In Malay and Indonesian, there are four basic parts of speech: nouns, verbs, adjectives, and grammatical function words (particles).
Nouns and verbs may be basic roots, but frequently they are derived from other words by means of prefixes and suffixes.
Other examples of the use of affixes to change the meaning of a word can be seen with the word ajar (teach): There are four types of affixes, namely prefixes (in Malay: awalan), suffixes (akhiran), circumfixes (apitan) and infixes (sisipan).
The following are examples of noun affixes: The prefix pêr- drops its r before r, l and frequently before p, t, k. In some words it is peng-; though formally distinct in both phonologically and functionally, these are treated as variants of the same prefix in Malay grammar books.
For example, the word gêrak (motion) can be reduplicated rhythmically to form gêrak-gêrik (movements) by altering the vowel.
The reduplication can also be formed by altering the consonant, e.g., in sayur-mayur (vegetables [bundled for the market]) from the root word sayur (vegetable/vegetables [what is found on plate]).
Common derivational affixes for nouns are pêng-/pêr-/juru- (actor, instrument, or someone characterized by the root), -an (collectivity, similarity, object, place, instrument), kê-...-an (abstractions and qualities, collectivities), pêr-/pêng-...-an (abstraction, place, goal or result).
To specify the natural gender of a noun, an adjective must be added: adik lêlaki/adik laki-laki corresponds to "brother" but really means "male younger sibling".
These are used to differentiate several parameters of the person they are referred to, such as the social rank and the relationship between the addressee and the speaker.
This table shows an overview over the most commonly and widely used pronouns of the Malay language: Notable among the personal-pronoun system is a distinction between two forms of "we": kita (you and me, you and us) and kami (us, but not you).
Depending on how important the usage of the appropriate pronoun is to both speakers, aku can be used when speaking to new acquaintances without being interpreted as disrespectful.
Sa(ha)ya may also be used for "we", but in such cases it is usually used with sêkalian or sêmua "all"; this form is ambiguous as to whether it corresponds with exclusive kami or inclusive kita.
Anda is used in formal contexts like in advertisements and business or to show respect (though terms like tuan "sir" and other titles also work the same way), while kamu is used in informal situations.
Tuanku (from tuan aku, "my lord") is used by commoners to address royal members.
Baginda – corresponding to "his/her Majesty/Highness" – is used for addressing royal figures and religious prophets, especially in Islamic literature.
There are a large number of other words for "I" and "you", many regional, dialectical, or borrowed from local languages.
This allegedly originated from the fact that both the royal families of Pahang and Perak (whose seats are in Pekan and Kuala Kangsar respectively) were descendants of the same ancient line.
The informal pronouns aku, kamu, engkau, ia, kami, and kita are indigenous to Malay.
Aku, kamu, êngkau, and ia have short possessive enclitic forms.
The word yang "which" is often placed before demonstrative pronouns to give emphasis and a sense of certainty, particularly when making references or enquiries about something/someone, like English "this one" or "that one".
Another distinguishing feature of Malay is its use of measure words, also called classifiers (penjodoh bilangan).
In this way, it is similar to many other languages of Asia, including Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, Burmese, and Bengali.
On the other hand, there is a complex system of verb affixes to render nuances of meaning and to denote voice or intentional and accidental moods, and it has many exceptions for its conjugation.
In some verbs which derives from adjectives, like mêmanjang "to lengthen"; when affixed with ter- (têrpanjang "longest") coincides with the superlative prefix ter-, effectively has the meaning "longest" instead of "(accidentally) lengthened", the meaning is served by reaffixed forms like têrpanjangi or têrpanjangkan.
This is commonly done to accomplish one of two things: For example, a polite shop assistant in a store may avoid the use of pronouns altogether and ask: For example, a friend may enquire as to when you bought your property, to which you may respond: Ultimately, the choice of voice and therefore word order is a choice between actor and patient and depends quite heavily on the language style and context.