Learn Hardcore Malay: Lampu di bilik tidur dipadam sebelum saya tidur. - The light in the bedroom is turned off before I sleep.

The passive verb dipadam already carries the idea of is …-ed.
So Lampu … dipadam naturally means The light is turned off, without needing an extra is.

How do we know the tense? Does dipadam mean is turned off, was turned off, or will be turned off?

Malay verbs do not change form for tense. Dipadam just means turned off / extinguished in a passive sense.

The time is understood from context or from time words, for example:

selalu – always
setiap malam – every night
tadi – earlier
nanti – later

In Lampu di bilik tidur dipadam sebelum saya tidur, the presence of sebelum saya tidur (before I sleep) makes it sound like a regular or habitual action in the present (or a general rule):
The light in the bedroom is turned off before I sleep.

Why is the passive form dipadam used instead of an active form like memadamkan?

Using dipadam (passive) puts the focus on the lampu (the light) rather than on who turns it off. It’s like saying:

Lampu di bilik tidur dipadam
→ The bedroom light is turned off (by someone).

If you want to emphasize the doer, you can use an active sentence:

Saya memadamkan lampu di bilik tidur sebelum saya tidur.
= I turn off the light in the bedroom before I sleep.

So:

Passive (dipadam) – good when the doer is obvious, unimportant, or not mentioned.
Active (memadamkan / memadam) – good when you want to say clearly who does the action.

What is the difference between padam, memadam(kan), and dipadam?

They are related forms of the same root padam (off/extinguished):

padam (root):
- As an adjective/state: lampu padam = the light is off.
- As an intransitive verb: Api sudah padam. = The fire has gone out.
memadam / memadamkan (active, transitive):
- Saya memadam lampu. = I turn off the light.
- Saya memadamkan lampu. = I turn off the light.
  Often interchangeable in everyday speech; -kan can add a sense of “cause to be off”.
dipadam (passive):
- Lampu dipadam. = The light is turned off (by someone).

So in your sentence, dipadam is passive because the light is the grammatical subject.

Why is it dipadam and not dipadamkan here? Are both possible?

Both dipadam and dipadamkan are grammatically possible, and both can be heard.

Lampu di bilik tidur dipadam sebelum saya tidur.
Lampu di bilik tidur dipadamkan sebelum saya tidur.

In everyday usage:

dipadam sounds a bit simpler and is very common.
dipadamkan can sound slightly more formal or explicit (emphasising the action of making it off).

In this specific sentence, the meaning difference is minimal; both are acceptable.

Why is it di bilik tidur and not just bilik tidur or lampu bilik tidur?

All three are possible, with small differences in style:

Lampu di bilik tidur dipadam …
- Literally: The light in the bedroom is turned off …
- Uses di (in/at) + location phrase. Very clear and neutral.
Lampu bilik tidur dipadam …
- Literally: The bedroom light is turned off …
- bilik tidur becomes a noun phrase modifying lampu (like bedroom light).
- Common and natural in speech too.
Lampu di dalam bilik tidur dipadam …
- di dalam = inside (more explicit than just di).
- Emphasises “inside the bedroom”, but in most cases this extra emphasis isn’t needed.

Your version with di bilik tidur is natural and commonly used.

Can I change the word order to something like Dipadam lampu di bilik tidur sebelum saya tidur?

That word order is not natural in standard Malay.

Normal order is:

[Subject] + [Verb] + [Other information]

So:

Lampu di bilik tidur = subject
dipadam = verb
sebelum saya tidur = time clause

Hence:

Lampu di bilik tidur dipadam sebelum saya tidur.

Starting with Dipadam lampu … sounds unusual unless you are writing in a very stylised or poetic way.

In sebelum saya tidur, is tidur a verb? Why no word for to like in before I go to sleep?

Yes, here tidur functions as a verb: to sleep.

Malay does not use a separate word like English to for infinitives. The base form tidur covers:

I sleep – saya tidur
to sleep – (after sebelum, untuk, etc.) sebelum tidur, untuk tidur

So sebelum saya tidur directly corresponds to before I sleep.

Can I drop saya and just say Lampu di bilik tidur dipadam sebelum tidur?

Yes, that is very natural:

Lampu di bilik tidur dipadam sebelum tidur.

Here sebelum tidur still means before (I) sleep / before going to sleep, with the subject I understood from context.

Malay often omits pronouns when it’s clear who is meant.

Is saya the only option here, or could I use aku instead?

You can use aku, but it changes the level of formality:

saya – polite/neutral, used with strangers, in formal situations, and also safe in most contexts.
aku – informal, used with close friends, family, or people of the same age group (if you are close).

So:

Formal/neutral: Lampu di bilik tidur dipadam sebelum saya tidur.
Informal with friends: Lampu di bilik tidur dipadam sebelum aku tidur.

Grammatically both are fine; choose based on who you are talking to.

If there are several lights, how do I show the plural? Is lampu-lampu needed?

You have two options:

Leave it as lampu:
- Lampu di bilik tidur dipadam …
  In Malay, context often tells you whether it’s one or more. Lampu can mean light or lights.
Make it explicitly plural with lampu-lampu:
- Lampu-lampu di bilik tidur dipadam …
  This clearly means the lights in the bedroom …

In everyday speech, people usually just say lampu, even for more than one light, unless they really want to emphasize plurality.

Could I say sebelum tidur, lampu di bilik tidur dipadam instead? Is that still correct?

Yes, that is correct and natural. You are just moving the before-clause to the front:

Lampu di bilik tidur dipadam sebelum saya tidur.
Sebelum tidur, lampu di bilik tidur dipadam.

Both mean essentially the same. Placing sebelum tidur first can slightly emphasize the time (Before sleeping, …) but grammatically it’s fine.