Learn Hardcore Malay: Bengkel itu pakar membaiki brek motosikal lama. - That workshop specializes in repairing old motorcycle brakes.

Pattern: [Subject] + [Complement]
- Bengkel itu = that/the workshop (subject)
- pakar membaiki brek motosikal lama = expert at repairing old motorcycle brakes (complement)

So Bengkel itu pakar… literally works as “The workshop (is) expert…” without needing a separate “is”.

About adalah:

Adalah can be used, but:
- It is more formal / written.
- It is usually used when the complement is a noun phrase or longer explanation, not a simple adjective-like word.
Natural alternatives:
- Bengkel itu pakar membaiki brek motosikal lama. (very natural)
- Bengkel itu adalah pakar dalam membaiki brek motosikal lama. (formal, adds dalam = in)

So yes, Bengkel itu adalah pakar dalam membaiki… is grammatically fine but sounds more formal or written. The original shorter sentence is very normal in speech and writing.

What exactly does itu mean here? Is it “that workshop” or “the workshop”?

Itu literally means “that”, but in real usage it overlaps with “the” in English.

Bengkel itu can be understood as:
- “that workshop” (one that has been mentioned, or is being pointed at), or
- “the workshop” (a specific, known workshop).

Malay doesn’t have a dedicated word for “the”. Often:

itu marks a specific, known thing.
If you said just bengkel on its own, it would feel more like “a workshop” in general, not a particular one.

So bengkel itu = “that/the specific workshop (we both know which one)”.

Is pakar a noun (“an expert”) or an adjective (“expert”) in this sentence?

Formally, pakar is a noun meaning “expert / specialist”, but in sentences like this it behaves much like an adjective.

As a noun:
- Dia seorang pakar brek. = He/She is a brake expert.
As a predicate (adjective-like use):
- Bengkel itu pakar membaiki brek motosikal lama.
  = The workshop is expert (an expert) in repairing old motorcycle brakes.

So you can think of it as:

“The workshop is an expert in repairing…” or
“The workshop is very good / highly skilled at repairing…”

Both ideas come from pakar functioning as a noun used as a descriptive predicate.

Why is it pakar membaiki without a preposition like “in” (in repairing)? Can I say pakar dalam membaiki…?

Malay often lets verbs follow directly after pakar without a preposition.

pakar + [verb] = “expert at / in [doing something]”
- pakar membaiki brek = expert at repairing brakes
- pakar memasak = expert at cooking

You can add dalam (“in”) to make it a bit more explicit or formal:

pakar dalam membaiki brek motosikal lama
= expert in repairing old motorcycle brakes

Both are acceptable:

Without dalam: common, natural, slightly more concise.
With dalam: a bit more formal or explanatory, especially in writing.

Why is the verb membaiki, and not membaik or membaikkan?

The base idea is:

baik = good
baiki = to repair, to fix (literally “make good again”)
membaiki = to repair / to fix (formal meN- verb form from baiki)

Details:

membaiki
- meN- (men-) + baiki → membaiki
- Standard, common verb for repairing:
  - membaiki kereta = to repair a car
  - membaiki brek = to repair brakes
membaik
- Rare/unnatural in this meaning; not used for “repair”.
- Speakers would almost always say membaiki or membaikkan / memperbaiki depending on context.
membaikkan / memperbaiki
- Often means “to improve (something)”, not just repair a specific broken part.
- memperbaiki mutu perkhidmatan = to improve service quality

So for repairing brakes, the natural choice is membaiki brek, not membaik or membaikkan.

Can I just say baiki brek motosikal lama instead of membaiki brek motosikal lama?

Yes, you can. Both are used, with a nuance of style:

membaiki brek motosikal lama
- More formal / standard / written.
- Uses the meN- verb form.
baiki brek motosikal lama
- Common in everyday speech and informal writing.
- Shorter, more casual.

So you could also say:

Bengkel itu pakar baiki brek motosikal lama.

That sounds natural in spoken Malaysian Malay. The original with membaiki is perfectly correct and slightly more formal/neutral.

Does lama describe the motorcycles or the brakes in brek motosikal lama?

By default, lama most naturally describes the nearest noun phrase to its left, which is motosikal.

Structure:

brek [motosikal lama]
= brakes of old motorcycles

So the normal reading is:

“brakes of old motorcycles”, not “old brakes of motorcycles”.

If you really want “old brakes of motorcycles”, you’d usually change the structure, for example:

brek lama motosikal
(understood as: old brakes of motorcycles)
brek motosikal yang lama
(literally: brakes of motorcycles that are old)
or clarify more: brek yang sudah lama digunakan pada motosikal
(brakes that have been used a long time on motorcycles)

But in the original, the clean default meaning is “brakes of old motorcycles.”

How would I clearly say “That workshop is an expert at repairing old brakes of motorcycles” (focusing on the brakes being old, not the motorcycles)?

You’d usually adjust the noun phrase to make lama clearly modify brek:

Some options:

Bengkel itu pakar membaiki brek lama motosikal.
= That workshop is expert at repairing old brakes of motorcycles.
Bengkel itu pakar membaiki brek motosikal yang lama.
= That workshop is expert at repairing brakes of motorcycles that are old.
(Often still interpreted as old brakes, but context helps.)
To be very explicit:
- Bengkel itu pakar membaiki brek-brek lama untuk motosikal.
  = That workshop is expert at repairing old brakes for motorcycles.

In the original sentence, though, lama most naturally goes with motosikal.

Why isn’t there any plural marking for “brakes” or “motorcycles”? How do we know if it’s plural or singular?

Malay usually doesn’t mark plural with a special ending like English -s.

brek motosikal lama can mean:
- “brakes of an old motorcycle”, or
- “brakes of old motorcycles”, or
- “brake of an old motorcycle”, etc.

Number is normally understood from context.

If you really want to stress plurality, you can:

Use reduplication:
- brek-brek motosikal lama = (many) brakes of old motorcycles
- motosikal-motosikal lama = old motorcycles (plural emphasised)
Or add a word like:
- banyak (many)
- semua (all)

But it’s optional. In most natural sentences, speakers simply leave it unmarked.

Could I use kedai instead of bengkel, like Kedai itu pakar membaiki brek motosikal lama? What’s the difference?

You could say it, but the nuance changes.

bengkel
- a workshop / garage where technical work and repairs are done
- used for places that specialise in mechanical/electrical repairs, e.g. cars, motorbikes, machinery
kedai
- a shop / store (more general: selling goods, not necessarily repairing)
- kedai motosikal = motorcycle shop (selling bikes, parts, maybe some service)

For a place that repairs motorcycle brakes, bengkel is the most natural and precise:

Bengkel motosikal = motorcycle workshop/garage
Bengkel itu pakar membaiki brek motosikal lama.
= That workshop is expert at repairing old motorcycle brakes.

Using kedai can sound more like a retail shop, unless the context is clear that they do repairs.

Can I say Bengkel itu mahir membaiki brek motosikal lama instead of pakar? What’s the difference between pakar and mahir?

Yes, you can say that, and it’s grammatical. The nuance:

pakar
- “expert, specialist”
- strongly suggests high-level expertise, maybe professional specialisation.
- Bengkel itu pakar… = The workshop is an expert / specialist at…
mahir
- “skilled, proficient”
- emphasises ability / skill, but not necessarily specialist status.
- Bengkel itu mahir membaiki brek… = The workshop is skilled at repairing brakes.

Both are positive; pakar feels a bit “higher level” or more specialised than mahir or pandai (“clever, good at”).

Could I put yang somewhere, like Bengkel itu yang pakar membaiki… or Bengkel itu pakar yang membaiki…?

You can use yang, but it changes the structure and meaning.

Bengkel itu yang pakar membaiki brek motosikal lama.
- Literally: “It is that workshop that is expert at repairing old motorcycle brakes.”
- This is a focus/contrast structure (like “That workshop is the one that is expert…”).
- Used when contrasting with other workshops.
Bengkel itu pakar yang membaiki brek motosikal lama.
- This sounds like “That workshop is an expert who repairs old motorcycle brakes”
- But pakar is a noun, so yang membaiki… would describe the expert, not the workshop.
- For a workshop as subject, this structure is awkward and not natural.

For the simple statement “That workshop is expert at repairing old motorcycle brakes,” the cleanest is still:

Bengkel itu pakar membaiki brek motosikal lama. (no yang needed)