Learn Hardcore Malay: Kami letak salad itu dalam bakul kecil di atas meja makan. - We put that salad in a small basket on the dining table.

In Kami letak salad itu dalam bakul kecil di atas meja makan, the speaker is saying that they and their group did the action, but the listener was not part of that group.

If the speaker wanted to include the listener (e.g. "We (you and I) put the salad..."), they would say:

Kita letak salad itu dalam bakul kecil di atas meja makan.

Why is the verb just letak and not meletakkan? Is meletakkan also correct?

Letak is the base verb meaning to put / place. In everyday spoken Malay, people very often use base verbs like letak, tarik (pull), tolak (push), etc., especially with pronouns like kami, saya, dia.

Meletakkan is the longer, affixed form. Roughly:

meletak / meletakkan = to put/place (more formal, often written Malay)
letak = to put/place (more colloquial / neutral spoken Malay)

In your sentence:

Kami letak salad itu... (very natural in conversation)
Kami meletakkan salad itu... (more formal, OK in writing or careful speech)

Both are grammatically correct; the difference is mainly formality and style, not meaning.

What does salad itu literally mean, and what is the function of itu here?

salad = salad
itu = that / the (demonstrative used for something already known or specific)

Salad itu literally means that salad, but in context it often works like the salad in English (referring to a specific salad both speaker and listener know about).

So:

salad itu = that particular salad / the salad
salad (without itu) = salad in general or some salad (less specific)

Without itu, the sentence would be:

Kami letak salad dalam bakul kecil...
→ We put (some) salad in the small basket...

With itu, it becomes clearer you mean a specific salad already known to both people.

Can itu come before the noun, like itu salad? What is the difference between salad itu and itu salad?

Normally, for that + noun, Malay uses:
noun + itu

So:

salad itu = that salad / the salad (normal structure)

Itu salad is unusual as a noun phrase. It can occur, but it usually has a different function, for example:

Itu salad.
→ That is salad. (Here itu = that, used like a pronoun: “That is …”)
Itu salad sedap.
→ This is ungrammatical as a simple noun phrase. You would normally say:
- Salad itu sedap. = That salad is delicious.

So, to say that salad, always prefer salad itu, not itu salad.

Why is it dalam bakul kecil and not di dalam bakul kecil? What is the difference between dalam and di dalam?

Both dalam and di dalam can mean in / inside:

dalam bakul kecil = in the small basket
di dalam bakul kecil = in(side) the small basket

Differences:

Spoken vs written / emphasis
- dalam is very common and completely natural in everyday speech.
- di dalam is a bit more formal or slightly more emphatic, almost like saying “right inside” in English.
Structure
- di is the locative preposition (at / in / on).
- dalam by itself can already function as “in”, so di is often dropped.

So you can say:

Kami letak salad itu dalam bakul kecil... (perfectly natural)
Kami letak salad itu di dalam bakul kecil... (also correct, slightly more “careful”/formal or more focused on the interior).

What is the difference between dalam and ke dalam? Could we say ke dalam bakul kecil here?

dalam / di dalam focus on location = in / inside
ke dalam focuses on movement into = into

Examples:

Kami letak salad itu dalam bakul kecil.
→ We put the salad in the small basket. (Resulting location)
Kami masukkan salad itu ke dalam bakul kecil.
→ We put the salad into the small basket. (Emphasizing the movement into the basket)

In your sentence, letak ... dalam bakul kecil already implies movement + final location, so native speakers are happy with dalam. You could also say:

Kami letak salad itu ke dalam bakul kecil.

This is understandable, but more natural would be to pair ke dalam with a verb like masukkan (“to put something into”), as shown above.

Why is it bakul kecil and not kecil bakul? How is adjective order handled in Malay?

In Malay, the usual order is:

Noun + Adjective

So:

bakul kecil = small basket
meja besar = big table
rumah baru = new house

Putting the adjective before the noun (kecil bakul) is not normal in Malay.

If you want to make it even clearer or more descriptive, you can also use yang:

bakul yang kecil = the basket that is small / the small basket

But bakul kecil is already perfectly natural and is the standard noun–adjective order.

What does meja makan literally mean, and why is there no preposition between meja and makan?

meja = table
makan = to eat / eating

Meja makan is a noun–noun compound meaning dining table (literally “eating table”). Malay often puts two nouns together to show function or type, without a preposition:

bilik tidur = bedroom (sleeping room)
baju tidur = pyjamas (sleeping clothes)
kasut sukan = sports shoes
meja belajar = study desk

There is no preposition like of or for in between; you don’t say meja untuk makan for the standard term, though it is grammatically possible and means “table for eating”.

So di atas meja makan = on the dining table.

Why is it di atas meja makan instead of just atas meja makan? What’s the role of di?

atas = on / above / top
di = at / in / on (locative preposition)

The “full” form is:

di atas meja makan = on top of the dining table / on the dining table.

In formal or careful Malay, you normally use di atas.

In colloquial speech, many people drop di and just say:

atas meja makan

Both are widely used in speech, but for writing and for learners, it’s good to remember:

di + atas (preposition + location word) is the standard, fully correct form.

How is past tense shown here? There’s no word for put in the past (like “put” vs “put” or “placed”).

Malay verbs do not change form for past, present, or future. Letak stays letak in all tenses. Time is understood from context or from time words.

Kami letak salad itu... can mean:

We put the salad... (past)
We are putting the salad... (present, in the right context)
We will put the salad... (future, in the right context)

If you want to make the past or future more explicit, you can add:

Past:
- tadi (a little while ago)
- semalam (yesterday)
- sudah / telah (already / have)
→ Kami tadi letak salad itu...
→ Kami sudah letak salad itu...
Future:
- nanti (later)
- akan (will)
→ Kami akan letak salad itu...

Could we change the word order, for example Kami letak salad itu di atas meja makan dalam bakul kecil? Is that still correct?

Yes, Malay allows some flexibility in the order of location phrases. Both of these are acceptable:

Kami letak salad itu dalam bakul kecil di atas meja makan.
→ Focus feels slightly more on the basket first, then where the basket is.
Kami letak salad itu di atas meja makan dalam bakul kecil.
→ Focus feels more on the table first, then where on the table (in a small basket).

Both are understandable and grammatical.
The original sentence is slightly more natural because in the small basket is more tightly linked to salad itu, and on the dining table is seen as the larger general location.

How would this sentence change if we wanted to be very formal or written-standard?

A more formal/written version would:

Prefer the affixed verb
Possibly use di dalam rather than just dalam

For example:

Kami meletakkan salad itu di dalam bakul kecil di atas meja makan.

This sounds like something you might find in written instructions, a report, or a formal description, whereas:

Kami letak salad itu dalam bakul kecil di atas meja makan.

sounds very natural in everyday speech.