Ayah bekerja di pabrik itu.

The basic order is:

Subject + Verb + Place expression

So here:

• Ayah = subject
• bekerja = verb
• di pabrik itu = place expression

This is a very normal Indonesian sentence pattern.

Bekerja is the standard verb meaning to work.

It comes from the root kerja (work) plus the prefix ber-, which often forms an intransitive verb. In everyday speech, many Indonesians also say kerja as a verb, but bekerja is the more standard and careful form.

So:

• bekerja = to work
• kerja = work / to work (more colloquial in many contexts)

This is just the correct standard form. Although the prefix is usually taught as ber-, with kerja the result is bekerja, not berkerja.

So you should learn it as a fixed word:

• kerja → bekerja

In standard Indonesian, berkerja is not correct.

In many cases, ber- makes an intransitive verb, often meaning that the subject is doing an action or being engaged in something.

In bekerja, it gives the meaning to work or to be working. There is no direct object here, which fits the usual role of ber- verbs.

Here, di is a preposition meaning in, at, or sometimes on, depending on context.

In this sentence, di pabrik itu means something like:

• at that factory
• in that factory

English chooses whichever sounds more natural in context.

Because this di is a preposition, and Indonesian prepositions are written separately from the following word.

So:

• di pabrik = at/in the factory

This is different from the passive prefix di-, which is attached to a verb:

• ditulis = written
• dibaca = read

A very common learner rule is:

• di for location → separate
• di- for passive verbs → attached

In Indonesian, demonstratives such as ini (this) and itu (that) usually come after the noun.

So:

• pabrik itu = that factory
• rumah ini = this house

This is the normal Indonesian order: noun + demonstrative

It can mean either, depending on context.

Literally, itu is that, so pabrik itu is often understood as that factory. But in natural translation, it can also function like the factory when both speaker and listener already know which factory is meant.

So Indonesian itu often feels a bit broader than English that.

Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense the way English verbs do.

So bekerja by itself does not tell you whether the action is present, past, or future. The time is usually understood from context or from time words such as:

• sekarang = now
• kemarin = yesterday
• besok = tomorrow

Without extra context, English often translates this kind of sentence in the simple present:

• Father works at that factory But in the right context, it could also mean:
• Father is working at that factory
• Father worked at that factory

Yes, in everyday conversation, many speakers would say Ayah kerja di pabrik itu.

The difference is mainly style:

• Ayah bekerja di pabrik itu = more standard, neutral, textbook-friendly
• Ayah kerja di pabrik itu = more casual and conversational

Both are understandable, but bekerja is the safer choice for formal or careful Indonesian.

Often, yes.

Kinship words in Indonesian are frequently used without an explicit possessive word when the relationship is obvious from context. So Ayah can naturally mean Dad or my father.

If you want to make it explicit, you can say:

• ayah saya = my father

But in many normal sentences, just Ayah is enough.

Because Indonesian does not use a verb like to be in the same way English does before ordinary verbs.

In English, you might compare:

• Father works
• Father is working

In Indonesian, Ayah bekerja is already a complete sentence. No extra word like is is needed before bekerja.

Yes. Ayah bekerja di pabrik is a perfectly natural sentence.

Without itu, the phrase is less specific. It can mean:

• Father works at a factory
• Father works at the factory
• Father works in a factory

The exact English translation depends on context. Adding itu makes the factory more identifiable: that/the factory.