Breakdown of Terkadang dokter kalah, tetapi semangatnya tetap tinggi.
adalah
to be
tetap
still
tetapi
but
nya
his/her
Questions & Answers about Terkadang dokter kalah, tetapi semangatnya tetap tinggi.
What does terkadang mean, and how is it different from kadang or kadang-kadang?
Terkadang is an adverb meaning “sometimes.” The three forms are interchangeable in meaning but differ slightly in style and register:
- kadang: more informal, common in everyday speech
- kadang-kadang: neutral, emphatic repetition often heard in conversation
- terkadang: slightly more formal or literary, often used in writing
Why is there no article before dokter? How do you say “a doctor” or “the doctor” in Indonesian?
Indonesian has no direct equivalents of “a,” “an,” or “the.” You simply say dokter for both “a doctor” and “the doctor.” To add clarity you can use:
- seorang dokter (“a doctor,” literally “one doctor”)
- dokter itu (“that doctor”)
- dokter ini (“this doctor”)
Could we place terkadang somewhere else, like Dokter terkadang kalah? Would the meaning change?
Yes. Indonesian word order is flexible. Both sentences mean “sometimes the doctor loses”:
- Terkadang dokter kalah… (emphasis on frequency)
- Dokter terkadang kalah… (emphasis on the subject)