Pemain itu menerima kad merah.

In Malay, demonstratives like ini and itu usually come after the noun.

So:

• pemain itu = that player / the player
• kad itu = that card

This is different from English, where that comes before the noun. In Malay, the normal order is:

• noun + ini
• noun + itu

In many everyday sentences, itu can also make the noun feel definite, so pemain itu can mean either that player or simply the player, depending on context.

It can feel like either one in English.

Literally, itu is a demonstrative, so its basic meaning is that. But in real Malay, noun + itu is also very commonly used where English would just say the.

So pemain itu menerima kad merah could be understood as:

• That player received a red card
• The player received a red card

The exact English choice depends on context, not just the Malay sentence by itself.

In Malay, adjectives usually come after the noun they describe.

So:

• kad merah = red card
• rumah besar = big house
• kereta lama = old car

This is one of the most common word-order differences between Malay and English.

So the pattern is:

• English: adjective + noun
• Malay: noun + adjective

Terima is the base form, and menerima is the form actually used as the verb to receive in a normal sentence.

Malay often adds prefixes to roots. Here:

• root: terima
• verb form: menerima

The prefix meN- is very common in Malay and often forms an active verb.

So:

• menerima = receives / received / is receiving, depending on context

Malay verbs do not change form for tense the way English verbs do, so menerima itself does not specifically mark present or past. The time is usually understood from context or from time words if they are added.

Yes. Menerima is an active verb form.

In this sentence, pemain itu is the one experiencing or getting something, and the sentence is built in the ordinary active-style way:

• Pemain itu = subject
• menerima = verb
• kad merah = object

Malay also has passive structures, but this sentence is not passive. It is the straightforward way to say that the player got or received a red card.

Not by itself.

Malay nouns usually do not change form for singular vs. plural. So pemain can mean:

• player
• players

Context tells you which one is meant.

In this sentence, because the given meaning is already known and because pemain itu usually points to one specific player, it is most naturally understood as singular: the player or that player.

If Malay really wants to make plural very clear, it can use repetition:

• pemain-pemain = players

But very often Malay does not mark plural if the meaning is already obvious.

Malay does not use articles the same way English does.

English has:

• a
• an
• the

Malay usually does not have direct equivalents that must be used every time.

So:

• pemain can mean a player or the player
• kad merah can mean a red card or the red card, depending on context

In this sentence, itu helps make pemain more definite, but kad merah has no article word before it. That is normal in Malay.

Yes. Malay often leaves definiteness to context.

So kad merah literally is just red card, and English translation may need:

• a red card
• the red card

In a football context, English usually says a red card if it is being mentioned as something the player received. But grammatically, Malay itself does not force that distinction here.

Yes, it is very normal.

The structure is:

• Pemain itu = subject
• menerima = verb
• kad merah = object

So the order is basically:

• Subject + Verb + Object

That is the same basic order as English in many simple sentences.

What feels different is mostly:

• itu comes after the noun
• merah comes after the noun

So the sentence is normal Malay even though some details differ from English.

No, that would not be the normal word order.

For a phrase like that player, Malay normally says:

• pemain itu

not

• itu pemain

So in this sentence, pemain itu menerima kad merah is the correct natural order.

If you say:

• Pemain menerima kad merah

it becomes less specific.

That version could mean:

• A player received a red card
• Players received a red card
• The player received a red card

depending on context

Adding itu makes the noun more specific and usually points to a particular player already known in the conversation.

It is correct, but in natural English, especially in a football context, people often say:

• got a red card
• was shown a red card

Malay uses menerima very naturally here, even though a very literal English translation, received a red card, may sound slightly formal. So the Malay is normal; the best English wording just depends on style.

Yes. Pemain is related to the root main, which means play.

A common pattern in Malay is:

• root main = play
• pemain = player

The prefix pe- often helps form a noun for a person associated with an action.

So pemain is literally something like one who plays, which is why it means player.

This kind of word formation is very common in Malay and is useful to notice as you learn more vocabulary.