Tolong cuci tangan dahulu sebelum makan.

to eat

Breakdown of Tolong cuci tangan dahulu sebelum makan.

• sebelum: before
• tolong: please
• tangan: the hand

Questions & Answers about Tolong cuci tangan dahulu sebelum makan.

What does tolong do in this sentence?

Tolong makes the command softer and more polite. On its own, Cuci tangan dahulu sebelum makan is an instruction or command: Wash your hands first before eating. Adding tolong gives the sense of please.

A useful pattern is:

• Tolong + verb = Please ...

So:

• Tolong duduk. = Please sit.
• Tolong tunggu. = Please wait.

Note that tolong can also mean help, depending on context, but here it functions like please.

Why is there no word for your in cuci tangan?

In Malay, possessive words like your, my, or his/her are often omitted when the meaning is obvious from context.

So cuci tangan literally looks like wash hands, but in this context it naturally means wash your hands.

Malay often relies on context where English would require a possessive:

• Angkat tangan. = Raise your hand(s).
• Buka mulut. = Open your mouth.

If needed, you can make possession explicit, but it usually sounds less natural in everyday instructions when the owner is obvious.

Why is singular if the English meaning is ?