Breakdown of Sesekali saya berfoto di taman.
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)
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