Learn Hardcore Malay: Guru mengajar Bahasa Inggeris di sekolah setiap pagi. - The teacher teaches English at school every morning.

guru can mean a teacher or the teacher, depending on context.
sekolah can mean a school, the school, or just school (in the general sense).

If you really need to be more specific:

seorang guru = a teacher (literally: one person teacher)
guru itu = that teacher / the teacher
di sekolah itu = at that school / at the school

But normally, speakers just say guru and sekolah and let context carry the meaning.

How do we know whether guru means teacher (singular) or teachers (plural)?

By default, a bare noun in Malay is number-neutral (it can be singular or plural). Context decides.

This sentence could be:

The teacher teaches English...
Teachers teach English...

If you want to specify:

seorang guru = one teacher (clearly singular)
guru-guru = teachers (plural, by reduplication)
para guru = the teachers (formal/plural group)

Examples:

Seorang guru mengajar Bahasa Inggeris di sekolah setiap pagi.
→ A (single) teacher teaches English at school every morning.
Guru-guru mengajar Bahasa Inggeris di sekolah setiap pagi.
→ The teachers teach English at school every morning.

Where is “he” or “she” in this sentence? Why isn’t a subject pronoun used?

Malay often does not use subject pronouns when the subject is already a noun.

Here, guru itself is the subject:

Guru (subject) mengajar (verb) ...

You would only add dia (he/she) if there were no noun subject, e.g.:

Dia mengajar Bahasa Inggeris.
→ He/She teaches English.

Or you can combine both for emphasis/clarity of reference:

Guru itu dia yang mengajar Bahasa Inggeris.
→ That teacher is the one who teaches English.

But in a simple descriptive sentence like Guru mengajar ..., adding he/she is unnecessary and ungrammatical (you would be doubling the subject).

How do we know the tense? Could this sentence also mean “taught” or “will teach”?

Malay verbs do not change form for tense. mengajar is the same for:

teach / teaches
taught
will teach

Time is understood from:

Time words:
- setiap pagi → every morning (habitual)
- semalam → yesterday
- esok → tomorrow
- tadi → earlier, just now
Optional tense/aspect words:
- sudah / telah → have/has/already (past/completed)
- akan → will (future)
- sedang / tengah → is/are currently (progressive)

Examples:

Guru mengajar Bahasa Inggeris di sekolah setiap pagi.
→ The teacher teaches English at school every morning. (present habitual)
Guru telah mengajar Bahasa Inggeris di sekolah semalam.
→ The teacher taught / has taught English at school yesterday.
Guru akan mengajar Bahasa Inggeris di sekolah esok.
→ The teacher will teach English at school tomorrow.

What is the difference between mengajar and ajar?

ajar is the root form; mengajar is the meN- (active verb) form.

In practice:

mengajar is the standard, neutral form used as a main verb in sentences:
- Guru mengajar Bahasa Inggeris. → The teacher teaches English.
ajar appears:
- in some fixed phrases or with auxiliaries:
  - boleh ajar saya? → can (you) teach me?
  - nak ajar dia? → want to teach him/her?
- in imperatives:
  - Ajar dia! → Teach him/her!

If you just want to say “X teaches Y” in a neutral statement, use mengajar, not bare ajar.

Why is Bahasa Inggeris written with capitals on both words? Can I just say Inggeris?

In Malay:

Bahasa = language
Inggeris = English

Together Bahasa Inggeris means the English language.

Capitalization:

Language names are proper nouns, so Inggeris is capitalized.
In many style guides, when Bahasa is part of the language’s name, both are capitalized: Bahasa Inggeris, Bahasa Melayu.

You will also see bahasa Inggeris (lowercase bahasa) in some writing; both are used.

About dropping Bahasa:

Bahasa Inggeris → specifically “English (the language)”
Inggeris alone more typically means “English” as in English (people/adjective):
- orang Inggeris → an English person
- budaya Inggeris → English culture

To say someone teaches the language, mengajar Bahasa Inggeris is the natural, clear form.

Does Bahasa literally mean “language”? So is this sentence literally “teaches the English language”?

Yes.

bahasa = language
Bahasa Inggeris = the English language

So literally:

The teacher teaches the English language at school every morning.

In English, we usually just say teaches English, but Malay often uses Bahasa + [language name] to refer to languages clearly:

Bahasa Melayu → Malay (language)
Bahasa Jepun → Japanese (language)

In school subject contexts, Bahasa Inggeris is the normal term.

What exactly does di mean, and how is it used compared to English “at / in / on”?

di is a general locative preposition meaning “at / in / on” depending on context.

di sekolah → at school / in school
di rumah → at home / in the house
di atas meja → on the table
di dalam beg → in the bag

Malay uses di very broadly where English splits into at / in / on. You don’t need to choose between three different words.

Contrast with ke:

ke = to, towards (movement)
- pergi ke sekolah → go to school
- berjalan ke rumah → walk to the house

In your sentence, di sekolah = at school (location, not movement).

Why is there no preposition before setiap pagi? Can I say pada setiap pagi?

Time expressions like setiap pagi often stand without a preposition in Malay.

setiap pagi = every morning
setiap hari = every day
semalam = yesterday
esok = tomorrow

All of these can be used by themselves:

Guru mengajar Bahasa Inggeris di sekolah setiap pagi.
Saya bekerja setiap hari. → I work every day.

You can say pada setiap pagi, and it is grammatically correct, but it sounds more formal or slightly heavier. In everyday speech and most writing, people usually just say setiap pagi.

Is the word order fixed, or can I move di sekolah or setiap pagi around?

The word order is somewhat flexible for place and time phrases. Your original:

Guru mengajar Bahasa Inggeris di sekolah setiap pagi.

You can move the adverbials for emphasis or style:

Time first:
- Setiap pagi, guru mengajar Bahasa Inggeris di sekolah.
  → Every morning, the teacher teaches English at school.
Place first:
- Di sekolah, guru mengajar Bahasa Inggeris setiap pagi.
  → At school, the teacher teaches English every morning.
Time after subject:
- Guru setiap pagi mengajar Bahasa Inggeris di sekolah. (less common, more literary/emphatic)

All are possible; the basic pattern Subject – Verb – Object stays, and place/time phrases can move, mainly affecting focus/emphasis rather than core meaning.

How would I say “The teacher is teaching English at school right now” (current ongoing action, not a routine)?

To show an ongoing action, Malay commonly uses sedang or tengah before the verb.

You would usually drop the habitual setiap pagi and add sekarang (now) if needed:

Guru sedang mengajar Bahasa Inggeris di sekolah sekarang.
→ The teacher is teaching English at school now.

or more simply (the context might already imply “now”):

Guru sedang mengajar Bahasa Inggeris di sekolah.
→ The teacher is teaching English at school.

Key pattern:

sedang / tengah + [verb] ≈ is/are + -ing

How do I make this sentence negative: “The teacher does not teach English at school every morning”?

Use tidak before the verb:

Guru tidak mengajar Bahasa Inggeris di sekolah setiap pagi.
→ The teacher does not teach English at school every morning.

General rule:

tidak
- verb/adjective
  - tidak mengajar → does not teach / is not teaching
  - tidak besar → not big

(For nouns you’d normally use bukan, but that’s another pattern.)

How do I say “English teacher” in Malay, as in “He is an English teacher”?

You put the type of teacher after guru:

guru Bahasa Inggeris = English teacher

Sentence examples:

Dia seorang guru Bahasa Inggeris.
→ He/She is an English teacher.
Guru Bahasa Inggeris itu sangat baik.
→ That English teacher is very nice.

Compare:

Guru mengajar Bahasa Inggeris.
→ The teacher teaches English. (verb mengajar)
Dia guru Bahasa Inggeris.
→ He/She is an English teacher. (noun phrase guru Bahasa Inggeris)

Is guru formal? Are there other common words for “teacher”?

guru is the standard, neutral word for a school teacher (especially primary/secondary).

Other common terms:

cikgu
- Very common in Malaysia as a familiar / respectful way to address a school teacher.
- Used like a title or nickname:
  - Cikgu Ali (Teacher Ali)
  - Cikgu, boleh saya tanya? → Teacher, may I ask?
pensyarah
- Lecturer (usually at college/university level).

In a neutral descriptive sentence like yours, guru is exactly right.

Is this sentence Malay or Indonesian? I’ve seen Inggris instead of Inggeris.

This sentence is in Malay as used in Malaysia / Brunei / Singapore.

Key difference here:

Malay: Bahasa Inggeris (English language)
Indonesian: Bahasa Inggris

The structure is otherwise basically the same in Indonesian:

Guru mengajar Bahasa Inggris di sekolah setiap pagi.
→ Indonesian version of the same sentence.