - Saya makan nasi. – I eat rice.
memakan = to eat / to consume
- More formal or literary in many contexts
- Also used with the meaning “to consume / take up (time, space, resources)”:
  - Projek itu memakan masa dua tahun. – The project took two years.

In your sentence:

Saya mahu makan semuanya.
is the normal, natural version.
Saya mahu memakan semuanya.
is grammatically correct, but sounds more formal, bookish, or emphatic, and is not how people usually talk in everyday conversation about ordinary eating.

If I want to say “very tasty”, where should I put “very” in this sentence?

Malay often uses “sangat”, “amat”, or “sekali” for “very”.

You put “sangat/amat” before the adjective:

Makanan di kantin itu sangat sedap.
Makanan di kantin itu amat sedap.
→ The food at that canteen is very tasty.

Or “sekali” after the adjective:

Makanan di kantin itu sedap sekali.
→ The food at that canteen is very tasty.

You don’t put “sangat” before the noun:

❌ Sangat makanan sedap – incorrect
✅ Makanan di kantin itu sangat sedap.