How to use 'bertanya', 'menanyai', 'menanyakan' and 'bertanyakan' correctly

In today's post, I will discuss the correct usage of 'bertanya', 'menanyai', 'menanyakan' and 'bertanyakan'.

1 The word 'bertanya' (to ask) is a intransitive verb and it should be followed by a preposition such as 'kepada' or 'tentang'. Look at the following examples:
a) Dia bertanya saya mengenai hal itu. [wrong]
Dia bertanya kepada saya mengenai hal itu. [correct]
(He asked me about the matter.)

b) Dalam mesyuarat itu, ada beberapa orang anggota yang bertanya isu itu. [wrong]
Dalam mesyuarat itu, ada beberapa orang anggota yang bertanya tentang isu itu. [correct]
(During the meeting, several members asked about the issue.]

2 The word 'menanyai' is a transitive verb and should be followed by an human object.
The example below will make it clear to you as to its usage.

Johari menanyai kawannya tentang perkara itu.
(Johari asked his friend about the matter.)

In the sentence, the human object is 'kawannya' (his friend)

3 The word 'menanyakan' is also a transitive and this time the object should be 'perkara' (matter) As a example, you can write a sentence such as the one below:
Saya menanyakan tarikh peperiksaan itu kepada Johan.
[I asked Johan about the date of the examination.]

The object here is 'tarikh peperiksaan' (date of exam) which is considered a matter.

4 The word 'bertanyakan' is invariabley followed by 'khabar'. 'Bertanyakan khabar' means to ask after the health of someone you meet because you have not seen him for a long time.
Let us look at the following example:
Hassan bertanyakan khabar kawan lamanya kerana sudah lama tidak berjumpa dengannya.
[Hassan asked after the health of his old friend because he had not seen him for a long time.

I hope students and readers will know how to use the above 4 words correctly.

How to use 'bazirkan', 'membazir' and 'membazirkan' correctly

Students often gets confused when it comes to the use of 'bazirkan', 'membazir' and 'membazirkan'. Hence, I shall deal with their correct usage in this post.

1 The transitive verb 'bazirkan' is used in Ayat Kehendak (Command). An example is the one shown below:
Jangan bazirkan air semasa mandi. [Don't waste water while bathing.]

2 The intransitive verb 'membazir' can be used in Ayat Penyata (Statement) or Ayat Kehendak (Command). Look at how this word is used in the following sentences.
a) Jangan membazir semasa menggunakan air. [Don't waste when using water.]
b) Adik suka membazir semasa menggunakan air. [My brother likes to be wasteful when using water.]

3 The transitive verb 'membazirkan' is used in a statement. For example, you can construct a sentence such as the one below:
Johari suka membazirkan air semasa mencuci keretanya. [Johari likes to waste water when washing his car.]

In short, you must know the parts of speech of the three words to be able to construct your sentences correctly.

1 'bazirkan' needs an object such as 'air' (water), 'elektrik' (electricity) and 'kertas' (paper) and is only used in a command.

2 'membazir' needs no object and can be used in a 'Ayat Penyata' (statement) or in a 'Ayat Kehendak' (command).

3 'membazirkan' needs an object and can only be use in a 'Ayat Penyata' (statement).

How to use 'meminjami' and 'meminjamkan' correctly

Many users of the Malay language find it difficult to master affixes such as meN...i and meN...kan.

For today's post, I shall deal with the word 'pinjam' (borrow) as an illustration. This word comes under the list I classify as Group 1 words that pair with meN...i and meN..kan.

I usually ask my students to remember the following formulae:

a) meN...i + pinjam + person
b) meN...kan + pinjam + thing + kepada + person

With the above formulae, you can construct sentences such as the ones below:
1 Saya meminjami Ali sebuah buku cerita. [Formula a]
[I lent Ali a story book.]

2 Saya meminjamkan sebuah buku cerita kepada Ali. [Formula b]
[I lent a story book to Ali]

3 Dia meminjami saya basikalnya. [Formula a]
[He lent me his bicycle.]

4 Dia meminjamkan basikalnya kepada saya. [Formula b]
[He lent his bicycle to me.]

So much for the usage of 'meminjami' and 'meminjamkan'

About 'banyak'

The word 'banyak' which means 'many' in English poses problems to users of the Malay language. Some say that it cannot be used for describing people. There are some who insists that is is an adjective but most people use it as 'kata bilangan'.

In the latest edition of 'Tatabahasa Dewan', the word is now classified under 'adjektif' and 'kata bilangan'. According to Kamus Dewan, 'banyak' can be used for people too.

Let me show readers its usage through sentences and explanation. Look at the following sentences and explanation.

1 Banyak buku yang dimiliknyai. [Many books are owned by him.]
Explanation: In sentence 1, 'banyak' is used as an adjektive. In fact the above sentence is a 'ayat songsang' [reverse sentence] The 'ayat biasa' for the sentence is
Buku yang dimilikinya [Subjek] banyak [Predikat] [This is normal sentence]

Banyak [Predikat] buku yang dimilikinya [Subjek] [This is reverse sentence]

2 Banyak orang berkunjung ke taman bunga itu. [Many people frequent the botanical garden.]
Explanation: In sentence 2, 'banyak' is used as a 'kata bilangan'.

3 Banyak pelajar yang gagal dalam peperiksaan itu. [Many students failed in the exam.]
Explanation: In sentence 3, 'banyak' is used as an adjective. It is a 'ayat songsang'

4 Banyak barang dijual di kedai ini. [Many things are sold in this shop.]
Explanation: In this sentence, 'banyak' is used as a 'kata bilangan'.

Hence you see, if put 'yang' after the phrase 'banyak + thing / person',then it is used as an adjective. If it is used without the conjunction 'yang', then 'banyak' is used as a 'kata bilangan'

So much for knowing the parts of speech for 'banyak'