Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Malay words which must be preceded by the affix 'meN'

There are four intransitive verbs in Malay that must be preceded by the prefix meN (which stands for me, mem, men, meng, meny and menge). These are lompat, tari, tangis, bazir. Look at how they are used incorrectly and the corrections.

1 Jangan lompat di sini. (incorrect)
Jangan melompat di sini. (correct)
[Don't jump here.]

2 Kakak Ali suka tari. [wrong]
Kakak Ali suka menari. [correct]
[Ali's sister likes to dance.]

3 Mengapakah kau masih tangis? [incorrect]
Mengapakah kau masih menangis? [correct]
[Why are you still crying?]

4 Jangan bazir semasa menggunakan air dan elektrik. [wrong]
Jangan membazir semasa menggunakan air dan elektrik. [correct]
[Don't waste when you are using water and electricity.]

So much for the correct usage of four Malay words which need to be preceded by the affix meN.

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