Piala liga ialah kejohanan besar.

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Breakdown of Piala liga ialah kejohanan besar.

• ialah: to be
• liga: the league
• kejohanan: the tournament

Questions & Answers about Piala liga ialah kejohanan besar.

What does ialah do in this sentence?

Ialah links the subject and the description, similar to is in English.

In Piala liga ialah kejohanan besar:

• Piala liga = the subject
• ialah = the linking word
• kejohanan besar = what the subject is being identified as

So ialah is used here to say that one thing is another thing.

Why is ialah used instead of adalah?

In standard Malay grammar, ialah is typically used before a noun phrase, while adalah is typically used before an adjective phrase or certain other kinds of phrases.

Here, kejohanan besar is built around the noun kejohanan (tournament/championship), so ialah fits well.

A very common rule learners are taught is:

• ialah + noun phrase
• adalah + adjective phrase / prepositional phrase

So:

• Piala liga ialah kejohanan besar. = natural
• Piala liga adalah besar. = means The league cup is big, where besar is directly the adjective

In everyday usage, native speakers do not always follow this distinction perfectly, but it is a useful standard rule.

Why is there no word for a or the?