Sepakan penalti diambil selepas sepakan percuma itu.

that

Breakdown of Sepakan penalti diambil selepas sepakan percuma itu.

• selepas: after
• mengambil: to take
• sepakan penalti: the penalty kick

Questions & Answers about Sepakan penalti diambil selepas sepakan percuma itu.

Why does diambil mean is/was taken here, and not just taken in a literal physical sense?

In Malay football language, ambil can be used the same way English uses take in phrases like take a penalty or take a free kick.

So:

• ambil = take
• diambil = is taken / was taken

The prefix di- makes the verb passive, so sepakan penalti diambil literally means the penalty kick is/was taken.

This is very natural in sports reporting and commentary.

Why is the sentence passive instead of active?

Malay often uses the passive when the action is more important than the doer.

So in:

Sepakan penalti diambil selepas sepakan percuma itu.

the focus is on the penalty kick, not on who took it.

An active version would be something like:

Pemain itu mengambil sepakan penalti selepas sepakan percuma itu.
= The player took the penalty kick after that free kick.

If the person doing the action is unknown, obvious, or unimportant, Malay commonly leaves them out and uses the passive.

Why is itu at the end of sepakan percuma itu instead of before the noun?