1st. The tense of the verb standing alone is indefinite. It may be present, imperfect, present or past, &c., according to the context; as dia ada, he is; tatkala sahaya ada di sana, when I was there; kalau sahaya ada dĕkat, if I am, should be, were, or had been near. This applies equally to the forms created by prefixing ber- and me-, mem-, men-, meng-, meny- to the radical. Examples: kita ber-jalan, we are or were walking; nanti sampei sahaya ber-balik, wait till I shall have returned; mati-mati ber-minyak, if you should use oil; raja meng-angkat kalmarin dahulu, the raja set out the day before yesterday.
2d. The Imperfect may sometimes be expressed by making the verb, followed by the particle -lah, precede the pronoun; as diam-lah dia orang, they were silent; maka pergi-lah raja kapada tuan putri, and the king went to the princess.
3d. Past.— Though the past may be expressed by the primitive verb, as shown above, if the context shows that the act spoken of is past, it is, nevertheless, more emphatically marked by the use of the auxiliaries sudah and tĕlah, has or had; as dia sudah tidor, he has gone to sleep; telah lari-lah pe-rompah sumua, the pirates have (or had) all run away.
4th. Future.— The verb standing alone may express the future when there is something in the sentence which indicates that a future tense is meant, such as the word “to-morrow” or “hereafter;” as esok hari kita ber-pĕrang pula, to-morrow we shall be fighting again.
The future is also expressed by the auxiliaries mahu and handak; as dia mahu jual, he will sell it; tiada mahu dia datang, he would not come; kapal handak masok sungei, a ship is about to enter the river; di-panggil-nia orang-besar-besar mushawarat handak di-buat meligei, he summoned the chiefs to consult about building a palace.
Another mode of forming the future is by the word nanti (lit. wait), placed, like the French verb aller, before the verb; as sahaya nanti chahari, je vais chercher, I am going to seek, or j’irai chercher, I shall go to seek.
The preposition akan, in order to, in order that, is sometimes used to convey the sense of the future; as penyakit itu tiada akan semboh, that disease is not to be cured; siapa akan tahu? who shall know? (= who can tell?); jikalau raja yang anyaya naraka akan tampat-nia, if a king is unjust hell will be his place hereafter.
5th. Imperative.— To convey an order or command the radical is used either by itself or with the affix -lah; kamu, thou, being either expressed or understood. The particle adds additional emphasis to the command. Examples: pergi, go; pergi-lah, be off, get away; ka-luar or ka-luar-lah, go out; ka-luar-kan-lah, take (it) out, or turn (him) out.
Mahu and handak with the affix -lah signify must; as mahu-lah kamu turut, ye must obey; handak-lah ayam yang puteh, there must be a fowl that is white, or, the fowl must be a white one; handak-lah segala pegawei raja itu duduk dengan adab dan diam, the king’s officers must sit with reverence and in silence.
The third person of the imperative mood, which we express by “let him,” may be rendered in Malay by the use of the word biar or biar-lah, with the verb in the manner shown by the following examples:— Biar-lah dia masok, let him come in; biar-lah aku mati, let me die.