Musim panas lalu, ramai pelancong asing datang ke bandar saya.

Last summer, many foreign tourists came to my city.

Breakdown of Musim panas lalu, ramai pelancong asing datang ke bandar saya.

• ke: to
• bandar: the city
• saya: my
• ramai: many
• musim panas: the summer
• datang: to come
• asing: foreign
• lalu: last
• pelancong: the tourist

Questions & Answers about Musim panas lalu, ramai pelancong asing datang ke bandar saya.

What does musim panas lalu literally mean, and what does lalu do in this phrase?

Literally:

• musim = season
• panas = hot
• musim panas = hot season / summer
• lalu = past / last (in a time sense)

So musim panas lalu = last summer (literally: summer past).

Here, lalu comes after the time word to show that it refers to the previous one:

• tahun lalu = last year
• minggu lalu = last week
• malam tadi / malam lalu = last night (both possible, tadi is more common here)

Is there any difference between lalu and lepas when talking about time (for example musim panas lalu vs musim panas lepas)?

In everyday Malaysian usage, lalu and lepas are very close in meaning when used for time:

• musim panas lalu
• musim panas lepas

Both can mean last summer.

Subtle points:

• lalu is slightly more formal / neutral and is very common in writing.
• lepas is very common in speech and informal writing.

With common time words:

• tahun lalu / tahun lepas = last year
• minggu lalu / minggu lepas = last week
• beberapa hari lepas = a few days ago (this sounds more natural with lepas than lalu)

So you can safely think of them both as meaning last in time expressions, with lalu a bit more formal.

Why is the time expression Musim panas lalu placed at the beginning of the sentence, and could it also go at the end?

Putting the time expression first is very normal in Malay:

• Musim panas lalu, ramai pelancong asing datang ke bandar saya.
  = Last summer, many foreign tourists came to my town.

You can also place it later, usually after the verb phrase:

• Ramai pelancong asing datang ke bandar saya musim panas lalu.

Both are grammatical. The differences are about emphasis and style:

• At the beginning (with a pause/comma):
  You highlight when first. This is very common in storytelling.
• At the end:
  The time is background information, added after the main event.

So yes, it can go at either place. The comma in writing just shows a natural pause in speech.

What does ramai mean here, and why is it used instead of banyak?

ramai means many / a lot of, but it is normally used only for people (and sometimes animals, in some contexts).

In this sentence:

• ramai pelancong asing = many foreign tourists

Usage:

• ramai → for people
  
  • ramai orang = many people
  • ramai pelancong = many tourists
• banyak → for things, and sometimes for people but less natural
  
  • banyak kereta = many cars
  • banyak buku = many books

You can hear banyak pelancong, but ramai pelancong is more standard and natural because pelancong are people.

So:

• ramai pelancong asing sounds like natural, correct Malay.
• banyak pelancong asing is understandable, but less idiomatic.

How does the phrase pelancong asing work? Why is the adjective asing after the noun?

In Malay, descriptive words (adjectives) usually come after the noun they describe.

• pelancong = tourist
• asing = foreign / strange
• pelancong asing = foreign tourist(s)

This is the normal word order:

• buku baharu = new book
• kereta merah = red car
• orang tua = old person
• bandar besar = big city

So instead of foreign tourists, Malay says literally tourist foreign.

How do we know that pelancong asing is plural (tourists) and not just one tourist?

Malay usually does not mark plural with an ending like English -s.

pelancong asing by itself can mean:

• a foreign tourist
• foreign tourists

You understand singular vs plural from:

1. Context:
   The rest of the story or conversation usually makes it clear.

2. Quantity words:
   Here we have ramai (many), so it must be plural:

   • ramai pelancong asing = many foreign tourists

Other examples:

• seorang pelancong asing = one foreign tourist
• tiga orang pelancong asing = three foreign tourists
• beberapa pelancong asing = several foreign tourists

So: Malay leaves the noun form the same; the words around it tell you if it’s singular or plural.

Why isn’t datang changed for past tense, like came vs come in English?

Malay verbs do not conjugate for tense. The base form is used for past, present, and future.

• datang = come / came / will come, depending on context.

Past time is shown by:

• Time words: musim panas lalu (last summer), semalam (yesterday), tadi (earlier), etc.
• Optional aspect markers like sudah / telah / pernah (already / have).

So your sentence:

• Musim panas lalu, ramai pelancong asing datang ke bandar saya.
  Uses musim panas lalu to show the past. datang itself doesn’t change.

You could also say, with a bit more emphasis on completion:

• Musim panas lalu, ramai pelancong asing telah datang ke bandar saya.
• Musim panas lalu, ramai pelancong asing sudah datang ke bandar saya.

But the simple version with just datang is perfectly natural.

Why is the preposition ke used in datang ke bandar saya, and not di?

In Malay:

• ke = to (movement toward a place)
• di = at / in / on (location, where something is)

Here, datang (come) expresses movement to a place, so you use ke:

• datang ke bandar saya = came to my town

Compare:

• Mereka berada di bandar saya.
  = They are in my town.
  (di because it describes location, not movement.)

• Pelancong asing berjalan ke bandar saya.
  = Foreign tourists walk to my town.
  (ke because they are going toward the town.)

How does the structure bandar saya work? Why is the possessive pronoun after the noun, not before like my town?

Malay normally puts possessive pronouns after the noun:

• bandar = town / city
• saya = I / me, also my as a possessive
• bandar saya = my town / my city

This pattern is very regular:

• buku saya = my book
• rumah saya = my house
• kawan saya = my friend
• kereta saya = my car

You can think of saya here as meaning both I/me and my, depending on position:

• Saya di bandar. = I am in town.
• bandar saya = my town.

Is Musim panas lalu a natural expression in Malay, given that Malaysia doesn’t really have four seasons?

People do use musim panas in Malay, but how natural it sounds depends on context:

• In Malaysia or tropical contexts, people more often talk about:
  • musim hujan = rainy season
  • musim kemarau = dry season
  • musim tengkujuh = monsoon season

However:

• musim panas is still understandable and used, especially:
  • in general talk about hot weather periods
  • when referring to countries with four seasons
  • in media, translation, or textbooks

So:

• In a textbook sentence, Musim panas lalu is perfectly fine.
• In very everyday Malaysian conversation, people might instead say things like:
  • Masa cuti sekolah yang lalu, … = During the last school holidays, …
  • Pada musim cuti yang lepas, … = During the last holiday season, …

Could this sentence be rephrased in other natural ways without changing the meaning much?

Yes, here are a few natural variations:

1. Changing time position:

   • Ramai pelancong asing datang ke bandar saya musim panas lalu.
     (Time phrase at the end.)

2. Using lepas instead of lalu:

   • Musim panas lepas, ramai pelancong asing datang ke bandar saya.

3. Adding a preposition before the time expression:

   • Pada musim panas lalu, ramai pelancong asing datang ke bandar saya.

4. Using banyak orang instead of ramai, which is acceptable but slightly less idiomatic:

   • Musim panas lalu, banyak pelancong asing datang ke bandar saya.

All of these basically communicate the same idea; the original version is already natural and clear.