Learn Hardcore Malay: Saya simpan semua dokumen penting dalam satu folder di komputer. - I store all important documents in one folder on the computer.

Saya means “I / me” and is the neutral, polite first-person pronoun. It’s safe in almost all situations: with strangers, in the office, in writing, etc.

You can replace it with aku:

Aku simpan semua dokumen penting dalam satu folder di komputer.

…but aku is informal and used with close friends, family, or people of the same age in relaxed contexts. Using aku with a boss, teacher, or stranger can sound rude or too familiar unless that style is already mutual.

So:

Saya = default polite / neutral “I”
Aku = casual, intimate “I”

What exactly does simpan mean? Is it “save”, “keep”, or “store”?

Simpan can mean all of these, depending on context:

keep / put away:
- Saya simpan duit dalam dompet.
  = I keep money in my wallet.
store (physically):
- Mereka simpan barang di gudang.
  = They store goods in the warehouse.
save (files, data, etc.):
- Simpan fail itu sebelum tutup komputer.
  = Save that file before you shut down the computer.

In Saya simpan semua dokumen penting dalam satu folder di komputer, simpan is best understood as “store/keep/save (digitally)”.

Note: Malay verbs like simpan don’t change form for person or tense (no “simpan/simpans/simpaned” type changes).

How do I know if this sentence is present, past, or future? Where is the tense?

Malay verbs do not conjugate for tense. Simpan is the same for:

I keep
I kept
I will keep

The tense is understood from context or from optional time words:

Past:
- Saya sudah simpan semua dokumen penting…
  = I have already stored all the important documents…
- Saya tadi simpan semua dokumen penting…
  = I earlier stored all the important documents…
Future:
- Saya akan simpan semua dokumen penting…
  = I will store all the important documents…
Habit / general fact (no marker needed):
- Saya simpan semua dokumen penting…
  = I (normally) keep/store all the important documents…

So your sentence is naturally read as habitual / general present, unless context says otherwise.

Why is it semua dokumen penting instead of dokumen penting semua?

Semua means “all” and usually comes before a noun phrase:

semua dokumen penting = all (the) important documents
semua buku = all the books
semua pelajar = all the students

Putting semua in front is the normal, basic pattern.

You can see semua in other positions, but the meaning or emphasis changes:

dokumen penting semuanya
= the important documents, all of them
(heavier emphasis on “all of them” as a group)

For a simple, neutral “all the important documents,” semua dokumen penting is the standard order.

Why is it dokumen penting and not penting dokumen? What’s the rule?

In Malay, adjectives usually come after the noun:

dokumen penting = important documents
rumah besar = big house
kereta baru = new car
orang kaya = rich person

So dokumen (document) comes first, and penting (important) comes after it. Reversing the order (penting dokumen) would be incorrect in standard Malay.

Pattern to remember:
[noun] + [adjective], not the other way around.

Does semua dokumen penting mean “all the important documents” or “every important document”? Is there a difference?

Semua dokumen penting can be translated as:

all the important documents
all important documents

Malay doesn’t always mark the difference between “all the …” and “every …” as clearly as English. Context decides whether you mean:

all of a particular known set, or
generally all items that fit the description.

If you want to sound more like “every single important document” (very exhaustive), you might emphasise with context:

Saya simpan setiap dokumen penting…
= I store every important document…

But your original semua dokumen penting is naturally understood as “all the important documents (in question).”

What does dalam satu folder literally mean, and can I drop satu?

Literally:

dalam = in / inside
satu = one
folder = folder (loan from English)

So dalam satu folder = “in one folder” or, more naturally in English, “in a folder.”

About satu:

With satu:
- Saya simpan semua dokumen penting dalam satu folder di komputer.
  = I keep all the important documents in one folder (or in a single folder).
Without satu:
- Saya simpan semua dokumen penting dalam folder di komputer.
  = I keep all the important documents in a folder / in folders on the computer.
  (Less specific; could be interpreted more generally as “in a folder” or simply “in folders.”)

Satu here works a bit like “a/an” or “one single” and adds the idea of a single folder rather than several.

You can drop satu and still be grammatically correct, but you slightly lose the “one (single)” nuance.

Could I say dalam sebuah folder instead of dalam satu folder? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can say:

dalam sebuah folder di komputer

Sebuah is se- (one) + buah (a general classifier for objects).
Both satu folder and sebuah folder are acceptable.

Nuance:

satu folder
- Very common, informal and neutral.
- Directly “one folder.”
sebuah folder
- Slightly more “textbook/formal” or literary, but still natural in normal speech.
- Sounds a bit more “structured” or careful.

In everyday conversation, satu folder is very common. In formal writing, sebuah folder might appear more often.

Why do we have both dalam and di: dalam satu folder di komputer? Aren’t they both “in / at”?

They play different roles here:

dalam satu folder = in one folder (inside that folder)
di komputer = on/at the computer (location of that folder)

So the structure is:

simpan (store)
… dalam satu folder (in one folder)
di komputer (on the computer)

About the prepositions:

dalam: inside something, “within”
- dalam beg = in (inside) the bag
- dalam kotak = in the box
di: at/on/in a place (broader, more general location)
- di rumah = at home
- di pejabat = at the office
- di komputer = on the computer

So the sentence means:
I store all the important documents in one folder (which is) on the computer.

Could I say di dalam satu folder di komputer instead of dalam satu folder di komputer?

Yes. You can say:

Saya simpan semua dokumen penting di dalam satu folder di komputer.

Di dalam is a common combination that also means “inside / in” and often adds a slight emphasis on being inside something, similar to “inside of” in English.

Both are acceptable:

dalam satu folder
di dalam satu folder

In many contexts they’re interchangeable. Di dalam can sound a bit more formal or emphatic; dalam alone is very natural and slightly shorter.

Why isn’t there any plural marker on dokumen? Should it be dokumen-dokumen?

Malay usually does not mark plurals with an -s like English. Plurality is often understood from context or words like semua (all), banyak (many), beberapa (several), etc.

In your sentence:

semua dokumen penting
= all important documents
(plural is already clear because of semua)

You can use reduplication to explicitly mark plural:

dokumen-dokumen penting = (the) important documents

So you could say:

Saya simpan semua dokumen penting dalam satu folder di komputer.
Saya simpan dokumen-dokumen penting dalam satu folder di komputer.

Both are correct. Using both semua and dokumen-dokumen is possible but can sound a bit heavy or emphatic, like “all the documents, every one of them”:

Saya simpan semua dokumen-dokumen penting… (strong emphasis)

How would I make this sentence negative? For example: “I don’t store all the important documents in one folder on the computer.”

Use tidak (or tak in informal speech) before the verb simpan.

Formal / neutral:

Saya tidak simpan semua dokumen penting dalam satu folder di komputer.
= I do not store all the important documents in one folder on the computer.

Colloquial (spoken):

Saya tak simpan semua dokumen penting dalam satu folder di komputer.

Pattern to remember:

[subject] + tidak/tak + [verb] + …
- Saya tidak faham. = I don’t understand.
- Dia tak kerja hari ini. = He/She isn’t working today.

Is this sentence formal, informal, or neutral? Would it be okay in an email or in speech?

The sentence is neutral and standard:

Saya simpan semua dokumen penting dalam satu folder di komputer.

Features:

Uses saya (polite/neutral “I”)
Uses standard vocabulary (simpan, dokumen, penting, dalam, folder, komputer)

You can use it:

in spoken conversation at work
in a neutral email
in instructions or explanations
in everyday speech with people you don’t know well

For very casual talk with friends, you might switch saya → aku and maybe shorten other parts in a more colloquial way, but the sentence as given is absolutely fine in most contexts.

Could I say di komputer saya to mean “on my computer”? Where would I put saya?

Yes, you can. Add saya after komputer to show possession:

di komputer saya = on my computer

So the full sentence becomes:

Saya simpan semua dokumen penting dalam satu folder di komputer saya.
= I store all the important documents in one folder on my computer.

Pattern:

[noun] + saya = my [noun]
- rumah saya = my house
- kereta saya = my car
- komputer saya = my computer

Are there common alternatives for dokumen and folder in Malay?

Yes:

Dokumen

dokumen is already widely used and understood (loan from English/European languages).
In some contexts, you might see:
- fail (can mean “file” in the sense of a document/file or a folder)
- surat (letter) or borang (form) for specific types of “documents”.

Folder

folder (loan from English) is very common for computer usage.
fail can also mean a file/folder, especially outside strict computer terminology:
- dalam satu fail di komputer
  = in one file/folder on the computer (depends on context).

Your original:

dalam satu folder di komputer

is very clear in a computer context and sounds natural to modern speakers.