Learn Hardcore Malay: Saya guna pembaris panjang untuk melukis peta di buku latihan. - I use a long ruler to draw a map in the exercise book.

Menggunakan is the meN- (verbal) form of guna, and it sounds more formal or written. In casual speech and in a lot of writing that mimics speech, people just say guna.

Can I say Saya menggunakan pembaris panjang untuk melukis peta di buku latihan instead?

Yes, that sentence is correct and natural. The meaning is the same.

Nuance:

Saya guna… – neutral, everyday, conversational, also OK in many informal written contexts (messages, casual essays, etc.).
Saya menggunakan… – more formal / careful style, common in:
- school essays
- official documents
- news, reports

So you can freely use menggunakan if you want a slightly more formal tone.

Is guna the same as pakai? Can I say Saya pakai pembaris panjang…?

Guna and pakai often overlap in the sense of “use”, but they are not always interchangeable.

Saya guna pembaris panjang… – very natural.
Saya pakai pembaris panjang… – understandable, but less typical; people usually say guna with pembaris.

Typical tendencies:

guna: for tools, methods, languages, etc.
- guna komputer (use a computer)
- guna pensel (use a pencil)
pakai: “to wear” or “to use” in certain fixed expressions
- pakai baju (wear clothes)
- pakai kasut (wear shoes)
- pakai cermin mata (wear glasses)
- pakai duit (use/spend money) – colloquial

So in this sentence, guna is the most natural choice.

Why is it pembaris panjang and not panjang pembaris?

Malay word order in noun phrases is typically:

NOUN + ADJECTIVE

So:

pembaris panjang = long ruler
buku latihan = exercise book
baju merah = red shirt

If you say panjang pembaris, it sounds like “the length of the ruler” (where panjang is treated more as a noun: length) or an unusual structure, not the normal “long ruler” phrase.

So for “a long ruler”, stick to pembaris panjang.

Do I need a classifier like sebatang before pembaris panjang?

You can use a classifier, but you don’t have to here.

Saya guna pembaris panjang… – OK, general statement.
Saya guna sebatang pembaris panjang… – “I use one long ruler…”, with a clearer idea of one item.

Batang is the classifier for long, thin objects (sticks, pencils, rulers, etc.). Adding sebatang is useful when you need to be specific about quantity:

sebatang pembaris – one ruler
dua batang pensel – two pencils

In general descriptions or when quantity is not important, Malays often drop the classifier: guna pembaris, beli pensel, etc.

What exactly does untuk do in untuk melukis peta?

Untuk means “for” or “in order to” and introduces a purpose.

Saya guna pembaris panjang untuk melukis peta…
= I use a long ruler in order to draw a map…

So the structure is:

[Action] + untuk + [purpose verb]

Examples:

Saya belajar untuk lulus peperiksaan.
I study to pass the exam.
Dia bekerja keras untuk membantu keluarganya.
He works hard to help his family.

In this sentence, untuk melukis peta explains why you use the ruler.

Why is it melukis and not just lukis?

Lukis is the root verb “to draw”.
Melukis is the meN- form of that verb.

meN + lukis → melukis

Both can appear as verbs, but melukis is:

more standard / neutral in full sentences
common after untuk when expressing purpose

Compare:

Saya suka lukis. – conversational, “I like to draw.”
Saya suka melukis. – also natural, a bit more “complete” or standard.

In untuk melukis peta, the me- form fits the formal structure “for drawing a map”. In casual colloquial speech, some people might say untuk lukis peta, and it will still be understood.

Can I drop untuk and just say Saya guna pembaris panjang melukis peta?

That would sound odd or ungrammatical in standard Malay. You normally need untuk to clearly mark the purpose clause here.

Correct options:

Saya guna pembaris panjang untuk melukis peta.
Saya guna pembaris panjang semasa melukis peta.
(I use a long ruler while drawing a map.)

Without untuk or another connector (like semasa, apabila), the relation between the two verbs (guna and melukis) becomes unclear in Malay.

Does di buku latihan mean “in the exercise book” or “on the exercise book”?

Di is a general location preposition, often translated as “in”, “at”, or “on” depending on context.

In this sentence, di buku latihan most naturally means “in the exercise book”, because:

a map in a book is usually drawn on the pages inside.

For physical surfaces:

di atas meja – on the table
di dalam beg – in the bag
di buku latihan – in the exercise book (on its pages)

Malay often omits atas / dalam when the context is obvious, so di buku latihan is fine and normal. If you want to be very explicit:

di dalam buku latihan – in(side) the exercise book
di atas buku latihan – on top of the exercise book (physically on its cover)

What is the difference between di and pada here? Could I say pada buku latihan?

In everyday modern Malay:

di is the usual preposition for place / location.
pada is more for time, abstract relations, or “to/at” with people or things.

So:

di buku latihan – “in the exercise book” (place – natural here)
pada pukul tiga – at three o’clock (time)
pada pendapat saya – in my opinion
bercakap pada Ali – talk to Ali (more formal; colloquially: cakap dengan Ali)

You can sometimes see pada used with physical objects in very formal writing, but di buku latihan is the normal, natural choice in this sentence.

Is buku latihan one fixed expression? Could it mean any kind of book?

Buku latihan is a common collocation that specifically means “exercise book / workbook” – a book where students write answers, do exercises, etc.

Breakdown:

buku – book
latihan – exercise, practice

So:

buku latihan Matematik – Maths exercise book
buku latihan Bahasa Melayu – Malay exercise book

It does not just mean “any book with exercises” in an abstract sense; in school contexts it very strongly implies the physical exercise book students use.

Do I always need to say saya? Could I just say Guna pembaris panjang untuk melukis peta…?

You don’t always need to say saya, but dropping it changes the feel of the sentence.

Saya guna pembaris panjang… – clear subject “I”.
Guna pembaris panjang untuk melukis peta… – fragment that sounds like:
- an instruction (“Use a long ruler to draw a map…”), or
- part of a list / note

In Malay, subjects can be omitted when clear from context, but in a standalone neutral sentence like this, including saya is the most natural:

(Kalau saya melukis peta,) saya guna pembaris panjang.
(When I draw a map,) I use a long ruler.

How do we know if this means “I use” (habit), “I am using” (right now), or “I used” (past)? There is no tense marker.

Malay does not mark tense by changing the verb form. The verb guna stays the same. Time is understood from:

context
time adverbs (yesterday, always, now, later, etc.)

Your sentence could be:

“I use a long ruler…” (general habit)
“I am using a long ruler…” (right now, if the context makes that clear)
“I used a long ruler…” (past, again from context)

To be explicit, you add time words:

Semalam saya guna pembaris panjang… – Yesterday I used a long ruler…
Sekarang saya guna pembaris panjang… – Now I am using a long ruler…
Selalu saya guna pembaris panjang… – I always use a long ruler…

Can I change the word order, like Saya guna pembaris panjang di buku latihan untuk melukis peta?

You can move parts around, but you must be careful not to create confusion.

Saya guna pembaris panjang untuk melukis peta di buku latihan.
– Most natural:
Use a long ruler to draw a map in the exercise book.
Saya guna pembaris panjang di buku latihan untuk melukis peta.
– Grammatically possible, but di buku latihan now sounds like it modifies guna pembaris panjang more directly (“I use a long ruler in the exercise book…”), which is a bit odd.

In practice, speakers tend to keep di buku latihan close to the verb it semantically belongs to, i.e. melukis peta. So your original sentence is the clearest and most natural.