Datapoint Singapore Bazaar Malay/Tightness of the link between the past marker and the verb

A past marker does not exist in Singapore Bazaar Malay. However, temporal adverbs are used, which usually occur with a rising intonation contour mostly (i) at the beginning of the sentence, (ii) at the end of the
sentence, or (iii) before the predicate they modify as in the case of sekarang ‘now’. The most common temporal adverbs used as past markers are semalam 'yesterday' and dulu 'before' which refers to the remote past.

Values

No overt past marker exists

Example 67-100:
Dulu ada niaga.
Dulu
pst
ada
have
niaga.
business
Before, [I] had business. OR: Before, [I] used to have business.

Source: Aye 2005: 170

Confidence:
Very certain