A Practical Malay Grammar
| A Practical Malay Grammar (1912) |
Shellabears's
Practical
Malay Grammar
PREFACE.
This work, as its name implies, is intended as a practical aid to English-speaking people in their efforts to acquire a knowledge of the Malay language.
People naturally find it easier to grasp a new language if its grammatical construction is explained as far as possible in the same phraseology and on the same lines as they have been accustomed to in learning their own and other languages. This grammar has therefore been arranged mainly on the usual plan of the grammars of European languages, and all philological investigations and scientific theories of the language have been intentionally avoided, as being beyond the scope of a “Practical Grammar.”
By means of a progressive series of exercises, the attention of the student is directed chiefly towards the construction of Malay sentences. The advantage of this plan will be recognised when it is remembered that the chief object which most learners have in view is not to read Malay books, but to form sentences and to speak the language. The exercises should of course be written without any other assistance than the vocabulary which accompanies each lesson, and the mistakes made should then be corrected by comparison with the Key, which will be found on page 68 and the following pages. A short series of Reading Exercises are given at the end of the Grammar, but they are intended as examples of Malay construction rather than for practice in reading.
It is perhaps as well to caution the student at the outset against those corruptions of the language which have come into use to a great extent among the mixed populations of the large towns. The chief of these are the use of the verb kaseh or kasi [ 6 ]in the Southern Settlements, and bhagi in Penang and Province Wellesley, as auxiliaries for the formation of transitive verbs, and the continual use of the possessive participle punya. Both of these are Chinese constructions, and in the Malay language they are quite unnecessary and very clumsy.
Methodist Episcopal Mission, Singapore,
November 1899.
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.
The steady demand for this Malay Grammar having necessitated the printing of a second edition, the whole book has been carefully revised, and a few verbal alterations made.
Paragraph 101, on the use of the prefix m, has been rewritten; and a more complete list of compound words has been substituted for the old list in Lesson XXVII. This latter change has been made possible owing to the publication of my Malay-English Vocabulary, to which the student is referred where the compounds formed with any particular word are very numerous.
Malacca, July 1904.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
PRONUNCIATION AND ORTHOGRAPHY |
1 |
LESSONS:―
| I. | The Article, Substantives and Adjectives |
4 |
| II. | Personal Pronouns |
5 |
The Possessive Case |
6 |
Possessive Pronouns |
7 |
| III. | Demonstrative Pronouns |
8 |
Interrogative Pronouns |
8 |
| IV. | Relative Pronouns |
9 |
Reflective Pronouns |
10 |
| V. | Adverbs |
11 |
| VI. | Prepositions |
12 |
Conjunctions |
12 |
| VII. | Numerals |
13 |
Fractional numbers |
14 |
Collective numbers |
14 |
| VIII. | Time |
15 |
| IX. | The Verbs |
16 |
Auxillaries |
17 |
| X. | The Verb Ada |
19 |
| XI. | Questions and Answers |
21 |
| XII. | Negative Auxillaries and the use of Negatives |
23 |
| XIII. | The Verbs Sudah and Habis |
25 |
The Verb Kna |
26 |
The Verb Bri |
26 |
| XIV. | Formation of the Plural |
27 |
Numeral Co-officients or Classifiers |
28 |
| XV. | Gender |
30 |
Comparison of Adjectives |
30 |
| XVI. | Derivative Verbs: Intransitive and Transitive |
32 |
| XVII. | The Prefix m |
34 |
| XVIII. | The Passive Voice |
36 |
The Prefix ter |
37 |
| XIX. | The Prefix ber |
38 |
| XX. | Derivative Nouns (a) The Prefix p |
40 |
(b) The Prefix p and Suffix an |
40 |
(c) The Prefix per and Suffix an |
41 |
| XXI. | (d) The Suffix an |
43 |
(e) The Prefix k |
43 |
(f) The Prefix k and Suffix an |
43 |
(g) The Prefix ber and Suffix an |
44 |
(h) The Suffix an with Reduplication |
44 |
| XXII. | Interjections |
46 |
Punctuation Words |
46 |
Compound Sentences: Adjectival Clauses |
47 |
| XXIII. | Adverbial Clauses |
48 |
| XXIV. | The Use of Prepositions |
51 |
| XXV. | Elementary Malay Idioms |
55 |
Polite Phrases |
57 |
The Use of Bharu |
57 |
The Use of Juga |
58 |
| XXVI. | Words of Similar Meaning |
60 |
| XXVII. | Compound Words |
63 |
| XXVIII. | Religious Terms |
65 |
| XXIX. | The Mohammedan Calendar |
68 |
READING EXCERCISES |
70 |
KEY TO THE EXERCISES |
78 |
PRONUNCIATION AND ORTHOGRAPHY.
For writing their own language the Malays have borrowed their characters from the Arabs. Those who intend to make a thorough study of the Malay language and literature will therefore find it necessary to learn to read the Arabic character. But for the majority of those who wish to learn the rudiments of the Malay language the difficulty of obtaining any fluency in reading a new character often appears so great as even to discourage them from making a beginning. For this reason the Malay words in this grammar are all printed in Roman letters. The system of romanising adopted is the same as has been used in Shellabear's Vocabulary, the Triglot Vocabulary, the Straits Vocabulary, Straits Dialogues, Malay and English School Primer, and all the other Malay publications of the Methodist Publishing House. This system is essentially the same as that which has been universally adopted for romanising the Amoy and Swatow and other dialects of the Chinese language.
Vowels.
The five vowels have the continental sounds:―
a as in father. o as in hole. e as the ey in they. u as in rude. i as in ravine.
In addition to the above there is in Malay, as in nearly all oriental languages, another simple vowel sound which is often called “the short vowel sound.” In the different systems of romanising, this short vowel sound has been variously represented by a, ǎ, e, ě, u, and ŭ, but all of these different methods of representing this vowel sound are open to the great objection that they mislead both Europeans and natives into giving it an incorrect pronunciation. Experience has shown that the best way to spell words containing the short vowel sound, with a view to helping the student to a correct pronunciation, is to omit the vowel altogether. This omission of the short vowel is the peculiar feature of the system of romanising used in this grammar. The exact sound of this "short vowel" can only be learnt by ear; it does not occur in any English word of one syllable, but is almost identical with the half-vowel sound in the first syllable of such words as “machine,” and “balloon.” When two consonants come together without a vowel between, [ 10 ]the first consonant must be considered as having the short or inherent vowel sound, and is therefore sounded separately, as, l-kas, t-pi, b-bal, etc. The double consonants ch, kh, sh, ng, and ny are of course exceptions to this rule, as they stand for single sounds. Where the single consonants k and h, or s and h would come together, the vowel a is inserted to avoid confusion with the double consonants kh, sh, as in kahandak, sahaja, etc.; in the word negri, however, it has been thought best to retain the conventional method of spelling with an e. When three consonants come together, the first two usually form a closed syllable, and the third commences the second syllable, as in the words mm-baiki, rn-dah, pn-ja-ra, in a few cases, however, each consonant must be given its inherent vowel sound, as, m-l-top, p-n-bus, s-d-kah, but such words are so few in number that they present very little difficulty.
In regard to the vowels a, e, i, o, u, it may be remarked that in open syllables the vowel sound has always a greater degree of intensity than in closed syllables. For instance, in the word padang the a in the first syllable, pa, is pronounced much broader than in the second syllable. In the word gigit, the i in gi has a stronger sound than in the second syllable git, where it has more the sound of i in “bit.” Similarly in the words bodoh and turut there is more stress on the open syllables bo and tu than on the closed syllables doh and rut; whereas in such words as pada, gigi, jodo and susu there is an equal heavy stress on both syllables; and so also in such words as panjang, chinchin, pondok, bungkus, where both syllables are closed, the stress is equal in the two syllables, but is much lihgter than in open syllables, and the vowel therefore appears to have a shorter sound.
It should perhaps he remarked here that English-speaking persons have a strong tendency to mispronounce the Malay vowel a, by giving it the short English sound; for instance, one often hears the word api pronounced something like the English word “happy,” only without the h, and the first syllable of panjang is often pronounced like the English word “pan,” and the second syllable is pronounced so that it would rhyme with “bang.” Such short a sounds do not exist at all in the Malay language, and should be very carefully avoided. The first syllable of panjang should be pronounced more like the English word “pun,” and the second syllable should be made to rhyme with the English word “young.”
The sound o or u in the last syllable of many words is not quite the same as either the o or the u sound given above. [ 11 ]but is about half way between those sounds, so that some persons write an o and others a u; for instance, one may write either ukor or ukur, rambot or rambut, jmpot or jmput. It matters little which way such words are written; their true pronunciation can only be learnt from a Malay. When two vowels come together, both must be sounded, but the first must be run into the second; thus au becomes very nearly the sound of ow in “cow,” as pisau, mau; and ai has almost the sound of the English i in “ice” as as sungai, pakai, kdai.
Consonants.
The consonants in Malay are pronounced as in English, except that the r should always be sounded much more clearly and with more of a ring than in English. The consonant ng represents a single sound in Malay, and should be pronounced like the ng in “singer,” never as in “single;” the latter sound is represented in Malay by ngg, thus: si-nga, and sing-gah. So also ungu is not un-gu, but u-ngu. Final k in Malay is not sounded, but the syllable in which it occurs must be pronounced very short indeed, and the breath drawn in so as to produce the shortening of the sound. The apostrophe at the end of a syllable indicates a similar abrupt sound. When the apostrophe is found between two vowels, it indicates that they should be pronounced separately, as, perkata'an, mula'i. Final h has also the effect of shortening the last syllable, but not more than half as much as final k.
In the transliteration of the purely Arabic letters no distinction has been made between ت and س ;ط and ح ;ص and ه; or ق and ﻚ. The other Arabic letters have been transliterated as follows:― ث th, خ kh, ذ dh, ز z, ش sh, ض dl, ظ tl, غ gh, ف f. The nasal letter ع which changes its sound according to the vowel written with it, is represented by a rough breathing (‘) placed before the vowel. The hyphen is used to separate from the words to which they are attached those prefixes, suffixes, and other particles which do not form an integral part of the word itself. These are: the preposition k-, the abbreviated numeral s-, the passive prefix di-, the pronominal suffixes, -ku, -mu, and -yu, and the particles, -lah, -kah, nah, -tah. The preposition di is distinguished from the passive prefix di- by the absence of the hyphen. [ 12 ]
LESSON I.
The Article, Substantives and Adjectives.
1. There is no indefinite article in Malay. The adjective always follows the substantive which it qualifies.
rumah, a house. bsar, big, large. kuda, a horse. kuat, strong. orang, a man. baik, good.
rumah bsar, a large house.
kuda kuat, a strong horse.
orang baik, a good man.
2. Properly speaking there is also no definite article in Malay, but the demonstrative pronoun itu, that, is sometimes used to supply this deficiency, and follows the noun or adjective.
kuda or kuda itu, the horse.
orang kuat or orang kuat itu, the strong man.
3. In simple sentences, in which the subject is a substantive and the predicate an adjective, two constructions are commonly used:
a. The subject is placed first, followed by the demonstrative pronoun itu, and the adjective is placed at the end of the sentence, as
rumah itu bsar, the house is large.
b. The adjective is placed first, usually followed by the expletive suffix -lah (which is untranslatable, and is merely used for emphasis), and the substantive followed by the demonstrative pronoun or some other part of speech is placed at the end of the sentence, as,
baik-lah orang itu, the man is good.
bsar kuda itu, the horse is big.
This construction is more emphatic than the former.
4. In Malay there is no declension of either substantives or adjectives.
5. The verb “to be” is seldom expressed in such simple Malay sentences as are dealt with in the early chapters of this grammar, [ 13 ]and should not be translated. Lesson X is devoted to the use of the Malay verb ada.
VOCABULARY.
NOUNS. |
ADJECTIVES. |
| ayer, water. | baik, good. |
| budak, boy, girl. | bsar, big, large. |
| baju, coat. | bharu, now. |
| hari, day. | jahat, bad. |
| jalan, road. | kchil, small. |
| kuda, horse. | kuat, strong. |
| orang, person, man. | lurus, straight. |
| pintu, door, gate. | malas, lazy. |
| raja, king. | panas, hot. |
| rumah, house. | panjang, long. |
| surat, letter. | pendek, short. |
| sjuk, cold. |
EXERCISE I.
1 A great king. 2 A short letter. 3 The big door. 4 A new coat. 5 The bad person. 6 The road is straight. 7 The day was hot. 8 A horse is strong. 9 The water was cold. 10 The new coat is long. 11 The small boy was lazy. 12 The long road is good. 13 The big horse is strong.
LESSON II.
Personal Pronouns.
6. The following are the personal pronouns most commonly in use:
a. When addressing an inferior in rank or a familiar friend
| Singular, | 1st | person, | aku. |
| 2nd | ,, | dia or ia. | |
| 3rd | ,, | dia or ia. | |
| Plural, | 1st | person, | kita or kami. |
| 2nd | ,, | kamu. | |
| 3rd | ,, | dia, dia orang, or orang itu. |
b. When addressing a superior, or an equal in rank,
| Singular, | 1st | person, | sahya. |
| 2nd | ,, | tuan. | |
| 3rd | ,, | dia or ia. | |
| Plural. | The same as above. | ||
8. The use of the 2nd person pronoun is avoided as far as possible. The name or rank, or the relation which the person addressed bears to the speaker, being substituted. Thus a Malay would say, “John is a big boy,” rather than “You are a big boy.”
9. Ia is seldom used in conversation. In writing, ia is generally used for the subject, and dia for the object. Orang added to the pronoun of the 3rd person forms the plural, but the plural need not be expressed unless ambiguity would arise from the use of the simple pronoun dia.
10. The Straits-born Chinese use the Chinese pronouns, goa, I, and lu, you, when conversing among themselves, and it has become common among Europeans in the Straits to use the pronoun lu when addressing the Chinese and Tamils. A Malay should never be addressed by this pronoun lu, which would be considered as an affront.
The Possessive Case.
11. When one substantive is placed immediately after another, the second substantive is in the possessive case. Thus:
baju raja, the king's coat.
Similarly a pronoun placed immediately after a noun is in the possessive case, as,
rumah sahya, my house.
12. The possessive case may also be formed by placing the possessive particle punya after either a noun or prononn; the noun or pronoun signifying the possessor then precedes the noun signifying the thing possessed, as,
raja punya baju, the king's coat.
sahya punya rumah, my house.
NOTE.―The first method of expressing the possessive case should be generally used, but when the object possessed is qualified by an adjective it is more convenient to use punya. The frequent use of punya, however, is a Chinese idiom, and, though common with the [ 15 ]Straits-born Chinese, should be avoided by Europeans who wish to speak with any approach to correctness.
Possessive Pronouns.
13. Properly speaking the only possessive pronouns in Malay are the suffixes -ku, mine; -mu, yours; and -nya, his or theirs. These are all joined by a hyphen to the noun expressing the thing possessed, as,
baju-ku, any coat.
rumah-mu, your house.
kuda-nya, his horse.
Of these only -nya is used in conversation; -ku and -mu being only used in written compositions.
14. All personal pronouns become possessive pronouns when placed after the noun expressing the object possessed, or by the addition of the possessive particle punya, as explained above in paragraph 12.
15. When the substantive which the possessive pronoun qualifies is omitted or understood, or when the possessive pronoun completes the predicate of a sentence, the form punya must be used, as,
dia-lah sahya punya, it is mine.
rumah itu dia punya, the house is his.
VOCABULARY.
NOUNS. |
ADJECTIVES. |
| anak, child. | hitam, black. |
| bapa, father. | kaya, rich. |
| binatang, animal. | kosong, empty. |
| kreta, cart, carriage. | miskin, poor. |
| kaki, leg, foot. | pandai, clever. |
| laut, sea. | puteh, white. |
| lmbu, bullock. | tinggi, high, tall. |
| pti, box. | sakit, sore, sick. |
| tangan, hand. | |
| tuan, master. |
PRONOUNS.
| aku, sahya, I, me. | dia, ia, he, she, her, him. |
| kita, kami, we, us. | dia, dia orang, orang itu, they, them. |
| angkau, tuan, kamu, you. | [ 16 ] |
| -ku, aku punya, etc. my, mine. | -mu, angkau punya, etc. your, yours. |
| kita punya, kami punya, our, ours. | dia punya, -nya, his, her, hers, their, theirs. |
EXERCISE II.
1 I am a great king. 2 You are a small child. 3 My carriage is new. 4 Your black horse is strong. 5 You are rich, we are poor. 6 Sea water. 7 The child's hand. 8 Bullock cart. 9 I am the child of the king of Malacca. 10 The animal's foot is sore. 11 He is my master. 12 They are clever. 13 His coat is white. 14 Their boy is tall. 15 The empty box is yours. 16 The hot water is theirs. 17 The small boy is hers.
LESSON III.
Demonstrative Pronouns.
16. The demonstrative pronouns in Malay are: itu, that, those; ini, this, these. They can both be used either as adjectives or as true pronouns; when used as adjectives they follow the noun which they qualify. Examples:
| itu-lah dia, that is he. |
| anak ini, this child. |
17. The following are also demonstrative pronouns, but cannot be used as adjectives:
ia'itu,
dia'itu,
they, that, the same. ia'ini, this, this one.
These forms are more emphatic than the above; examples:
kuda kchil, ia'itu-lah baik, small horses, (they) are the good ones.
ia'ini anak orang kaya, this one is the rich man's child.
Interrogative Pronouns.
18. The following are the interrogative pronouns, in Malay: apa, what; siapa, who; mana, which, what; apa macham, what kind of.
19. Only mana, and apa macham can be used as adjectives. Mana is also an adverb, meaning “where?” When used as an [ 17 ]interrogative pronoun it must follow the noun. Apa macham may either precede or follow the noun. Apa and siapa cannot be joined to a noun.
VOCABULARY.
NOUNS. |
ADJECTIVES. |
| ayam, fowl. | berseh, clean. |
| buah, fruit. | kotoh, dirty. |
| ikan, fish. | kras, hard. |
| kain, cloth, clothes. | mahal, dear. |
| kayu, wood. | merah, red. |
| kursi, chair. | tempang, lame. |
| kuki, cook. | |
| mangkok, cup. | PRONOUNS. |
| meja, table. | itu, that, those. |
| tlor, egg. | ini, this, these. |
| topi, hat. | ia’itu, dia itu, they, that. |
| tukang, workman. | ia’ini, this, this one. |
| apa? what? | |
| siapa? who? | |
| mana? which? what? | |
| apa macham? what kind of? |
EXERCISE III.
1 This is your chair. 2 This table is dear. 3 This cup is dirty. 4 This is a clean cloth. 5 This is red-wood, that is hard. 6 This one is the lame man. 7 What is that? 8 That is a hen's egg. 9 Who is this man? 10 This is my new cook. 11 Which man is lame? 12 Whose hat is this? 13 Which fruit is that? 14 What kind of fish is this? 15 Whose dirty clothes are these? 16 Who is that workman? 17 What is that fruit?
LESSON IV.
Relative Pronouns.
20. The relative pronouns in Malay are:
yang, who, what, which, that.
mana yang, whichever.
barang yang, what, that which.
barang apa, what, whatever.
barang siapa, he who, whoever.
barang siapa yang, he who, whoever.
The last four forms are used only when the noun is not expressed.
21. In Malay yang is often used between the noun and the adjective which qualifies it, where no relative pronoun is required in English, as, orang yang baik, a good man, literally, a “man who is good.” Yang must be used before the adjective when the noun is a compound word, as, tukang kayu yang pandai, a clever carpenter.
Reflective Pronouns.
22. Reflective pronouns in Malay are formed from the personal pronouns by the addition of sndiri or diri, self. Sndiri is placed after the pronoun, and diri before the pronoun, as sahya sndiri, diri sahya, diri kita, etc. Sndiri is more commonly used in conversation than diri.
23. Sndiri and diri sometimes stand by themselves. They are then impersonal and mean “one's self.” In some cases the personal pronoun is understood but not expressed.
24. The pronominal suffixes, -ku, -mu, -nya, may be joined to either sndiri or diri, thus,
diri-nya, or sndiri-nya, himself, his own.
The possessive case may be formed as usual by the use of punya, or by placing the reflective pronoun after the noun, as,
rumah kita sndiri,
kita sndiri punya rumah,
our own house.
VOCABULARY.
NOUNS. |
ADJECTIVES. |
| barang, thing. | bengkok, bent. |
| bsi, iron. | bodoh, stupid. |
| garfu, fork. | brani, brave. |
| kbun, garden. | gmok, fat. |
| kueh, cake, pudding. | manis, sweet. |
| pisau, knife. | marah, angry. |
| sendok, spoon. | masak, ripe. |
| tukang bsi, blacksmith. | mati, dead. |
| tukang kayu, carpenter. | salah, wrong. |
| tukang kbun, gardener. | tajam, sharp. |
PRONOUNS.
| yang, who, what, which, that. | barang siapa yang, he who, whoever | |||
| mana yang, whichever. | ||||
| barang yang, what, that which. | sndiri, diri, self. | |||
| barang apa, what, whatever. |
| |||
| barang siapa, he who, whoever. |
EXERCISE IV.
1 What is mine is yours. 2 Whoever is angry is wrong. 3 It is the gardener who is lazy. 4 Which is the fork that is bent? 5 This is a clever blacksmith. 6 Whichever is ripe is good. 7 Which man is dead? 8 This is the cake which is sweet. 9 That is the fat boy. 10 It is I myself who am angry. 11 You are brave yourself. 12 The carpenter himself is stupid. 13 His own knife is sharp. 14 This is your own spoon. 15 This fork is your own.
LESSON V.
Adverbs.
25. The following are some of the more common adverbs, which will be used in subsequent exercises:
Adverbs of Time.
| skarang, now. |
| |||
| bila, when. | ||||
| kmdian, afterwards. | dhulu, before. | |||
| besok, esok, to-morrow. | klmarin, yesterday. | |||
| lkas, quickly. | tadi, just now. |
Adverbs of Place.
| sini, here. | sana, there. |
| mana, where. | dalam, inside. |
| luar, outside. | atas, above. |
| bawah, below. | sblah, beside. |
| dkat, near. | jauh, far. |
| hampir, almost. | blakang, behind. |
VOCABULARY.
NOUNS. |
ADJECTIVES. |
| bras, rice (uncooked). | kring, dry. |
| nasi, rice (cooked). | kurus, thin. |
| padi, rice (in the husk). | sdia, ready. |
| tmpat, place. | snang, convenient. |
EXERCISE V.
LESSON VI.
Prepositions.
26. The more common prepositions are:
| di, at. | deri, from (places). |
| k-, to. | deri-pada, from (persons). |
| pada, k-pada, to. | oleh, by. |
| sama, serta, dngan, with. | bagi, for. |
27. Many of the adverbs of place given in paragraph 25 are used as prepositions in combination with di, k-, and deri, as:
| di dalam, inside. | di atas, upon. |
| k-dalam, into. | k'atas, on to. |
| deri dalam, from inside. | deri atas, from above. |
Conjunctions.
28. The following are the principal conjunctions:
| dan, and. | atau, or. |
| pun, and, also. | kalau, if. |
| juga, also. | kerna, for. |
| ttapi, but. | sbab, because. |
| mlainkan, but, excepting. | spaya, in order that. |
| deri-pada, than. |
VOCABULARY.
NOUNS. |
ADVERBS. | |||
| bakul, basket. | barang-kali, perhaps. | |||
| bangsal, shed. |
| |||
| blanja, expenses. | ||||
| daging, flesh, meat. | bgimana, how? | |||
| daging kambing, mutton. | bgini, like this, thus. | |||
| daging lmbu, beef. | bgitu, like that, so. | |||
| herga, value, price. | brapa, how many? how much? | |||
| kambing, goat. | brapa banyak, how much (quantity). | |||
| kawan, goat. | ||||
| kdai, shop. | brapa herga, how much? (price) | |||
| roti, bread. | chukop, enough.
[ 21 ] | |||
ADVERBS |
slalu, always. | |||
| jarang, seldom. | sperti, like. | |||
| klmarin dhulu, day before yesterday. | terlalu, terlampau, too, very. | |||
| tntu, certainly. | ||||
| k-mari, hither, here. | ||||
| knapa, mngapa, why. | ADJECTIVES. | |||
| kurang, less. | bulat, round | |||
| lagi, lbeh, more. | kasar, coarse, rough. | |||
| lusa, day after to-morrow. | lmbot, soft. | |||
| sahaja, only. | murah, cheap. | |||
| skali, quite. |
EXERCISE VI
1 Whence is this friend of yours? 2 Where is the basket which was here just now? 3 On the round table with the bread and meat. 4 My father's shop is far from here. 5 If it is coarse, it will certainly be cheap. 6 How much is this mutton? 7 How many goats are there in the shed? 8 Why is this bread so hard? 9 How much were your expenses yesterday? 10 How is it that this beef is so soft?
LESSON VII.
Numerals.
29. The cardinal numbers in Malay are:
| satu or s-, one. | anam, six. |
| dua, two. | tujoh, seven. |
| tiga, three. | dlapan, eight. |
| ampat, four. | smbilan, nine. |
| lima, five. | s-puloh, ten. |
These may either precede or follow the noun.
30. The addition of blas to the numerals from one to nine forms those from eleven to nineteen, as: s-blas, dua-blas, etc. up to smbilan-blas.
31. Multiples of ten are formed similarly by the addition of puloh, as: s-puloh, dua-puloh, etc., up to smbilan-puloh.
32. The units satu to smbilan are placed after the tens to form the intermediate numbers above twenty, as: dua-puloh-satu, dua-puloh-dua, etc. [ 22 ]33. The hundreds, ratus, thousands, ribu, tens of thousands, laksa, hundreds of thousands, kti, and millions, juta, are treated in precisely the same way. No conjunctions are required between numerals. Thus s-juta dua-kti liga-laksa ampat-ribu lima-ratus anam-puloh-tujoh would represent 1,234,567.
34. The ordinal numbers are formed from the cardinals by means of the word yang, corresponding to the definite article in English, and by prefixing k to the cardinals, as, yang kdua, yang k-tiga-blas, yang k'ampat-puloh.
The only exception to this rule is that yang pertama is always used for “first.”
When used as adjectives the ordinal numbers follow the noun.
Without the yang, the forms kdua, ktiga, k'ampat, etc., mean “both,” “all three,” “all four,” etc. Example: k'ampat-puloh-nya, the whole forty.
Fractional Numbers.
35. A half is expressed by tngah or s-tngah or sparoh, and a quarter by suku, or s-suku; all other fractions are formed from the cardinal numbers by means of the prefix per, thus:
S-pertiga, a third; tiga-perampat, three fourths; ampat perpuloh, four tenths; etc.
Collective Numbers.
36. The following are the collective numbers in Malay:
| pasang, pair, comple. |
| dusin, dozen. |
| kodi, score. |
VOCABULARY.
NOUNS. |
NOUNS. |
| batu, stone, mile. | jauh, distance. |
| brat, weight. | kasut, shoe. |
| bulan, moon, month. | kayu, roll of cloth. |
| dalam, depth. | kodi, score. |
| dpa, fathom. | pasang, pair, couple. |
| batu, stone, mile. | jauh, distance. |
| ela, yard. | ringgit, dolar. |
| gaji, wages. | sblah kanan, right. |
| greja, church. | sblah kiri, left. |
| hutang, debt. | tali, string, rope. |
NOTE. In expressing quantities, dimensions or weights, the Malay idiom requires the words banyak, panjang, tinggi, dalam, brat, jauh, etc., to be used as nouns; thus, “it weighs a pikul,” satu pikul brat-nya, literally, one pikul its weight; “two feet high,” dua kaki tinggi-nya. In the same way lama-nya must always be used when stating durations of time, as, dua bulan lama-nya, two months.
EXERCISE VII.
1 My debt is twenty dollars. 2 Two white stones and eleven black. 3 Three pair of shoes. 4 His wages are fourteen dollars a month. 5 How long is this string? 6 Two fathoms. 7 How many yards of cloth are there in this roll? 8 This church is one hundred and forty-five feet in height. 9 The depth of this sea is twelve hundred fathoms. 10 A man is seldom so heavy, he would perhaps be two pikuls in weight. 11 The fourth house on the right is mine. 12 Your son's land is distant three-quarters of a mile from the sea.
LESSON VIII.
Time.
37. Time is expressed in Malay by the use of the word pukol (which literally means strike), for the hours of the clock; thus, pukol tiga, three o'clock. Suku, s-tngah, and tiga-suku are used for the quarters and half hours, and are placed after the, hours, without a conjunction; thus, pukol tiga suku, pukol ampat s-tngah, etc.
38. The minutes from the hour to the half hour follow the same rule as the quarter and half hours; thus, pukol lima dua puloh minit, twenty minutes past five.
39. The minutes from the half hour to the hour are expressed by subtracting them from the following hour by the use of the word kurang, less; the minutes are usually given first, and then the hour, thus, kurang s-puloh minit pukol anam, ten minutes to six. The third quarter may also be expressed in the same way, as, kurang suku pukol tujoh, a quarter to seven.
40. Future intervals of time are expressed by the use of the adverbs lagi, more, and lpas, after; thus, lagi s-puloh minit pukol dlapan, in ten minutes it will be eight o'clock; lpas tiga hari tahun bharu, in three days more it will be the new year. [ 24 ]41. Past intervals of time are expressed by sudah, which, when used in this sense, has no English equivalent. Examples: sudah ampat hari orang itu mati, that man has been dead four days; sudah brapa lama tuan sdia? how long have you been ready? lama sudah, a long time.
VOCABULARY.
NOUNS. |
ADVERBS. |
| hujan, rain. | pagi-pagi, early. |
| jam, hour. | pukol brapa? what time is it? |
| pagi, morning. | |
| papan, plank. | sampai, until. |
| tahun, afternoon. | |
| tngah hari, noon. | ADJECTIVES. |
| tngah malam, midnight. | basah, wet. |
PRONOUN. |
glap, dark. |
| orang, one (indef. pron.). | lama, old (of things). |
ADVERBS. |
lambat, late, slow. |
| ini hari, to-day. | pnat, tired, weary. |
| lama, long (of time). | tua, old (of living creatures). |
EXERCISE VIII.
1 What time is it now. 2 Nearly one o'clock. 3 It has been dark a long time. 4 How much longer will it rain like this? 5 How long have these planks been wet like this? 6 Two hours and three quarters. 7 A quarter to three. 8 As late as this one is sure to be tired. 9 Twenty-five minutes to twelve. 10 This morning at half past four. 11 Three o'clock in the afternoon. 12 From noon until twenty minutes past four.
LESSON IX.
The Verb.
42. Verbs in Malay may be divided into two classes, primitive and derivative.
Primitive verbs are those which are verbs in their root forms.
Derivative verbs are formed from roots which may be verbs, substantives, adjectives, or any other parts of speech, by the addition of prefixes or suffixes, or both.
The verb has generally the same position in the sentence as in English. [ 25 ] 43. Primitive verbs may be either transitive or intransitive, as,
| pergi, go. | panggil, call. |
44. The verb in its simple form is best considered as being in the imperative second person, that being the only part of the verb which in all cases be expressed without the use of prefix, suffix, auxiliary verb or particle.
Auxiliaries.
45. The following auxiliary verbs or particles are used to express the tenses, or as auxiliaries proper:
ada, is, are.
tiada, is not, will not.
sudah, was, did, has, had.
tlah, was, did, has, had, (only used in writing).
akan, will, shall, would, should.
mau, will, shall, would, should.
hndak, will, shall, would, should.
boleh, can, could, may, might.
dapat, can, could, may, might.
patut, ought.
46. These auxiliaries precede the verb, but may be placed either before or after the subject of the sentence, as,
sahya sudah pergi,
sudah sahya pergi,
I went.
47. In conversation, primitive verbs following an auxiliary frequently remain in the simple root form. The prefixes required by a more correct style, and almost invariably used in written composition, will be dealt with later.
48. The auxiliaries are frequently found in sentences where there is no verb, in such cases the copula or some verb is implied, as:
angkau hndak k-mana? whither are you (going).
ikan ini sudah busok, this fish has (become) bad.
lagi dua hari nanti masak, in two days it will (be) ripe.
The above mentioned auxiliaries should not be used to express past or future tenses when the tense is evident from the context.
Peculiar use of some verbs in this lesson.
49. The way in which some Malay verbs are used differs so much from the English idiom that their use requires explanation. [ 26 ](a) There are two words in Malay for “go”:
jalan describes the action of going as being in progress, as,
jalan lkas, go quickly, that is, go at a rapid pace.
pergi views the going as a single action, as,
pergi lkas, go quickly, that is, go immediately.
(b) The words pergi and jalan cannot be used in such expressions as, go in, go out, go up, go down, go home, etc., each of these ideas being expressed by a single Malay word, as follows, masok, kluar, naik, turun, pulang. Each of these five words expresses the idea of coming as well as going; they must therefore also be used for come in, come out, etc.
(c) In Malay the object when it is a pronoun is often omitted: as, sahya sudah dapat, I have found it. Similarly such words as “some” and “one” are not translated when they form the object of the sentence; as, pergi chari, go and look for one; sahya sudah kirim, I have sent some.
(d) In Malay no conjunctions need be used between verbs, as, pergi panggil, go and call him; naik turun, rising and falling.
VOCABULARY.
VERBS. |
suka, rejoice, be glad, like. |
| bangun, rise, get up. | suroh, order, tell. |
| chari, seek, look for. | tinggal, reside, remain, live. |
| dapat, find, get, receive. | trima, receive. |
| fikir, think. | turun, go down, come down. |
| jatoh, fall. | |
| kirim, send (small things). | NOUNS. |
| kluar, go out, come out. | bukit, hill. |
| masok, enter, go in, come in. | jarom, needle. |
| naik, go up, come up. | lobang, hole. |
| nanti, wait. | mata, eye. |
| panggil, call, send for. | pasar, market. |
| pergi, go. | prigi, well. |
| pindah, move, change position. | negri, town. |
| pulang, go home, come home. |
EXERCISE IX.
1 If you go too quickly you will perhaps fall. 2 Call the cook and tell him to come up. 3 Tell the carpenter to wait here. 4 I think he has not yet returned from the market. 5 I want to get up at a quarter to six to-morrow morning. 6 A rat could go into that hole. 7 Send this letter to your father, he will certainly [ 27 ]be glad to receive it. 8 I am going to move from this town. 9 I have lived here for thirteen years. 10 You ought to look for a well on this hill. 11 I have looked, but have not yet found one. 12 This is the man who went into your house the day before yesterday. 13 I have not looked for it yet.
LESSON X.
The Verb “ada.”
50. The verb ada is not by any means the exact equivalent of the English verb “to be.”
We have already seen that when the verb “to be” is the copula, and has no other value than to assert some attribute of the noun, it is not expressed in Malay.
Whenever the verb “to be” asserts presence or existence it must be expressed by ada, as,
ada orang dalam rumah, there is a man in the house.
51. Owing to the fact that ada has this somewhat restricted meaning, it is sufficient in itself to express presence, where in English it is necessary to use such words as “here” or “present”; thus, “Your carriage is here,” should be translated simply tuan punya kreta ada.
52. Ada is often used impersonally where in English the verb “to have” is used; for instance, “if you have a knife” should be translated kalau ada pisau, literally "if there is a knife"; “I have a knife,” pisau ada, etc. If it is necessary to express the pronoun or the noun, the same construction may be used with the addition of the preposition pada, thus, ada dua pasang kasut pada-ya, he has two pair of shoes. Colloquially sama is often used in place of pada, as, surat itu ada sama tuan, you have the letter.
53. When used as an auxiliary verb, ada expresses continuance of action, as,
orang ada datang, people are coming.
54. Ada introduces a subject, and is then placed at the beginning of the sentence, and means “there was,” “it happened that,” and so forth.
ada dua orang yang pergi itu,
there were two men who went.
ada-lah nama raja itu, Raja Ahmad,
now the name of that king was Raja Ahmad.
ada tiga bulan lama-nya aku diam di-sini,
I have lived here for three months.
Peculiar use of some verbs in this lesson.
55. (a) English people frequently use the words ambil and bawa wrongly. This probably arises from the fact that the English word “take” has a double meaning, and in vocabularies ambil is usually given as “take,” and bawa as “bring.” It should be remembered, however, that ambil only means “take” in the sense of “receive,” and never in the sense of convey. “Take,” in the sense of “convey,” is bawa. But bawa means to convey in any direction, and therefore stands for “bring” as well as “take.” Where it is necessary to specify the direction in which anything is to be conveyed some other word must be added to bawa, as: bawa sini, bring it here; bawa sana, take it there; bawa pergi, take it away.
(b) If the object to be conveyed is not already in the hands of the person who is to convey it, it is usual in Malay to combine the words ambil or angkat with bawa, as, ambil bawa masok, take it and take it in; angkat bawa pulang, lift it and take it home.
(c) “Get,” in the sense of “obtain,” is dapat, but when it means “fetch” it should be translated by the word ambil.
NOUNS. |
NOUNS. |
| abang, elder brother. | tikar, mat. |
| adek, younger brother or sister. | tpong, flour. |
| tukang jahit, tailor. | |
| bilek, room. | tukang kasut, shoemaker. |
| bunga, flower. | |
| changkol, hoe. | VERBS. |
| China, Chinese. | ambil, fetch, take, get. |
| dapur, oven, kitchen. | angkat, lift, take up, carry. |
| kakak, elder sister. | bawa, take, bring, convey. |
| payong, umbrella. | bli, buy. |
| pisang, banana. | dudok, sit. |
| plita, lamp. | jahit, sew. |
| sdikit, a little. | jual, sell. |
EXERCISE X.
1 There is a lamp in your room. 2 There is a little flour in it. 3 If there are bananas at the market, tell the cook to buy some. [ 29 ]4 The shoemaker is sitting outside. 5 How many persons are present to-day? 6 Your tailor is here now. 7 There was a Chinaman in the kitchen just now. 8 For three weeks my elder brother has been ill. 9 The gardener has the hoe. 10 If you have an umbrella go and get it. 11 Take these flowers to your elder sister. 12 Take that mat outside. 13 Go and get my shoes. 14 A man is bringing them.
LESSON XI.
Questions and Answers.
56. The interrogative form may be obtained by adding the suffix -kah to the auxiliary verb or any emphatic word in the sentence, as,
boleh-kah angkau datang? can you come?
57. When the sentence contains an interrogative adverb or pronoun, the suffix -kah is seldom used, as,
kapal deri mana ini? whence is this ship?
apa nama kayu ini? what is the name of this tree?
58. In conversation, the interrogation is usually expressed by the tone of voice, and the frequent use of the suffix -kah should be avoided.
59. The word “yes,” ya, is very seldom used in Malay in reply to an interrogation. A reply in the affirmative may be expressed in several different ways. If the question contains an auxiliary verb, the repetition of the auxiliary expresses the affirmative, as,
kapal sudah sampai-kah? has the ship arrived?
sudah, yes.
60. Similarly the verb or some emphatic word in the question may be repeated, as,
mau hujan-kah? will it rain?
hujan, tuan, yes, sir.
mem ada? is the lady at home?
ada, yes.
bsar-kah Pulau Percha itu? is Sumatra a big island?
bsar, tuan, yes.
angkau orang Mlayu-kah? are you a Malay?
sahya, yes.
This use of the personal pronoun is also very common in reply- ing to a command, and is equivalent in that case to baik or baik-lah, very well; as,
pergi panggil tukang batu, go and call a bricklayer.
sahya, very well.
For negative answers see paragraphs 66 to 69.
Peculiar use of some verbs in this Lesson.
62. (a) The verbs tahu and knal must not be confounded. Tahu signifies mental knowledge, information, Knal is to be acquainted with, to know by sight.
(b) In Malay there are three words for “come.” (1) Mari is properly only an interjectional adverb, meaning “hither,” “come hither,” but in Penang it is used as a verb. It is perhaps derived from lari, “run.” (2) Sampai is “come” only in the sense of “arrive.” (3) Dalang may be used to translate “come” in every case, except in the imperative mood, when mari should be used.
VOCABULARY.
NOUNS. |
ADJECTIVES. |
| bini, wife. | busok, rotten. |
| bola, ball. | Mlayu, Malay. |
| gudang, godown, office. | takot, afraid. |
| kampong, village. | |
| kapal, ship. | VERBS. |
| ofis, office. | datang, come. |
| pulau, island. | knal, know, be acquainted. |
| Pulau Percha, Sumatra. | main, play. |
| sais, syce. | mandi, bathe. |
| sayur, vegetables. | preksa, inquire, examine. |
| tukang batu, bricklayer. | tahu, know (as a fact). |
| tukang chukor, barber. | taroh, put, place. |
| tukang roti, baker. | |
| ubi, potato. |
EXERCISE XI.
1 Does that little boy know how to play ball? Yes, he does. 2 Can you come to my office the day after to-morrow? Yes. 3 What ship will arrive here to-morrow morning? 4 Do you know my younger brother's wife? 5 Yes. Did the syce put the old [ 31 ]basket there? Yes, he did. 6 Is the baker here? Yes. 7 Can you get potatoes and other vegetables in this village? Yes. 8 Do you live on this hill? Yes. 9 Are you afraid? Yes, I am, sir. 10 Which is the man who was bathing just now? 11 Did you call a barber? Yes, I did.
LESSON XII.
Negative Auxiliaries, and the general use of Negatives.
63. The negatives in Malay are:
tidak and bukan, no, not, and blum, not yet.
Ta’, is merely an abbreviation of tidak, and is used in such cominon expressions as, ta’boleh, ta’dapat, ta’baik, ta’jadi; ta’guna, etc.
64. The negative auxiliaries are, tiada, is not, and jangan, do not, not to, lest.
Tiada, which is itself a contraetion of tidak ada, is further contracted in conversation to t’ada.
65. Europeans, being accustomed to only one form of negative, experience some difficulty in distinguishing between the five negatives mentioned above, and grammarians have seldom if ever made any careful distinction between them. Malays themselves, even in composition, are not absolutely consistent in the use of the negatives, but the following rules will be found to be generally applicable.
66. In replying to a question containing a verb, the direct negative is expressed by tidak. When there is an auxiliary verb in the question, it is usually repeated in the answer, and the negative tidak is then contracted to ta’, as,
boleh-kah angkan datang? can you come?
ta’ boleh, no, I can not.
67. Similarly a large number of verbs may be repeated in combination with the abbreviated negative ta’ in order to express a reply in the negative, amongst which may be mentioned the following:—ada, suka, jadi, nampak, datang, tahu, knal, masok, sampai, tahan, trima, laku, champur, jumpa, kna, dngar, etc. Examples:
tuan ada? is the master here?
tidak ada or t’ada, no.
tuan suka bli? do you wish to buy it?
ta’suka or ta’mau, no.
68. It should, however, be remarked, that Malays generally avoid giving a direct negative, by using such expressions as, blum, not yet; mana boleh, how is it possible, certainly not; kurang preksa, I have not inquired; blum tahu, I do not know yet.
69. In the negative bukan there is implied the copula “to be.” Bukan is therefore the direct negative in reply to any question in which the copula is implied in the Malay, as,
orang ini dia? is this the man?
bukan, it is not.
tuan orang Inggris? are you an Englishman?.
bukan, I am not.
70. Similarly bukan or bukan-nya is used in negative declarative sentences, and bukan-kah in negative interrogative sentences, where the copula is implied, as,
ia bukan bangsa-ku, he is not of my nationality.
bukan-kah temparg kuda ini? is not this horse lame?
71. In such sentences as described in 70, if the verb is expressed, the negative auxiliary tiada is almost invariably used, though occasionally the simple negative tidak takes its place. In conversation tiada is abbreviated to t’ada.
tiada orang datang, no person came.
tiada-kah angkau datang? are you not coming?
Tiada may itself be the verb, if it expresses presence or existence, as,
tiada-kah kuda di sini? is there no horse here?
72. Blum is much more frequently used than the English equivalent “not yet.” For instance, in reply to such questions as, “is the water boiling,” “is the fruit ripe,” the Malay would invariably say blum, where in English we should often say simply “no.” It may in fact be taken as a rule that blum must be used where there is a probability, or an intention on the part of the speaker, that the statement which now requires a negative will eventually require an affirmative. Examples:
I am not ready, sahya blum sdia.
he is unmarried, dia blum kahwin.
73. In imperative sentences, the negative is always expressed by jangan, as,
jargan datang sini lagi, do not come here any more
suroh dia jangan naik, tell him not to go up.
baik kita pergi atau jangan? shall we go or not?
In dependent clauses in which a purpose is expressed, that is to say after such conjunctions as “in order that,” “so that,” “lest,” the negative must be expressed by jangan, as,
spaya kaki-nya jangan kotor.
so that his feet should not get dirty.
VOCABULARY.
NOUNS. |
obat, medicine. |
| anjing, dog. | pagar, fence. |
| dhobi, washerman. | pokok, plant, tree. |
| ikan, fish. | |
| itek, duck. | VERBS. |
| kipas, fan. | bayar, pay |
| kmeja, shirt. | koyak, tear. |
| kolam, pond. | makan, eat. |
| kuching, cat. | minum, drink. |
| nama, name. | sewa, let for hire. |
EXERCISE XII.
1 Did the washerman tear this shirt? No sir, it was torn before. 2 Have you paid him? No. 3 Does that man know how to sew? No, he does not. 4 Are you going to eat? Oh no. 5 Do you want to buy anything? No. 6 Do you know the name of this plant? No, I don't. 7 Do you want to sell this cat? Certainly not. 8 Is this your dog? No. 9 He shut the gate of the fence so that the people should not come in. 10 Are there no fish in the pond? 11 Is not this your fan? 12 Have you eaten or not? 13 Is your house let? No. 14 Tell the cook not to buy a duck to-day.
LESSON XIII.
The verbs “Sudah” and “Habis.”
74. The use of sudah as an auxiliary verb has already been explained in paragraphs 45, 46, and 48, and its use in expressing past intervals of time in paragraph 41. As a verb proper, its meaning in the imperative is “finish,” “that is enough.” [ 34 ]75. Sudah may also be used in the indicative mood in the sense of “finished,” “done,” “completed,” as:
blum sudah, not yet finished.
hampir sudah, nearly finished.
But the idea of “finishing,” is more often expressed by the verb habis, sometimes with the addition of sudah as an auxiliary, as,
tuan sudah habis makan, the gentleman has finished eating.
76. Habis has often merely the force of an adverb, in which case it means “utterly,” “entirely,” as,
smoa-ya habis binasa, they were all completely destroyed.
habis sudah makan, quite finished eating.
The verb “kna.”
77. The verb kna, which when it stands by itself signifies “hit the mark,” is often used as a kind of auxiliary with other verbs, and even with nouns and other parts of speech; it then gives a kind of passive sense, and is used in much the same way as the verb “get” in English, as:
kna luka, to get wounded.
kna hukum, to get punished.
kna tipu, to get deceived.
kna rugi, to incur loss.
The verb “bri.”
78. The verb bri, to give, is used as a kind of auxiliary with intransitive verbs, in order to give a transitive meaning, and sometimes with other parts of speech, in the same way that the words “make,” “give,” and “let” are used in English, as,
tahu, know; bri tahu, make known, inform.
pinjam, borrow; bri pinjam, lend.
hormat, honour; bri hormat, give honour, honour.
makan, eat; bri makan, feed.
ingat, remember; bri ingat, make one remember, remind.
jawab, answer; bri jawab, make answer.
masok, enter; bri masok, let one in.
79. In colloquial Malay, the verb kaseh is much used among the Chinese and Europeans in the manner explained above in
the case of bri. This should be avoided by those who desire to acquire a correct use of the language. [ 35 ]VOCABULARY.
VERBS. |
NOUNS. |
| binasa, destroy. | dnda, fine. |
| bri, give. | garam, salt. |
| churi, steal. | hormat, honour. |
| habis, finish. | hukum, judgment, command. |
| ingat, remember. | judi, gambling. |
| jaga, watch, take care. | lada, pepper. |
| jawab, answer. | limau, lemon. |
| kaseh, love, give. | limau manis, orange. |
| kna, hit the mark. | luka, wound. |
| luka, wound. | minyak, oil. |
| lupa, forget. | minyak tanah, mineral oil. |
| pukol, strike, hit. | orang jaga, watchman. |
| rosak, spoil. | surat, letter. |
| rugi, lose, incur loss. | tanah, earth, land. |
| tipu, deceive. | |
| tulis, write. | ADJECTIVES. |
| nakal, naughty. |
EXERCISE XIII.
1 The oranges are all utterly spoilt. 2 The salt and pepper are nearly finished. 3 Is the kerosine finished or not? 4 Have you finished writing that letter? 5 Naughty boys ought to be beaten. 6 He suffered much loss by gambling. 7 It is not only rich people who get robbed. 8 He was fined a dollar because he came late. 9 I told him in order that he might not be deceived. 10 Tell the watchman not to let the people in. 11 I shall certainly forget if you do not remind me.
LESSON XIV.
Formation of the Plural.
80. In Malay it can often only be decided by the context whether the singular or the plural is intended, but when there is nothing whatever to indicate the number, the noun may generally be assumed to be in the plural, as,
bli pisang, buy bananas.
jual itek, sell ducks.
81. With certain nouns the plural may be expressed by reduplication of the noun itself, as,
raja, a king.
raja-raja, kings
raja yang bsar-bsar, great kings.
orang muda-muda, young people.
These methods of forming the plural are generally confined to animate objects.
82. In writing, the plural is very commonly expressed by the use of some word meaning “all,” especially sgala, as,
dngan sgala anak-nya, with his children.
kami smoa tahu, we know.
Compound words cannot be reduplicated, and therefore this use of sgala, etc., and reduplication of the adjective, are the only ways of expressing the plural.
tukang kayu itu smoa-nya orang China,
those carpenters are Chinamen.
Numeral Co-efficients or Classifiers.
83. The Malay idiom requires that when the number of any objects are mentioned there shall be used, in addition to the numeral, certain words which grammarians have designated classifiers, different words being used according to the class of objects referred to. Thus, as we in English use the phrase “head” of cattle, so in Malay ekor (tail), is used for all animals, as,
six head of cattle, lmbu anam ekor.
84. The following are the classifiers which are most commonly used:—
Orang (person), is used with all beings superior to animals in
the scale of creation.
Ekor (tail), with animals.
Buah (fruit), with large objects, such as countries, houses, ships,
and books.
Hlai, lai, with thin or flat objects, as clothes, paper, lair, etc.
Biji (seed), with small objects not included in the last mentioned
class.
Kping (piece), potong (cut), of objects which have been made or
cut in blocks or pieces, as metals, planks, slices of bread, etc.
Batang (stem), with poles, posts, rods, and other long objects.
Puchok (shoot of plants), with letters and fire-arms.
Lapis (fold), in stating the number of folds or thicknesses of the
same thing, or similar things.
Pintu (door), with houses built in rows.
Tangga (ladder), with native houses.
Bilah, with swords and knives. [ 37 ]
85. The classifier must always be immediately preceded by the numeral; the numeral and classifier together may then be considered as one term, which usually follows the noun, but may precede it, especially if there is no particular emphasis on the number, as,
s’ekor lmbu, a bullock.
lmbu s'ekor, one bullock.
Peculiar use of some verbs in this Lesson.
86. (a) Several Malay verbs are used as the equivalents of the English word “boil,” e.g., rbus when it is desired to emphasize the method of cooking; masak, cook, is frequently used when no particular emphasis is to be expressed, as masak tlor, boil an egg; mndideh means to boil in the sense of ebullition, to bubble.
(b) Minta, is to ask in the sense of “request.”
Tanya, is to ask in the sense of “inquire.”
(c) Simpan and taroh mean to keep in store, to put by.
Plihara means to keep safe, to take care of.
Taroh also means to put, to place = buboh.
(d) Both gosok and sapu may be used to translate the English word “wipe,” but they must be carefully distinguished. Gosok must be used where rubbing is implied, as in wiping plates; sapu is simply to sweep or brush either with a broom or a cloth.
VOCABULARY.
NOUNS. |
gosok, rub, wipe. |
| babi, pig. | karam, founder. |
| batang, stem, stalk. | masak, cook. |
| batang, stem, stalk. | masak, cook. |
| biji, seed. | minta, ask, request. |
| bilah, (classifier.) | mndideh, bubble, boil. |
| ekor, tail. | pakai, use, wear. |
| hlai, lai, (classifier.) | plihara, keep, take care of. |
| kping, piece. | rbus, boil. |
| lapis, fold. | sapu, sweep, brush. |
| mata-mata, policeman. | simpan, keep, put by. |
| piring, plate, saucer. | tangkap, catch. |
| prahu, vessel, boat. | tanya, ask, inquire. |
| puchok, young shoot. | taroh, put, put by. |
| Pulau Pinang, Penang. | |
| tangga, ladder. | ADJECTIVES. |
| muda, young. | |
VERBS. |
sgala, all. |
| buboh, put, place |
EXERCISE XIV.
1 Tell him to wipe the cups and saucers. 2 Many small vessels foundered. 3 Ask those boys to come here. 4 That man has bought a great many large houses. 5 Those policemen came here from Penang. 6 How many pigs do you keep? 7 Tell the cook to boil two eggs. 8 Go and buy two or three planks. 9 How many houses have you bought in that street? 10 How many coats do you keep in that box? 11 That man was wearing two coats when he was caught by the policeman. 12 Ask the baker to bring five loaves of bread to-morrow morning.
LESSON XV.
Gender.
87. Gender is expressed in Malay by placing the words laki-laki, man, and prempuan, woman, after the noun, in the case of rational beings, and similarly the words jantan, male, and btina, female, in the case of animals. Jantan is, however, commonly used in speaking of male children, and even sometimes of grown-up persons.
88. A few words of Sanskrit origin have retained the terminations indicating gender which belong to that language, as, putra, prince, putri, princess; etc.
Comparison of Adjectives.
89. The comparative of superiority is expressed by the use of lbeh, more, placed before the adjective, and the preposition deri-pada or deri, than, following it. Thus,
lbeh bsar kerbau deri-pada lmbu,
buffaloes are larger than oxen.
tuan itu lbeh tinggi deri-pada bapa-nya,
that gentleman is taller than his father.
Lagi is frequently used in place of lbeh, or in addition to it, if the conjunction deri-pada or deri is not expressed, as,
angkat lagi tinggi or angkat lbeh tinggi lagi, lift it higher.
90. The comparative of inferiority is expressed by the use of the adverb kurang, less; deri-pada or deri being used if necessary, as in the comparative of superiority.
orang ini kurang pandai deri-pada yang lain,
this man is not so clever as the others.
91. The comparative of equality is expressed by means of the word sama, like, same. Sperti or dngan are sometimes used in conjunction with sama, as,
sama bsar dngan dia, as big as he.
sama tinggi sperti tuan, as tall as you.
92. When the superlative implies a relation to some other object, it is most commonly expressed by the addition of the adverb skali, very, to the adjective, yang being placed before the adjective and taking the place of the English word “the,” as in the case of the ordinal numbers. Thus,
ini-lah chinchin yang bsar skali,
this is the largest ring.
93. Another common way of forming the relative superlative is by placing yang terlbeh before the adjective, as,
ia-lah orang yang terlbeh kuat,
he is the strongest man.
Other methods of forming the superlative, which are used chiefly in written composition, need not by mentioned here.
94. Where no relation to another object is implied, the superlative is formed by the use of one, or even two, of the following intensives:—terlalu, terlampau, terlbeh, skali, amat, sangat, banyak. These should be placed before the adjective, except skali which always follows it.
95. When two comparatives are contrasted, the Malays use the word makin (sometimes mingkin) to form each comparative; thus, makin lama makin jahat, the longer (it continues) the worse (it gets), or, it gets worse and worse.
NOUNS. |
putri, princess. |
| budi, wisdom. | roda, wheel. |
| chabai, chili. | skolah, school. |
| chinchin, ring. | |
| gunting, scissors. | ADJECTIVES. |
| kanak-kanak, baby. | btina, female. |
| kerbau, buffalo. | burok, rotten, worn out. |
| ladang, field. | halus, fine (of long thin things). |
| putra, prince. |