Nouns with 'peN-' and 'peN-...-an' — Malay Grammar

Put in front of a word and you get a noun for the person who does something, or who is something. It is the noun partner of : the two change shape in the same way, so a verb and its noun usually start alike.

pemandu
driver
pelancong
tourist

The Person Who Does It

When the root is an action, the noun names the person doing it.

to drive - driver
to travel - tourist
to play - player
to study - student

The same pattern gives (waiter), (owner) and (replacement).

The Person Who Is It, or the Thing You Use

With a describing word, the noun names someone who has that quality. With some verbs it names the thing you do it with.

young - young man
to punch - fist

(a quiet person) and (office) are built the same way.

How pe- Changes Shape

Before most letters gains a sound, exactly as does: pem- before b, pen- before d, c and j, peng- before g, h and vowels, and peny- in place of an s. A root's first p, t or k drops out, as it does after : gives . Before l, m, n, r, w and y it stays pe-: , , .

peN-...-an: The Activity or Its Result

Add at the end as well, and the noun names the activity itself or what comes out of it.

to fly - flight
taste, feeling - feeling

penerbangan
flight
peperiksaan
examination

keeps the p of its root and is best learned as it is.

In the course

Sentences from Lingora’s Malay course

23 of the course's 500 sentences use this, the first in lesson 2. A few of them, with the words “Nouns with 'peN-' and 'peN-...-an'” is about in bold:

Ini kawan saya, Anna. Dia seorang pelajar.
This is my friend, Anna. She is a student.
Lesson 2
Apakah perasaan awak? Baik atau buruk?
How are you feeling? Good or bad?
Lesson 61
Saya ada janji temu malam ini. Dia bekerja sebagai pelayan.
I have a date tonight. She works as a waitress.
Lesson 439

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