Polis datang ke rumah kami selepas jiran saya menelefon.

to (a place)

Breakdown of Polis datang ke rumah kami selepas jiran saya menelefon.

• rumah: the house
• selepas: after
• saya: my

Questions & Answers about Polis datang ke rumah kami selepas jiran saya menelefon.

Why is polis used without the or a plural ending?

Malay does not use articles like a/an or the, so polis can naturally mean police or the police depending on context.

Also, Malay nouns usually do not change form for singular vs. plural. So polis does not need an -s ending. The context tells you that it refers to the police.

Why is there no past tense marker for came or called?

Malay verbs usually do not change form for tense the way English verbs do. The same verb can refer to the present, past, or future, depending on context.

So:

• datang = come / came
• menelefon = call / called / calling

In this sentence, the sequence of events makes the past meaning clear:

• first the neighbor called
• then the police came

If needed, Malay can add time words such as semalam (yesterday) or markers like sudah (already) to make past time even clearer.

What does ke mean in ke rumah kami?

Ke usually means to, toward, or into a destination.

So:

• ke rumah kami = to our house

It is used before places and destinations:

• ke sekolah = to school
• ke bandar = to town
• ke rumah = home / to the house