Questions & Answers about Kami melihat makhluk pelik.
Why does the sentence use kami and not kita?
In Malay, both kami and kita can translate as we, but they are not used the same way.
- kami = we, excluding the person being spoken to
- kita = we, including the person being spoken to
So Kami melihat makhluk pelik means the speaker and some other people saw the strange creature, but not the listener.
This is a very important distinction in Malay and one that English does not normally make.
Does kami only mean we, or can it also mean us?
Kami can function as we or us, depending on the sentence.
In this sentence, kami is the subject, so it means we.
Examples:
- Kami datang. = We came.
- Dia nampak kami. = He/she saw us.
Malay does not change the form the way English does with we/us.
Why is the verb melihat and not just lihat?