Dengan latihan tambahan, saya berharap dapat mencapai sasaran harian itu.

Breakdown of Dengan latihan tambahan, saya berharap dapat mencapai sasaran harian itu.

saya
I
itu
that
dengan
with
latihan
the practice
dapat
to be able
berharap
to hope
tambahan
extra
harian
daily
sasaran
the target
mencapai
to reach
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Questions & Answers about Dengan latihan tambahan, saya berharap dapat mencapai sasaran harian itu.

What does dengan mean here, and what exactly is its function in the sentence?

Dengan is a preposition that usually means with, using, or by (means of).

In this sentence:
Dengan latihan tambahan, saya berharap dapat mencapai sasaran harian itu.
Dengan latihan tambahan = With additional practice / By doing extra practice.

Functionally, it introduces the means or condition that helps you achieve the daily target. It answers the question “How will you (hopefully) reach that daily target?”With additional practice.

You generally cannot just say Latihan tambahan, saya berharap… without dengan; that would sound incomplete or unnatural in standard Malay.


What is the difference between latihan, berlatih, and melatih? They all seem related.

All three come from the same root, but they have different grammatical roles:

  • latihan – noun

    • Meaning: practice, training, exercise.
    • Example:
      • Saya perlukan lebih banyak latihan. = I need more practice.
  • berlatih – intransitive verb (to practice)

    • Used when you yourself are practicing.
    • Example:
      • Saya berlatih setiap hari. = I practice every day.
  • melatih – transitive verb (to train someone/something)

    • Used when you are training someone else.
    • Example:
      • Jurulatih itu melatih pemain bola sepak. = The coach trains the football players.

In the sentence dengan latihan tambahan, latihan is correct because you are talking about the thing (practice itself), not the action of practicing.


What does tambahan mean, and how is it different from lebih? Both feel like “more”.

Both relate to the idea of “more”, but they’re used differently:

  • tambahanextra, additional, added

    • Often used as an adjective for a specific extra amount or portion.
    • Example:
      • latihan tambahan = additional/extra practice
      • bayaran tambahan = additional fee
  • lebihmore, -er, excessive

    • More general and often used with adjectives or quantities.
    • Examples:
      • lebih cepat = faster
      • lebih banyak latihan = more practice (in quantity)

In this sentence, latihan tambahan sounds like a planned extra session or extra type of practice, not just “a larger quantity” of practice in a vague way. You could say lebih banyak latihan, but latihan tambahan is more compact and natural here.


Why is dengan latihan tambahan put at the beginning with a comma? Can I move it?

Putting dengan latihan tambahan at the beginning is a stylistic choice. It emphasizes the condition/means first:

  • Dengan latihan tambahan, saya berharap dapat mencapai sasaran harian itu.
    With additional practice, I hope to reach that daily target.

Yes, you can move it, and all of these are grammatically fine:

  1. Saya berharap, dengan latihan tambahan, dapat mencapai sasaran harian itu.
  2. Saya berharap dapat mencapai sasaran harian itu dengan latihan tambahan.

Differences are minor and mostly about emphasis:

  • At the beginning → highlights the role of extra practice.
  • At the end → focuses first on your hope and the target, then adds how you’ll do it.

Is there a difference between saya berharap and saya harap? Which is better here?

Both are correct, but they differ slightly in tone:

  • saya berharap

    • More formal, a bit more emotionally loaded (deeper hope, wish).
    • Common in writing, speeches, polite contexts.
  • saya harap

    • Slightly simpler and often feels a bit more casual/neutral.
    • Very common in everyday spoken Malay.

In this sentence, both work:

  • Saya berharap dapat mencapai sasaran harian itu.
  • Saya harap dapat mencapai sasaran harian itu.

The version with saya berharap sounds a bit more formal and careful, which fits well in written or polite contexts.


What exactly does dapat mean here, and how is it different from boleh?

dapat and boleh can both relate to possibility, but they’re not identical:

  • dapat

    • Core ideas: to be able to, to succeed in, to manage to, to obtain/get.
    • In this sentence, dapat mencapaito be able to achieve / to manage to achieve.
    • Often used for ability or success after some effort or condition is met.
  • boleh

    • Core ideas: may, can (allowed to), permitted to, sometimes able to.
    • Strong nuance of permission or allowance.
    • Example: Saya boleh pergi? = May I go? / Can I go?

Here, dapat mencapai sasaran harian itu is about being able to achieve a target (capability/success), not about being allowed to achieve it, so dapat is the natural choice.


What does mencapai literally mean, and why not just use capai?
  • Root: capai

    • Base meaning: to reach, to attain, to achieve.
  • mencapai is the standard meN- verb form from capai, and it’s the normal, grammatically complete verb in most contexts, especially in standard Malay.

You will see capai used by itself in casual speech or headlines, but in full sentences, mencapai is preferred:

  • Saya mahu mencapai sasaran itu.
  • Saya mahu capai sasaran itu. ✅ in casual speech, but less formal.

So mencapai is the correct and natural choice in this sentence, especially in a neutral or formal register.


What does sasaran mean, and how is it different from matlamat or target in English?
  • sasaran

    • Meaning: target, aim, mark.
    • Often used for measurable targets (numbers, quotas, specific goals).
    • Example: sasaran jualan = sales target.
  • matlamat

    • Meaning: goal, objective, end aim.
    • Slightly more abstract or long-term.
    • Example: matlamat hidup = life goal.

In sasaran harian, you are talking about a specific daily target (for example, 10,000 steps, 50 pages, 20 questions, etc.). sasaran harian is very natural for that idea.


What does harian mean, and how is it formed from hari?
  • hari = day
  • harian = daily, everyday (adjective or noun, depending on context)

Formed by adding -an to hari, creating an adjective that means related to days / done every day.

So:

  • sasaran harian = daily target
  • akhbar harian = daily newspaper
  • kehidupan harian = daily life

In the sentence, harian tells us that the sasaran is something you aim for each day.


What is the function of itu at the end of sasaran harian itu? Why put itu after the noun?

itu is a demonstrative meaning that. In Malay, it normally comes after the noun phrase:

  • buku itu = that book
  • rumah besar itu = that big house
  • sasaran harian itu = that daily target

Here, itu signals that both speaker and listener already know which daily target is being referred to (it’s been mentioned or is understood from context).

Without itu, sasaran harian is more general: a daily target / daily targets in general.
With itu, it becomes that specific daily target.


Can I just say sasaran harian without itu? How does the meaning change?

Yes, you can:

  • Dengan latihan tambahan, saya berharap dapat mencapai sasaran harian.

This sounds more general, as if you’re talking about “my daily target” in general, or the concept of a daily target, not a specifically defined one.

  • sasaran harian itu = that particular daily target (already defined)
  • sasaran harian = a/the daily target in a more general or undefined sense

In many real contexts, both might translate the same into English, but itu adds a sense of definiteness and specificity.


How do we know this sentence is about the future, when there’s no word like “will”?

Malay usually does not mark tense (past/present/future) with verb changes like English. Instead, time is understood from:

  • Context
  • Time expressions (e.g. semalam, esok)
  • Verbs like harap/berharap (hope), akan (will)

In:
Dengan latihan tambahan, saya berharap dapat mencapai sasaran harian itu.

  • saya berharap (I hope) naturally implies a future result.
  • dapat mencapai (to be able to achieve) is also usually about something you haven’t achieved yet.

So even without a word like akan, the sentence is understood as:

  • With additional practice, I hope (that in the future) I will be able to reach that daily target.

Why is saya used here? Could I use aku instead, and how would that change the tone?
  • saya

    • Neutral, polite, standard pronoun for I / me.
    • Used in almost all formal and semi-formal situations, and safe with strangers.
  • aku

    • More informal, intimate, or casual.
    • Used with close friends, family, or in certain dialects / informal speech.

You could say:

  • Dengan latihan tambahan, aku berharap dapat mencapai sasaran harian itu.

This would sound more casual/personal, as if you’re talking to a close friend or writing informal text. In a neutral or formal learning sentence, saya is the better default.