Malay Verbs Without Tenses: Sudah, Sedang, Akan and Belum

In Malay, makan ("eat") is always makan. No endings, no tenses. Time is shown with small words, or simply understood from context.

The verb stays the same

English	Malay
I eat	Saya makan.
He eats	Dia makan.
We ate	Kami makan (with a time word)

Time words

Word	Meaning	Example
sudah	already (past, completed)	Saya sudah makan. — I have eaten.
telah	already (formal, writing)	Dia telah tiba. — He has arrived.
sedang	in the process of	Saya sedang makan. — I am eating.
masih	still	Dia masih tidur. — He is still sleeping.
akan	will	Kami akan pergi. — We will go.
belum	not yet	Saya belum makan. — I haven't eaten yet.
baru	just, only recently	Saya baru sampai. — I just arrived.

Using time expressions

Often the time is in the sentence already, so no marker is needed:

• Semalam saya pergi ke pasar. — Yesterday I went to the market.
• Esok saya pergi ke pasar. — Tomorrow I will go to the market.

Malay speakers add sudah or akan mainly for clarity or emphasis.

Sudah as a completion word

Sudah can also mean "done" or "finished":

• Sudah! — Done! Enough!
• Sudah makan? — Have you eaten?
• Sudah lama — a long time already

Negative pairs

• tidak — not: Saya tidak makan.
• belum — not yet: Saya belum makan.

Common mistakes

1. Trying to change the verb ending.
2. Using sudah in every sentence. It isn't necessary when time is clear.
3. Mixing belum and tidak.

Tips

1. Learn sudah, sedang, akan, belum.
2. Let time words carry tense.
3. Use the dictionary to check examples.

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