Log inSign up

Ibu saya membantu menggantung hiasan kertas di pintu masuk dewan.

Ibu saya membantu menggantung hiasan kertas di pintu masuk dewan.
My mother helps to hang paper decorations at the hall entrance.
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Malay grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning Malay now

Questions & Answers about Ibu saya membantu menggantung hiasan kertas di pintu masuk dewan.

What does Ibu saya literally mean, and why does saya come after Ibu if it means my mother?

Literally, Ibu saya is mother I.
In Malay, possessive pronouns like saya (my/I) usually come after the noun they possess:

  • ibu saya = my mother
  • rumah saya = my house
  • kawan saya = my friend

So Ibu saya membantu… = My mother helped…
Putting saya first (saya ibu) would be ungrammatical in this meaning.

Can Ibu mean anything other than mother?

Yes. Ibu mainly means mother, but it can also be used as a polite form of address for an adult woman, similar to Madam, Ma’am, or Mrs. in English, especially in Indonesia.

In this sentence, because it’s followed by saya and used in a family context, Ibu saya clearly means my mother, not my ma’am.

What is the difference between membantu and tolong for to help?

Both relate to help, but they’re used differently:

  • membantu = to help, to assist (a normal verb)
    • Ibu saya membantu menggantung… = My mother helped (to) hang…
  • tolong is often used as a polite request, like please help (me) to…
    • Tolong gantung hiasan kertas itu. = Please hang that paper decoration.

You can say Ibu saya membantu saya (My mother helped me), but Ibu saya tolong saya is not natural in standard formal Malay; tolong is mostly used when you ask someone to do something.

Why are there two verbs in a row: membantu menggantung? Is there an omitted word like to or untuk?

In Malay, it’s common to place one verb after another without a linking word when the second verb shows what the first verb is helping/starting/trying/etc. to do.

  • membantu menggantung = to help (to) hang

You can insert untuk:

  • Ibu saya membantu untuk menggantung hiasan kertas…

but in everyday Malay, Ibu saya membantu menggantung… (without untuk) is more natural and completely correct.

What does the prefix meN- do in membantu and menggantung?

The meN- prefix (here realized as mem- and meng-) generally turns a base word into an active verb.

  • Base bantu (help) → mem-bantu = membantu = to help
  • Base gantung (hang) → meng-gantung = menggantung = to hang (something)

The exact form (me- / men- / mem- / meng-) depends on the first consonant of the root word, but the core idea is: meN- + root = active verb “to [do root]”.

Could I just say Ibu saya menggantung hiasan kertas di pintu masuk dewan? What changes?

Yes, that sentence is grammatically correct, but the meaning shifts slightly:

  • Ibu saya menggantung… = My mother hung/is hanging the decorations herself.
  • Ibu saya membantu menggantung… = My mother helped (someone) hang the decorations.

With membantu, we understand there is another person or group involved in the hanging activity; your mother is assisting, not the only one doing it.

Why is it menggantung and not just gantung after membantu?

Because menggantung is the active verb form, and that’s what you normally use in a verb sequence:

  • membantu menggantung = help (to) hang
  • membantu basuh pinggan would usually be membantu membasuh pinggan (help (to) wash the dishes)

You will see bare roots like gantung in some fixed phrases or more casual speech, but in standard grammar after membantu we expect the meN- verb: menggantung.

What is the difference between menggantung and menggantungkan?

Both come from the root gantung (hang):

  • menggantung: to hang something up
    • Dia menggantung gambar di dinding. = He/She hangs a picture on the wall.
  • menggantungkan: more explicitly to hang something on/onto something, with a slightly stronger sense of causative or focus on the object/place.

In many everyday sentences, menggantung is enough and very natural, as in menggantung hiasan kertas di pintu masuk dewan. Using menggantungkan here would still be grammatically acceptable but sounds more formal or heavy.

How should I understand hiasan kertas? Why is there no word like of, as in decorations of paper?

Malay often makes noun–noun compounds where the first noun describes the second:

  • hiasan kertas = paper decorations / decorations (made) of paper
    • hiasan = decoration
    • kertas = paper

Other examples:

  • baju tidur = sleep clothes → pyjamas
  • beg sekolah = school bag

So instead of saying decoration of paper, Malay simply puts the two nouns together: hiasan kertas.

How do we know that hiasan kertas is plural (decorations) and not just a decoration?

Malay usually does not mark plural with an ending like English -s. Number is understood from context:

  • hiasan kertas can mean a paper decoration or paper decorations.
  • If the context is decorating a hall entrance, it’s natural to interpret it as plural.

You can make plurality explicit with numbers or words like banyak (many):

  • banyak hiasan kertas = many paper decorations
  • tiga hiasan kertas = three paper decorations
What exactly does pintu masuk dewan mean? Why is there no of or to, like entrance to the hall?

Literally, pintu masuk dewan is something like door [of] entrance [of] hall. The structure is:

  • pintu = door
  • pintu masuk = entrance (literally entry door)
  • pintu masuk dewan = the hall entrance / the entrance of the hall

Again, Malay uses noun–noun sequences instead of of/to phrases. So pintu masuk dewan covers what English says as the entrance to the hall or the hall entrance.

Why is di used in di pintu masuk dewan, and not ke?

In Malay:

  • di means at / in / on (location, where something is).
  • ke means to / toward (direction, where something is going).

In this sentence, the decorations are located at the entrance, not moving to it:

  • di pintu masuk dewan = at the entrance of the hall (location)
    If you were describing motion, you would use ke:
  • Kami berjalan ke pintu masuk dewan. = We walked to the entrance of the hall.
How do we know if the sentence is past, present, or future? There is no tense marking on the verbs.

Malay verbs generally do not change form to show tense. membantu and menggantung stay the same for past, present, or future. The time is understood from context or from time words:

  • Past:
    • Semalam, ibu saya membantu menggantung hiasan kertas…
      = Yesterday, my mother helped hang paper decorations…
  • Present:
    • Sekarang, ibu saya membantu menggantung…
      = Now, my mother is helping to hang…
  • Future:
    • Esok, ibu saya akan membantu menggantung…
      = Tomorrow, my mother will help hang…

In the original sentence, without a time word, it could be translated as helped or is helping, depending on context.