Breakdown of Kami bertemu di dekat perpustakaan.
kami
we
bertemu
to meet
perpustakaan
the library
di dekat
near
Questions & Answers about Kami bertemu di dekat perpustakaan.
Does the pronoun kami include the person I’m talking to? What’s the difference from kita?
No. kami = we (not including you, the listener). kita = we (including you, the listener).
- If you’re telling someone who was not part of the meeting: Kami bertemu di dekat perpustakaan.
- If you’re talking to someone who was part of the meeting: Kita bertemu di dekat perpustakaan.
How do I show past or future time? Indonesian verbs don’t change form, so how do I say “met” vs “will meet”?
Indonesian has no tense on the verb. You add time words or auxiliaries:
- Past/completed: Kami sudah bertemu di dekat perpustakaan. (We already met…) / Kami bertemu tadi di dekat perpustakaan. (earlier today) / Kami bertemu kemarin… (yesterday)
- Recent: Kami baru saja bertemu… / Kami barusan bertemu…
- Future: Kami akan bertemu di dekat perpustakaan. / Kami bertemu besok di dekat perpustakaan.
Do I need to add dengan after bertemu, like “meet with”?
Only when you mention who you met:
- General: Kami bertemu di dekat perpustakaan. (no object)
- With a person: Kami bertemu dengan Dita di dekat perpustakaan. You can also omit dengan in casual speech: Kami bertemu Dita di dekat perpustakaan, but many teachers prefer bertemu dengan + person.