Possessive Pronouns
The possessive pronouns, my, thy, his, our, your, their, are usually denoted by placing the personal pronoun after the word expressing the object possessed; as rumah sahaya, my house; pada pikir-an hamba, in my opinion; apa pen-chari-an angkau? what is your occupation? apa nama dia? what is his name?
Possessive pronouns are also formed by the word punya or ampunya (lit. owning, owned) placed after the personal pronoun; as aku punya, my or mine; tuan punya suka, as you please (your pleasure); yang ampunya tanah, (he) whose land it is.
| Singular. | Plural. |
|---|---|
| My, mine, sahaya punya. Thy, thine, angkau punya. His, hers, its, dia punya. | Ours, kita punya. Yours, kamu punya. Theirs, dia-orang punya. |
Frequently where the word “your” would be used in English Malays leave out the pronoun altogether. “Bring your gun with you,” would be correctly rendered in Malay, bawa snapang sama (lit. bring gun together), not bawa angkau punya snapang sama angkau.
In literary composition ku and mu (abbreviated forms of aku and kamu) are affixed to the noun denoting the thing possessed; as rumah-ku, my house; bapa-mu, your father.
The affix -nia is used in the sense of his, hers, or its, as well as the other forms of the possessive pronoun; as patah kaki-nia, his leg was broken; bauh-nia terlalu wangi, its smell is very sweet.