Sesekali saya berfoto di taman.

I occasionally take photos in the park.

Breakdown of Sesekali saya berfoto di taman.

• saya: I
• di: in
• taman: the park
• berfoto: to take photos
• sesekali: occasionally

Questions & Answers about Sesekali saya berfoto di taman.

What exactly does berfoto mean? Does it mean “to take photos” or “to be in a photo”?

Berfoto is an intransitive verb meaning “to take photos / to do a photo-taking activity,” and often also “to pose for photos / to have one’s photo taken.” It focuses on the activity, not on a direct object.

• Activity: Saya berfoto di taman.
• Posing: Kami berfoto bersama di taman.

If you want to specify what you photographed, use a transitive verb:

• Saya memotret bunga di taman.
• Saya memfoto bunga di taman. (common, slightly informal)
• Saya mengambil foto bunga di taman.

Can I add a direct object after berfoto?

No. Berfoto is intransitive and does not take a direct object. To mention what you photograph, use memotret / memfoto / mengambil foto:

• ✅ Saya memotret burung di taman.
• ❌ Saya berfoto burung di taman.

Is Saya foto di taman okay?

In standard Indonesian, prefer berfoto or the colloquial reduplicated form foto-foto for the activity:

• Natural: Saya berfoto di taman.
• Colloquial and very common: Saya foto-foto di taman.

If you mean “I photographed (something/someone),” people often say:

• Informal: Saya ngefoto di taman. (or specify the object: Saya ngefoto bunga di taman.)
• Neutral: Saya memotret di taman.

Where can sesekali go in the sentence?

All of these are grammatical, with slight differences in emphasis:

• Fronted for emphasis on frequency: Sesekali saya berfoto di taman.
• After the subject (very common): Saya sesekali berfoto di taman.
• Sentence-final (more afterthought-like): Saya berfoto di taman sesekali.

Is sesekali the same as kadang-kadang?

Both mean “sometimes,” but sesekali usually implies a lower frequency, closer to “once in a while.” A rough frequency ladder:

• jarang = rarely
• sesekali / sekali-sekali = once in a while (less frequent)
• kadang-kadang / kadangkala = sometimes (more neutral)
• sering = often
• selalu = always

How do I show past or future time? There’s no tense marking here.

Indonesian doesn’t inflect verbs for tense. Use time words or particles:

• Past: Kemarin saya berfoto di taman. / Tadi saya berfoto di taman.
• Habit in the past: Dulu saya sesekali berfoto di taman.
• Future: Besok saya akan berfoto di taman. / Nanti saya berfoto di taman.
• Occasional future: Sesekali saya akan berfoto di taman.

What’s the difference between di and ke?

• di marks location (at/in): Saya berfoto di taman.
• ke marks movement (to): Saya pergi ke taman untuk berfoto.

Does di cover both “at” and “in” in English?

Yes. di can map to “at” or “in” depending on context:

• di taman = at/in the park
• di rumah = at home/in the house

What’s the difference among sekali, sesekali, sekali-sekali, sekali-kali, and sama sekali?

• sekali = once; also “very” after adjectives (e.g., bagus sekali).
• sesekali = occasionally, once in a while (one word).
• sekali-sekali = occasionally (similar to sesekali).
• sekali-kali = “ever/at all” in negative/imperative contexts; with jangan/tidak it means “never/under no circumstances” (e.g., Jangan sekali-kali…). To say “occasionally,” prefer sesekali or sekali-sekali to avoid confusion.
• sama sekali = at all (used with negation): Saya tidak berfoto sama sekali.

Should I use saya or aku here?

Both mean “I,” but differ in formality:

• saya: neutral/polite; safe with strangers, formal writing.
• aku: informal/intimate; with friends/family.
• Very colloquial in Jakarta: gue/gua.
  Your sentence with aku: Sesekali aku berfoto di taman.

Is di taman written with a space?

Yes. As a preposition, di is written separately: di taman, di rumah.
No space when di- is the passive prefix on a verb: difoto, ditulis, dibaca.

What does berfoto-foto mean? How is it different from berfoto?

Reduplication adds the sense of doing it repeatedly or for fun/a session:

• Saya berfoto di taman. = I take photos (there).
• Saya berfoto-foto di taman. = I took lots of photos / had a photo session there. Colloquial: Saya foto-foto di taman.

Do I need an article like “a” in “in a park”? Should I say di sebuah taman?

Indonesian doesn’t require articles. Di taman can mean “in a/the park.”
Use a classifier/article only when you need to be specific:

• di sebuah taman kecil (in a small park)
• di taman kota (in the city park)
• di Taman Menteng (in Menteng Park, a named place)