Past tenses
Malay has no past tense — the verb never changes. "Past" is built from two things: little aspect words before the verb, and time words anywhere in the sentence. Often the time word alone is enough:
Saya jumpa dia semalam. — "I met her yesterday." (verb untouched)
The three markers
| marker | meaning | example |
|---|---|---|
| sudah | already / have done (completed) | Saya sudah makan — "I've (already) eaten." |
| telah | same, formal/written | Projek itu telah siap — "The project has been completed." |
| pernah | have ever / did once (experience) | Saya pernah ke Jepun — "I've been to Japan (before)." |
- sudah (colloq. dah) is the workhorse: it marks completion, not time. Dia sudah tidur — "He's asleep (the falling-asleep is done)."
- telah is sudah in a suit — news, reports, minutes. Don't use it over coffee.
- pernah is exactly Chinese 过 (guo): experience at least once, ever. Negative: tak pernah (never), belum pernah (never yet). Pernah tak awak…? — "Have you ever…?"
- "Just did": baru / baru sahaja — Dia baru sampai — "She just arrived."
None are stacked with a time word out of necessity — Semalam saya sudah beli tiket adds nuance ("already by yesterday"), but Semalam saya beli tiket is the neutral past.
Time words: the real tense system
| word | meaning |
|---|---|
| tadi | earlier today — tadi pagi, this morning (past) |
| semalam | yesterday (Malaysia) |
| kelmarin | day before yesterday (for some speakers, yesterday — regional) |
| minggu lepas / bulan lepas / tahun lepas | last week / month / year |
| dulu / dahulu | formerly, back then; "first" (Saya balik dulu — "I'll head off (first)") |
| sebelum itu | before that |
Dulu saya tinggal di Ipoh. — "I used to live in Ipoh." Tadi dia telefon. — "He called earlier (today)."
Finished vs ongoing in the past
English -ed vs was-doing maps onto the same aspect kit, shifted back by a time word:
Semalam saya menonton TV. — "I watched TV yesterday." Masa dia telefon, saya sedang mandi. — "When he called, I was showering." Saya masih belajar masa itu. — "I was still studying back then."
Indonesian note
The false friend to burn in: Malaysian semalam = yesterday, but Indonesian semalam = last night; Indonesian "yesterday" is kemarin — which looks like Malaysian kelmarin (day before yesterday). Both share sudah/telah/pernah with identical meanings.
Same chapter in: English · French · Spanish · German · Italian · Georgian · Mandarin Chinese · Cantonese · Japanese