Learn Hardcore Malay: Saya beri beberapa syiling kepada anak kecil itu untuk beli snek di gerai. - I give some coins to that small child to buy a snack at the stall.

Past:
- Tadi / semalam / kelmarin – earlier / yesterday
- Tadi saya beri beberapa syiling… – I gave some coins earlier.
Present:
- Sekarang saya beri… – I am giving now.
Future:
- Nanti / esok / akan – later / tomorrow / will
- Esok saya akan beri… – I will give…

So your original sentence could be translated as I give or I gave depending on the story context. English forces you to choose a tense; Malay doesn’t.

What does “beberapa” mean exactly? Is it “some” or “a few”? Does it change the noun?

Beberapa means “some” / “a few” and is used before countable nouns.

beberapa syiling – some coins / a few coins
beberapa orang – some people
beberapa buku – a few books

It does not change the noun form:

Malay does not add an -s plural ending to nouns.
syiling can mean “coin” or “coins” depending on context.
beberapa syiling is understood as more than one coin, but not a large number.

So beberapa is a quantifier, not a plural ending.

Is “syiling” singular or plural? How is it different from “duit” or “wang”?

Syiling is a loanword for “shilling/coin” and can mean a coin or coins, depending on context.

satu syiling – one coin
beberapa syiling – some / a few coins

Other related words:

duit – money (very common, informal-neutral)
- Saya beri sedikit duit… – I gave a bit of money…
wang – money (more formal)
- Saya memberi wang kepada… – I gave money to…
koin – also “coin”, but syiling is more common in Malay.

In your sentence, beberapa syiling focuses on coins specifically, not just money in general.

Why do we use “kepada” instead of “pada” or just nothing before “anak kecil itu”?

Kepada is a preposition used (among other things) for indirect objects, especially when you give or say something to someone:

beri sesuatu kepada seseorang – give something to someone
cakap kepada dia – speak to him/her

So:

Saya beri beberapa syiling kepada anak kecil itu…
= I gave some coins to that little child.

Pada can overlap with kepada, but:

kepada – preferred when talking about giving, saying, directing something to a person or recipient
pada – more for location, time, or state, and sometimes people in more formal style

Omitting the preposition here:

✗ Saya beri beberapa syiling anak kecil itu…
sounds wrong in Malay; you need kepada in this structure.

What does “anak kecil itu” literally mean, and how is it different from just “anak itu” or “budak kecil itu”?

Literally:

anak – child / offspring
kecil – small / little
itu – that

So anak kecil itu = “that little child.”

Nuances:

anak itu – that child (neutral, no size/age emphasis)
anak kecil itu – that little child / that small child (emphasises the child is small/young)
budak kecil itu – that little kid (more casual; budak is “kid” / “child” and often less formal)

Word order:

Adjectives like kecil usually come after the noun:
- anak kecil – small child
  Not kecil anak (ungrammatical in standard Malay).

Why does the demonstrative “itu” come after “anak kecil” and not before, like English “that”?

Malay demonstratives normally come after the noun phrase:

buku itu – that book
rumah besar itu – that big house
anak kecil itu – that little child

So the pattern is:

[noun] + [adjective(s)] + itu/ini

ini – this
itu – that

Putting itu before the noun (itu anak kecil) is only natural in specific structures (e.g., as a standalone topic) and not the standard way to say “that little child” inside a simple sentence like this.

Why is it “untuk beli” and not “untuk membeli”? Is it okay to drop the meN- prefix?

The root of beli is beli (“to buy”).
Membeli is the meN--prefixed form of the same verb, often more formal.

After untuk (for / in order to), both are possible:

untuk beli snek – to buy snacks (very common in speech, informal-neutral writing)
untuk membeli snek – to buy snacks (more formal / careful style)

In modern Malay, especially in conversation or informal text, bare verbs after “untuk” are very common and fully acceptable.

So yes, dropping meN- here (untuk beli) is natural and not wrong.

What is the function of “untuk” in this sentence, and how is it different from “supaya”?

Untuk here marks purpose: “for / in order to.”

…kepada anak kecil itu untuk beli snek di gerai.
= to that little child so (he/she can) buy snacks at the stall.

Supaya also expresses purpose but is usually followed by a clause with a subject:

…kepada anak kecil itu supaya dia boleh beli snek di gerai.
– …to that little child so that he/she can buy snacks at the stall.

Comparison:

untuk + verb / noun
- untuk beli snek
- untuk makan
- untuk kesihatan (for health)
supaya + clause (subject + verb)
- supaya dia boleh beli snek
- supaya mereka berjaya

Your original sentence is correctly using untuk with a verb (beli).

What does “snek” mean, and is it a Malay word or a borrowing? Are there more native-sounding alternatives?

Snek is a loanword from English “snack”, adapted to Malay spelling and pronunciation. It means exactly that: snack / snacks, usually small, light foods.

Alternatives:

makanan ringan – light food; common neutral phrase for snacks.
kudap-kudapan – nibbles / munchies; a bit more literary or descriptive.
jajan (in some regions / informal) – junk food / snacks, especially for kids.

Your sentence with a more neutral phrase:

…untuk beli makanan ringan di gerai. – to buy snacks at the stall.

But snek is very widely used and natural.

Why is it “di gerai” and not “ke gerai”? What’s the difference between di and ke?

di = at / in / on – indicates location (where something is).
ke = to / towards – indicates direction / movement (where something goes).

In your sentence:

di gerai = at the stall (location of the buying)
- You are describing where the snack will be bought, not the motion to get there.

If you wanted to emphasise movement to the stall:

Saya beri beberapa syiling kepada anak kecil itu untuk pergi ke gerai beli snek.
– I gave some coins to that little child to go to the stall and buy snacks.

But as written, di gerai correctly indicates the place of the buying action.

What exactly is a “gerai”? Is it the same as “kedai”?

Both are types of places where you can buy things, but they differ slightly:

gerai – stall / booth / small stand, often temporary or semi-permanent
- e.g. a stall at a market, a food stall by the roadside.
kedai – shop / store, usually more permanent, a full shop unit or room

So:

snek di gerai – snacks at a (small) stall
snek di kedai – snacks at a shop

In real use, there can be some overlap, but gerai conjures the image of a small stall rather than a full shop.

Can I change the word order to “Saya beri kepada anak kecil itu beberapa syiling…”?

You can, and it is still grammatical, but it sounds less natural in everyday Malay.

Typical, more natural order:

Saya beri [something] kepada [someone].
- Saya beri beberapa syiling kepada anak kecil itu.

Placing kepada + person before the thing:

Saya beri kepada anak kecil itu beberapa syiling.

This is possible, but it feels a bit marked or bookish. In spoken Malay, most people would keep the object (coins) before the indirect object (child) as in the original sentence.

If I want to replace “to that little child” with a pronoun, how would I say it?

You can use -nya (a third-person possessive/oblique clitic) or an explicit pronoun.

With -nya attached to the verb:

Saya berinya beberapa syiling untuk beli snek di gerai.
– I gave him/her some coins to buy snacks at the stall.

Here, -nya = to him / her (depending on context).

With a separate pronoun + kepada:

Saya beri beberapa syiling kepada dia untuk beli snek di gerai.
Saya beri beberapa syiling kepadanya untuk beli snek di gerai. (more formal)

All of these replace anak kecil itu with a pronoun meaning him/her.