Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Kadang-kadang dia tertidur sendiri di sofa setelah membaca. - Sometimes he/she falls asleep alone on the sofa after reading.

Kadang-kadang is a reduplicated adverb meaning “sometimes.” The hyphens show that the base word kadang (“occasionally”) is repeated to form a frequency adverb. It tells us the action (falling asleep) happens on some occasions but not always. You can place kadang-kadang at the beginning of a sentence (as here) or between the subject and verb (e.g. Dia kadang-kadang tertidur…).

How does the prefix ter- change the meaning of tidur in tertidur?

The root tidur means “to sleep.” With the prefix ter-, tertidur means “to fall asleep” or “to be asleep unintentionally.” It’s an involuntary or accidental form, showing the subject ends up sleeping rather than choosing to sleep.

What role does sendiri play in tertidur sendiri?

Sendiri means “alone” or “by oneself.” In tertidur sendiri, it emphasizes that the subject fell asleep without help or company—“fell asleep by themselves.”

How do you translate di sofa, and could you use di atas sofa instead?

The preposition di marks location: di sofa = “on the sofa.” You may also say di atas sofa (“on top of the sofa”) for extra clarity, but in everyday Indonesian people often drop atas when referring to furniture.

Why is there no direct object after membaca?

In Indonesian, many verbs (like membaca “to read”) can be used without an explicit object when the object is obvious or implied. Here setelah membaca means “after reading” (something). If you need to specify, you can say setelah membaca buku (“after reading a book”).

Why doesn’t this sentence show tense on the verbs?

Standard Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense. Time is indicated by context or time words like kadang-kadang (“sometimes”) and setelah (“after”). This sentence describes a habitual or occasional event without past/present marking. If you need a clearer time frame, you can add words like kemarin (“yesterday”) or nanti (“later”).

Could the word order be changed without changing the meaning?

Yes. Indonesian is flexible. For example:

Dia kadang-kadang tertidur sendiri di sofa setelah membaca.
Setelah membaca, kadang-kadang dia tertidur sendiri di sofa.
All versions convey “Sometimes she falls asleep by herself on the sofa after reading.”

Does dia indicate “he” or “she”?

Dia is gender-neutral in Indonesian. It can mean “he” or “she,” so you rely on context or extra details to know the person’s gender.