Saya mengikat tali kasut dengan rapat.

I tie my shoelaces tightly.

Breakdown of Saya mengikat tali kasut dengan rapat.

• saya: I
• dengan: with
• tali kasut: the shoelace
• rapat: tight

Questions & Answers about Saya mengikat tali kasut dengan rapat.

What does each part of Saya mengikat tali kasut dengan rapat do grammatically?

Here is the breakdown:

• Saya = I
• mengikat = to tie / am tying
• tali kasut = shoelace / shoelaces
• dengan rapat = tightly / securely / closely

So the structure is:

• Saya
  • mengikat
    • tali kasut
      • dengan rapat
• subject
  • verb
    • object
      • manner phrase

This is a very normal Malay word order.

Why is it mengikat and not just ikat?

Ikat is the basic root word meaning tie.

Mengikat is the verb form with the meN- prefix, which commonly makes an active verb in standard Malay. So:

• ikat = tie
• mengikat = to tie / tying

In careful or standard Malay, mengikat sounds more complete and grammatical in a full sentence like this.

In casual speech, people may say:

• Saya ikat tali kasut.

That is common in conversation, but Saya mengikat tali kasut is more standard.

Why is it tali kasut and not kasut tali?