QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SECTION

1. What is the difference between 'kami' and 'kita'?
Answer:
Both 'kita' and 'kami' belong to Kata Ganti Nama (Pronouns).
The equivalent in English is 'we'. The difference is that 'kita' refers to the speaker as well as those listening to him whereas 'kami' confines the speaker to himself and his friends or family members, excluding the listeners.
These two examples will make it clear to you about their difference.
a)    "Marilah kita masuk ke dalam perpustakaan," kata Ali kepada Hashim.
("Let's go into the library," said Ali to Hashim.)
In this sentence, Ali is refering to himself and Hashim (the listener).
b).  "Kami tidak dapat menghubungi kamu kelmarin," kata Ali dan Hashim kepada Muthu.
("We were not able to contact you yesterday," said Ali and Hashim to Muthu.
In this sentence, Ali and Hashim are refering to themselves, excluding Muthu.

2.    How do you use 'di antara' and 'antara' in sentences?
Answer:
      'Di antara' in bahasa Malaysia is called 'frasa sendi' (prepositional phrase) while 'antara' is termed 'kata sendi' (preposition). If you remember that 'di antara' is used to show position and 'antara' indicates otherwis, then you will have no problem in using both.  Let's look at the following exemplary sentences.
a)  Kedai ubat itu terletak di antara kedai runcit dengan kedai barang elektrik.
      (The medicine shop is situated between a sundry shop and an electrical shop.)
    Prepositiona phrase 'di antara' here shows position of the medicine shop.

b) Pertandingan badminton antara kelas akan diadakan pada hujung minggu ini.
(The inter-class badminton match will be held this weekend.)
The use of preposition 'antara' here does not indicate position.
c) Kerjasama antara negara jiran adalah amat penting.
(Co-operation among neighbouring nations is very important.)
Here again, no indication of position appear.
d) Antara Ali dengan Hashim, Ali lebih pandai.
(Between Ali and Hashi, Ali is cleverer.)
The is no sign of position indicated in the above sentence.

3. When do we use 'bila' and when do we use 'apabila'?
Answer:
Actually, these two words are not the same at all. The word 'bila' is a kata tanya (question word) which is used to ask questions. The English equivalent is 'when' for both words. As for 'apabila', it belongs to kata hubung (conjunctions) which is used to construct compound sentences. Look at the following sentences to feel their difference.
a) Bilakah awak akan melancong ke negara Jepun?
(When are you visiting Japan?)
b) Apabila hujan turun dengan lebat, mereka berada di dalam rumah sahaja.
(When it was raining cats and dogs, they stayed indoors only.)

4. Is there a differnce between 'berbagai' and 'berbagai-bagai'?
Answer:
Yes, and a great difference too.
The word 'berbagai' means 'ada bandingan' (there is a match) whereas 'berbagai-bagai' has the meaning of 'pelbagai / bermacam-macam' (various) Perhaps the following sentences will bring out their differnce.
a) Kecantikan puteri itu tidak berbagai pada zaman itu.
(There was no match for the princess' beauty during that age.)
b) Berbagai-bagai acara akan dipersembahkan oleh para pelajar.
(Various programmes will be performed or presented by pupils)

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