Mereka tinggal di negara kecil itu.

They live in that small country.

Breakdown of Mereka tinggal di negara kecil itu.

• itu: that
• mereka: they
• di: in
• kecil: small
• negara: the country
• tinggal: to remain

Questions & Answers about Mereka tinggal di negara kecil itu.

What does mereka mean exactly, and is it always “they”?

Mereka is the standard Malay pronoun for “they / them” (third person plural).

• mereka = they / them
• dia = he / she / him / her (singular)

Mereka is not used for “we”; for that you use:

• kami = we (excluding the person you’re talking to)
• kita = we (including the person you’re talking to)

So in Mereka tinggal di negara kecil itu, mereka clearly means more than one other person: “They live in that small country.”

What is the function of tinggal, and does it mean “to live” or “to stay”?

Tinggal can mean both:

1. To live / reside (permanently)

   • Mereka tinggal di negara kecil itu.
     → They live in that small country.

2. To stay (temporarily), remain, be left

   • Saya tinggal di hotel. → I’m staying at a hotel.
   • Hanya dua orang yang tinggal. → Only two people are left.

In this sentence, because it’s about “country”, the natural interpretation is “live / reside”, not a short stay.

Why is there no word for “are” in the sentence (like “They are living…”)?

Malay generally does not use a separate verb “to be” (am / is / are) before verbs or adjectives the way English does.

• English: They are living in that small country.
• Malay: Mereka tinggal di negara kecil itu.
  (literally: They live/stay at that small country.)

So you don’t say ✗ mereka adalah tinggal.
Here tinggal already functions as the main verb, and no extra “to be” verb is needed.

What does di mean here, and how is it different from other prepositions like ke?

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

• tinggal di negara → live in a country
• di rumah → at home
• di sekolah → at school

Difference from ke:

• ke = to / towards (movement)
  
  • pergi ke negara itu → go to that country
• di = in / at (location, no movement implied)
  
  • tinggal di negara itu → live in that country

So di negara kecil itu = in that small country.

How is the phrase negara kecil itu structured? Why is it not like English word order?

In Malay, the usual order is:

Noun + Adjective + Demonstrative

• negara = country
• kecil = small
• itu = that

So:

• negara kecil itu = literally “country small that”
  → “that small country” in natural English.

This pattern is very common:

• rumah besar itu → that big house
• budak nakal itu → that naughty kid
• buku baru itu → that new book

What exactly does itu mean, and how is it different from ini?

Itu and ini are demonstratives:

• itu = that / those (farther, or already known in context)
• ini = this / these (closer to the speaker)

Placed after the noun:

• negara itu → that country
• negara ini → this country
• negara kecil itu → that small country

Besides “that”, itu can sometimes work like “the” in English, referring to something already known:

• negara kecil itu could be “that small country” or “the small country (we were talking about)”
  Context decides which English article sounds better.

How do we know the sentence is in the present tense (“live”) and not past or future?

Malay verbs usually do not change form for tense. Tinggal stays the same for past, present, or future. The tense is understood from context or from time markers.

For example:

• Mereka tinggal di negara kecil itu.
  → They live / lived / will live in that small country (context decides).
• Dulu mereka tinggal di negara kecil itu.
  → In the past, they lived in that small country. (dulu = formerly)
• Sekarang mereka tinggal di negara kecil itu.
  → Now they live in that small country. (sekarang = now)
• Mereka akan tinggal di negara kecil itu.
  → They will live in that small country. (akan = will)

In isolation, Mereka tinggal di negara kecil itu is most naturally understood as present tense in many contexts: “They live in that small country.”

How do we know the subject is plural “they” and not singular “he/she”?

The plurality comes from the pronoun:

• dia = he / she (singular)
• mereka = they (plural)

Verbs like tinggal don’t change for singular or plural:

• Dia tinggal di negara kecil itu. → He/She lives in that small country.
• Mereka tinggal di negara kecil itu. → They live in that small country.

So the verb form tinggal is the same; only the pronoun tells you singular vs plural.

Could we say “di negara itu yang kecil” instead of “di negara kecil itu”?

You can say di negara itu yang kecil, but it sounds different and is not the normal way to say “in that small country”.

• di negara kecil itu
  → neutral, simple description: “in that small country”

• di negara itu yang kecil
  → sounds more like: “in that country which is small”, often used in contrast with something else (e.g. there are several countries, and you’re specifying the one that is small).

For a straightforward description, Malay normally uses: noun + adjective + itu/ini: negara kecil itu.

Is there any article like “a” or “the” in negara kecil itu?

Malay has no separate articles like “a / an / the”. The sense of “a” or “the” is conveyed by context and by words like itu / ini or by classifiers.

• negara kecil
  → could be “a small country” (in general, not specific)
• negara kecil itu
  → usually “that small country” or “the small country (we both know)”

If you want to emphasize “one small country” (indefinite), you can use a classifier like sebuah:

• sebuah negara kecil → a small country (one small country)

Can we add sebuah in this sentence: Mereka tinggal di sebuah negara kecil itu?

No; sebuah and itu don’t go together like that.

You can say:

• Mereka tinggal di sebuah negara kecil.
  → They live in a small country. (indefinite, one small country, not specifically identified)

Or:

• Mereka tinggal di negara kecil itu.
  → They live in that small country / the small country (specific, known).

But ✗ sebuah negara kecil itu is ungrammatical; it mixes “a” and “that/the” in a way Malay doesn’t allow.

Is the word order “Mereka tinggal di negara kecil itu” fixed, or can we move words around?

The basic word order is fixed:

1. Subject: Mereka
2. Verb: tinggal
3. Prepositional phrase: di negara kecil itu (preposition + noun phrase)

Natural:

• Mereka tinggal di negara kecil itu.

Unnatural or wrong:

• ✗ Mereka di negara kecil itu tinggal. (sounds very odd)
• ✗ Tinggal mereka di negara kecil itu. (changes focus and sounds poetic/dramatic at best)

Inside the noun phrase, the order is also fixed:

• negara kecil itu (noun + adjective + demonstrative)
  Not: ✗ kecil negara itu or ✗ itu negara kecil (these would be ungrammatical or very marked).

Is Mereka tinggal di negara kecil itu formal, informal, or neutral?

The sentence is neutral in tone and can be used in both spoken and written Malay.

• mereka is a standard, neutral third-person plural pronoun.
• The vocabulary (tinggal, negara, kecil, itu) is everyday, not slang and not overly formal.

So it’s perfectly acceptable in casual conversation, news reports, essays, etc.