Learn Hardcore Malay: Guru meminta kami menulis ulasan ringkas tentang pameran seni itu. - The teacher asks us to write a short review about that art exhibition.

So meminta kami menulis literally feels like “asked us write”, but functionally it means “asked us to write”. In Malay, you can put a verb directly after the object like this; you do not need an extra word like to.

Can I say meminta kami untuk menulis instead of meminta kami menulis? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say meminta kami untuk menulis. Both are grammatically correct and common.

meminta kami menulis – a bit shorter and very natural in speech and writing.
meminta kami untuk menulis – slightly more explicit and can feel a bit more formal or careful, especially in writing.

Meaning-wise, they are the same: asked us to write. The untuk is optional in this pattern.

Why is kami used instead of kita for “we/us”?

Malay distinguishes between two kinds of we/us:

kami – we/us (excluding the listener)
→ the teacher and the students, but not the person being spoken to.
kita – we/us (including the listener)
→ the teacher, the students, and the listener as part of the group.

In a classroom context, if students are retelling what the teacher said to someone outside the class, kami is natural:

Guru meminta kami menulis…
The teacher asked us (students) to write…

If they were speaking to a classmate who was also asked, kita could be heard in casual speech, but kami is still the safer, textbook choice.

Why is it ulasan ringkas (review brief) and not ringkas ulasan (brief review)? Does the adjective always come after the noun?

In Malay, the normal order is:

Noun + Adjective

So:

ulasan ringkas = brief review / short review
pameran seni besar = big art exhibition
guru baharu = new teacher

Putting the adjective before the noun (ringkas ulasan) is not standard Malay; it sounds wrong or poetic at best. So remember: noun first, describing word after.

What exactly does ulasan mean here? Is it like a “review”, a “summary”, or a “comment”?

ulasan is usually:

a review (of a book, film, exhibition, etc.)
sometimes a commentary or critique

In a school context:

menulis ulasan ringkas tentang pameran seni
= to write a short review / response about the art exhibition

If you meant a very neutral summary, you might see ringkasan, but ulasan suggests some reaction, evaluation, or opinion, not just retelling facts.

What does ringkas mean exactly, and how is it different from something like pendek?

Both relate to “short”, but they’re used differently:

ringkas – brief, concise
Used for speech, writing, explanations, summaries:
- ulasan ringkas – brief review
- penerangan ringkas – short explanation
pendek – short (in length/height/duration)
Used for physical length, time, or people:
- rambut pendek – short hair
- cerita pendek – short story
- budak itu pendek – that kid is short

So ulasan pendek is understandable, but ulasan ringkas is more natural because we’re talking about conciseness, not physical length.

What does tentang mean, and how is it used?

tentang means about / regarding / concerning.

It introduces the topic of what is being written, spoken, or thought about:

bercakap tentang cuti – talk about holidays
berita tentang banjir – news about the flood
menulis ulasan ringkas tentang pameran seni itu – write a short review about that art exhibition

It works very similarly to English about in this kind of sentence.

How does pameran seni work? Why is it “exhibition art” in that order?

pameran seni is a noun–noun phrase:

pameran – exhibition / show / display
seni – art

In Malay, when one noun describes another, the usual order is:

Main noun + describing noun

So:

pameran seni – art exhibition
buku teks – textbook (book of text)
guru bahasa – language teacher

If you reversed it to seni pameran, it would mean something like the art of exhibition/display, which is a different idea.

What is the function of itu at the end of pameran seni itu?

itu is a demonstrative meaning that (and often functions like the for specific things).

Placed after the noun phrase, it makes the exhibition specific:

pameran seni – an art exhibition / art exhibitions (general)
pameran seni itu – that art exhibition / the art exhibition (already known in the context)

So itu tells us that both speaker and listener know which exhibition is being referred to (maybe it was mentioned earlier or is obvious from context).

There is no tense marker like “did” or “was”. How do we know if meminta is past, present, or future?

Malay verbs do not change form for tense. meminta can mean:

asks / is asking
asked
will ask, depending on context.

To make the time clearer, Malay uses time expressions if needed:

Semalam guru meminta kami… – Yesterday the teacher asked us…
Setiap hari guru meminta kami… – Every day the teacher asks us…
Nanti guru akan meminta kami… – Later the teacher will ask us…

In isolation, Guru meminta kami menulis ulasan ringkas tentang pameran seni itu could be translated as asked, asks, or is asking, depending on the wider context.

Should there be something like “a” before ulasan, for example satu ulasan or sebuah ulasan?

You can add a numeral/classifier, but it’s not required.

menulis ulasan ringkas – write a short review (general; number not emphasised)
menulis satu ulasan ringkas – write one short review (emphasises the number one)
menulis sebuah ulasan ringkas – similar to one review, using the classifier sebuah for things.

In normal classroom instructions, menulis ulasan ringkas is perfectly natural and does not feel incomplete, even though English usually needs a.