What is the difference between 'dapat' and 'boleh'

As a response to the question put forward by a reader named Suat Ling, I will answer her question in this post.

For examination purposes, if a candidate is asked to choose between 'boleh' and 'dapat' then he or she has to know the different meanings of the two words. 'Boleh' means 'is allowed to' whereas 'dapat' carries the meaning of 'is able to'. Look at the following sentences to see this difference.

1 Ahmad dapat makan lima bungkus nasi lemak. [Ahmad was able to eat five packets of 'nasi lemak'.
2 Sesiapa pun boleh menyertai pertandingan ini. [Anyone is allowed to participate in this contest.]

If you have any queries about Bahasa Melayu, you are welcome to put your query in the shoutbox and I will answer them here to the best of my knowledge about the language so that all readers will benefit from your queries or questions.

The difference between 'menambah' and 'menambahkan'

The difference between 'menambah' and 'menambahkan'

The verb 'menambah' means to increase while 'menambahkan' means to add.

Here are the correct usage for both verbs.

1 Dia banyak membaca buku untuk menambah ilmu pengetahuannya.
[He reads a lot of books to increase his knowledge.]

2 Lina bercadang untuk menambah pelaburannya dalam saham baru itu.
[Lina plans to increase her investment in the new share.]

3 Kakak menambahkan gula ke dalam air di dalam gelas itu supaya manis rasanya.
[My sister added sugar to the water in the glass so that it tastes sweet.]

4 Ibuku menambahkan garam ke dalam kuah yang dimasaknya.
[My mother added salt to the gravy she cooked.]

Three Oral words in Malay

There are three oral words in Malay that I know of. They are cuma, kalau and jadi. These three words are usually used orally. Now look at the written words for them as listed below.

1 The written word for cuma is hanya. In Malay, both are translated as "only".
a) "Saya cuma bergurau sahaja," kata Ali kepada saya. ["I was just joking only," said Ali to me.]
b) Saya hanya datang ke sini sekali-sekala. [I only come here once in a while.]

2 The written word for kalau is jika, jikalau, sekiranya and seandainya all of which mean "if".
a) "Kalau awak ada masa lapang, datanglah ke rumahku," kata Zamri. ["If you are free come to my house," said Zamri.]
b) Jika kita rajin belajar, kita pasti akan lulus dalam peperiksaan. [If we study hard, we certailny will pass in the exams.]

3 The written word for jadi is oleh itu. In English, it is the equivalent of "so".
a) "Jadi, kau mesti belajar bersungguh-sungguh," kata Muthu. ["So you must work hard," said Muthu.
b) Oleh itu, kita mestilah menjaga kebersihan di sekitar kita. [So we must maintain the cleanliness of our surroundings.]

The difference between 'kebanyakan orang' and 'orang kebanyakan'

In Malay, kebanyakan orang means 'most people'. You can construct a sentence such as the one below to bear out this meaning.

Kebanyakan orang suka membeli barang yang murah.
[Most people like to buy cheap things.]

On the other hand, 'orang kebanyakan' means 'commoner' (the opposite of royalty). Perhaps the following sentence containing 'orang kebanyakan' will make it clear to readers as to its meaning.

Pada zaman dahulu, seseorang putera tidak dibenarkan bernikah dengan orang kebanyakan. [In the olden time, a prince is not allowed to marry a commoner.]

Balik kampung is wrong usage

Kata Kerja Tak Transitif (Intransitif Verbs) must be followed by suitable kata sendi nama (prepositions). Let us look at some sentences wrongly constructed when kata kerja tak transitif are used.

1 Saya tiada komen berkenaan perkara ini. [wrong]
Saya tiada komen berkenaan dengan perkara ini. [correct]
[I do not have any comment concerning this matter.]

2 Dia tinggal berhampiran sekolahnya. [wrong]
Dia tinggal berhampiran dengan sekolahnya. [correct]
[He lives near his school.]

3 Kami ingin berjumpa orang itu. [wrong]
Kami ingin berjumpa dengan orang itu. [correct]
[We wish to meet the man.]

4 Mereka sudah balik kampung masing-masing. [wrong]
Mereka sudah balik ke kampung masing-masing. [correct]
[They have gone back to their respective kampongs.]

5 Dia pulang rumahnya seorang diri. [wrong]
Dia pulang ke rumahnya seorang diri. [correct]
[he went back to his house alone.]

The correct use of 'segala'

The numerical word (kata bilangan) 'segala' is now used for non-human beings. In the olden texts, instances of 'segala' being used for human beings are very common. However, modern usage does not allow 'segala' to be used for man. Look at the following examples:

1 Segala anak Encik Mazlan pandai belajar. (wrong)
2 Semua anak Encik Mazlan pandai belajar. (correct)
[All Encik Mazlan's sons can study well.]
3 Segala rancangannya dapat dilaksanakan dengan berjaya. (correct)
[All his plans was carried out successfully.]

The correct usage of 'justeru'

The word 'justeru' is often wrongly used by students and political leaders alike. They think that 'Justeru itu' means 'Oleh itu (Hence or Thus). However, they are wrong.

According to Kamus Dewan, 'justeru' has two meanings. The first one is 'kebetulan (coincidentally'. You can use 'justeru' correctly if you write:
Apabila kebakaran itu berlaku, justeru saya berada di sana. (When the fire broke out, coincidentally I was there'.

The second meaning of 'justeru' is 'malah' (morever). A sentence such as the following can be made and considered correct:
Biduanita itu bukan sahaja pandai menyanyi justeru pandai menggubah lagu. (The songstress not only can sing but also compose songs) .

I hope this post will be of help to readers who are confused with the usage of 'justeru'
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The use of transitive verb in a statement

In Bahasa Melayu or Malay, a transitive verb must be given the prefix meN (me, mem, men, meng, meny or menge) when it appears in a statement (ayat penyata). Look at the following examples (wrong and correct sentences)

1 Dia lepaskan burung yang baru ditangkapnya itu. (incorrect)
Dia melepaskan burung yang baru ditangkapnya itu. (correct)
[He released the bird which he had just caught.]

2 Saya suka baca surat khabar. (incorrect)
Saya suka membaca surat khabar. (correct)
[I like to read newspapers.]

3 Pegawai itu jalankan tugasnya dengan cekap. (incorrect)
Pegawai itu menjalankan tugasnya dengan cekap. (correct)

4 Mereka sedang ikuti kursus itu. [incorrect]
Mereka sedang mengikuti kursus itu. [correct]

5 Pelajar itu susun kerusi dan meja di dalam kelasnya. (incorrect)
Pelajar itu menyusun kerusi dan meja di dalam kelasnya. (correct)

6 Ibu lap permukaan meja itu dengan kain. (incorrect)
Ibu mengelap permukaan meja itu dengan kain. (correct)
[Mother wiped the surface of the table with cloth. ]

So much for the correct use of transitive verb in a statement in Bahasa Melayu.

Two interesting words in Malay

There are two interesting words which I would like to share with Malay language enthusiasts. These are 'memerun' and 'menogelkan'.

The word 'memerun' means 'to burn dry leaves'. An example would be:

Ali memerun daun kering yang dikumpulkannya di luar rumahnya. [Ali burned the dry leaves which he had gathered outside his house's compound.]

As for 'menogelkan;, it means 'to cut off the tails of animals such as cats and dogs.
You can make a sentence such as the following with this word:

Budak lelaki yang nakal itu menogelkan ekor kucing yang dibencinya itu. [The naughty boy severed the tail of the cat which he hated.]

So much for two interesting words in Bahasa Melayu or Malay.