Breakdown of Pemimpin pelajar itu selalu membantu guru di sekolah.
Questions & Answers about Pemimpin pelajar itu selalu membantu guru di sekolah.
Literally, pemimpin pelajar is:
- pemimpin = leader
- pelajar = student / students
So the phrase is “leader (of) students”, i.e. student leader.
In Malay, when two nouns are put together like this, the main noun (the “head”) usually comes first, and the second noun describes or limits it:
- pemimpin pelajar = leader of students
- buku latihan = exercise book (book of exercises)
- guru bahasa = language teacher (teacher of language)
So pemimpin pelajar is natural, while pelajar pemimpin would sound odd and isn’t how you say student leader.
Itu is a demonstrative that usually means “that”, but very often it also works like “the” in English when you’re talking about a specific, known thing or person.
- pemimpin pelajar itu
= that student leader / the student leader (we both know about)
Position:
- In Malay, itu and ini come after the noun phrase:
- buku ini = this book
- guru itu = that/the teacher
Difference:
- ini = this (near the speaker)
- itu = that (farther away) or previously mentioned / already known
So pemimpin pelajar itu suggests a particular student leader that both speaker and listener can identify.
Selalu means “always”. Its normal position is before the verb:
- Dia selalu membantu. = He/She always helps.
In your sentence:
- Pemimpin pelajar itu selalu membantu guru di sekolah.
→ selalu correctly comes before membantu.
Other possibilities:
- Pemimpin pelajar itu membantu guru di sekolah selalu.
– Grammatically possible but sounds unnatural or like extra emphasis at the end. - Selalu pemimpin pelajar itu membantu guru di sekolah.
– Possible in speech/writing for special emphasis (starting with “Always, that student leader helps the teacher…”), but not the neutral word order.
So for normal, neutral sentences, put selalu directly before the verb.
The base/root verb is bantu (help).
In standard Malay, when you use it as a main verb in a normal sentence, you usually add the meN- prefix to form an active verb:
- bantu → membantu
meN- is the active verb prefix that:
- marks it as a proper verb in standard Malay,
- often shows that the subject is actively doing the action.
So:
- Pemimpin pelajar itu membantu guru… = correct, standard
- Pemimpin pelajar itu bantu guru… = common in informal speech, more casual, less “standard”.
Both are understood, but membantu is more standard/formal.
Both mean “to help”, and in many contexts they can be used interchangeably.
- membantu guru = help the teacher
- menolong guru = help the teacher
Nuances (very general tendencies, not strict rules):
- membantu can feel slightly more general or formal.
- menolong can sound slightly more personal or directly helping someone in need.
In your sentence, you could say:
- Pemimpin pelajar itu selalu menolong guru di sekolah.
This would also be natural and correct. The original choice of membantu is just stylistic.
Malay verbs do not change form for tense (no -ed, -ing, etc.). Tense and time are usually understood from:
- Context, and/or
- Time words/markers, such as:
- sudah / telah = already (past)
- tadi = earlier
- akan = will (future)
- sedang = in the middle of doing (progressive)
Your sentence:
- Pemimpin pelajar itu selalu membantu guru di sekolah.
Without extra markers, it can mean:
- “That student leader always helps the teacher at school.” (general habit, present)
- In the right context, it could also cover “always helped” or “will always help” as a habitual statement.
If you want to be explicit:
- Past: Pemimpin pelajar itu dulu selalu membantu guru di sekolah.
- Future: Pemimpin pelajar itu akan selalu membantu guru di sekolah.
Malay does not use articles like “a” / “an” / “the”. Nouns stand on their own, and definiteness is understood from context or from other words.
So:
- guru can mean a teacher, the teacher, or teachers (in general).
- sekolah can mean a school, the school, or school in general.
In your sentence, a natural English translation (from context) is:
- “That student leader always helps the teacher at school.”
But in Malay, no extra word is needed to mark “the” or “a”.
Yes, guru by itself can be singular or plural, depending on the context.
To make it clearly plural, you can:
- Repeat the noun:
- guru-guru = teachers (explicit plural)
- Or use a number or quantifier:
- ramai guru = many teachers
- beberapa orang guru = several teachers
So if you want to say “always helps the teachers at school”, you could say:
- Pemimpin pelajar itu selalu membantu guru-guru di sekolah.
- Pemimpin pelajar itu selalu membantu para guru di sekolah. (more formal; para used for groups of people)
Both can translate as “student”, but there is a common distinction:
pelajar
- more general, often used for older students:
- secondary school, college, university
- more formal
murid
- often used for younger students, especially primary school pupils
- feels a bit less formal
Usage can vary by region and context, but if you say:
- pemimpin pelajar = student leader (often at secondary school or above)
- murid contoh = exemplary pupil (often in primary school)
Your sentence suggests a student leader, likely at a school level where pelajar is the usual word.
Di is a preposition meaning “at / in / on” (location).
- di sekolah = at school / in school
- di rumah = at home
Ke is a preposition meaning “to” (direction, movement toward a place).
- ke sekolah = to (the) school
- ke rumah = to (the) house
Compare:
- Dia di sekolah. = He/She is at school. (location)
- Dia pergi ke sekolah. = He/She goes to school. (movement)
In your sentence, di sekolah shows where the helping happens (location), so di is correct.
The neutral word order in Malay is generally:
Subject – (adverb) – Verb – Object – Place/Time
Your sentence follows this:
- Pemimpin pelajar itu (subject)
- selalu (frequency adverb)
- membantu (verb)
- guru (object)
- di sekolah (place)
So it’s very natural.
Pemimpin pelajar itu di sekolah selalu membantu guru is:
- grammatically possible,
- but sounds less natural and slightly “rearranged” in normal conversation.
Malay allows some movement of adverbs and place phrases for emphasis or style, but the original order is the most typical and clear.
Yes, you can drop either, but the meaning changes slightly.
Drop “itu”:
- Pemimpin pelajar selalu membantu guru di sekolah.
- Now it means “A/the student leader always helps the teacher at school”, but it’s less specific; we don’t point to one particular, known student leader.
Drop “selalu”:
- Pemimpin pelajar itu membantu guru di sekolah.
- Now it means “That student leader helps the teacher at school.”
- It no longer emphasizes that this is a habitual, regular action; it could be a simple statement of fact without the idea of “always”.
So:
- itu → marks that we are talking about a specific, known student leader.
- selalu → adds the idea of habit / frequency (always).
Both are common, but they differ in tone and context:
guru
- more formal / neutral
- used in writing, official contexts, and also in normal speech
- means teacher in general
cikgu
- comes from cik (Miss) + gu (short for guru)
- often used as a title or way of addressing a teacher:
- Cikgu, saya tak faham. = Teacher, I don’t understand.
- also used in casual speech to mean “teacher”, especially school teachers
In your sentence, guru is perfectly natural and standard:
- Pemimpin pelajar itu selalu membantu guru di sekolah.
In very informal speech, someone might say:
- Pemimpin pelajar itu selalu tolong cikgu di sekolah.
But the version with guru is more neutral and good for learners to start with.