Kami bekerja sama menyelesaikan proyek kelompok sebelum tenggat.

We work together to finish the group project before the deadline.

Breakdown of Kami bekerja sama menyelesaikan proyek kelompok sebelum tenggat.

• kami: we
• menyelesaikan: to finish
• sebelum: before
• tenggat: the deadline
• bekerja sama: to work together
• proyek kelompok: the group project

Questions & Answers about Kami bekerja sama menyelesaikan proyek kelompok sebelum tenggat.

Why is kami used instead of kita in this sentence?

Indonesian has two different words for “we”:

• kami = we (not including the person spoken to)
• kita = we (including the person spoken to)

In Kami bekerja sama menyelesaikan proyek kelompok sebelum tenggat, kami implies that:

• the people doing the group project do not include the listener.

So this is like saying:
“We (but not you) worked together to finish the group project before the deadline.”

If the listener were also part of the group, you would normally say:

• Kita bekerja sama menyelesaikan proyek kelompok sebelum tenggat.
  → We (you and I) worked together…

What exactly does bekerja sama mean, and how is it different from kerja sama?

Both relate to “cooperation / working together”, but they differ in grammar:

• kerja sama (two words) is a noun:

  • cooperation, collaboration
  • Example: Kerja sama tim itu sangat bagus.
    The team’s cooperation is very good.

• bekerja sama is a verb phrase:

  • to cooperate, to work together
  • Example (your sentence):
    Kami bekerja sama menyelesaikan proyek kelompok…
    We worked together to finish the group project…

So in your sentence bekerja sama is the main verb: “(to) work together.”

Can bekerja sama be written as one word (bekerjasama)?

Officially (according to modern standard Indonesian spelling):

• Correct / recommended:

  • kerja sama (noun)
  • bekerja sama (verb)

• bekerjasama (one word) is very common in informal writing, but it is less standard. You’ll see it a lot in social media, messaging, etc., but in formal writing (essays, reports, exams) it’s safer to use bekerja sama.

In English we say “work together to finish…”. Why is there no untuk before menyelesaikan here?

Indonesian often omits untuk (to / in order to) when one verb directly follows another and the meaning is clear.

• Kami bekerja sama menyelesaikan proyek…
  Literally: We work together finish the project…
  Natural English: We work together to finish the project…

You can add untuk:

• Kami bekerja sama untuk menyelesaikan proyek kelompok sebelum tenggat.

Both are grammatical.
Adding untuk makes the structure a bit more explicit and slightly more formal, but there is no big difference in meaning here.

What is the structure and meaning of menyelesaikan?

menyelesaikan comes from:

• selesai = finished / done
• menyelesaikan = to finish / to complete (something)

Grammatically:

• meN- + selesai + -kan → menyelesaikan
• It is a transitive verb: it must have an object.

So in the sentence:

• menyelesaikan proyek kelompok
  = to finish the group project

You cannot say menyelesaikan alone without an object in this context; you need what is being finished.

Why is it proyek kelompok and not something like kelompok proyek?

In Indonesian, the typical noun–noun order is:

• main noun
  • describing noun

So:

• proyek = project
• kelompok = group

proyek kelompok literally = project (of a) group → group project

If you said kelompok proyek, it would sound like:

• a group (made up) of projects – a group consisting of several projects

This is not what is meant here. So proyek kelompok is the natural way to say “group project.”

Could you also say tugas kelompok instead of proyek kelompok?

Yes, but there is a nuance:

• tugas kelompok = group assignment / group task
  
  • Common in school/university context for homework or class assignments.
• proyek kelompok = group project
  
  • Sounds a bit more like a larger or more complex task, but can still be used in school or work contexts.

Both are understandable. Choice depends on context:

• For simple homework: tugas kelompok
• For a bigger, longer-term task: proyek kelompok is very natural.

What does tenggat mean? Is it the same as “deadline”?

Yes, tenggat means “deadline”.

Common variants:

• tenggat = deadline (short form, quite formal/standard)
• tenggat waktu = literally time limit → deadline
• batas waktu = time limit, deadline
• deadline (loanword from English) – also widely used, but more informal / colloquial in many contexts.

Your sentence:

• sebelum tenggat = before the deadline

Why is it sebelum tenggat and not something like sebelum tenggat waktu or sebelum tenggatnya?

All of these are possible, but with slightly different feel:

• sebelum tenggat
  
  • Short, clear: before the deadline.
• sebelum tenggat waktu
  
  • Slightly more explicit / formal: before the time limit / deadline.
• sebelum tenggatnya
  
  • -nya can make it more specific, like before its deadline / before the deadline (for it), referring to some particular project both speakers know about.

In your sentence, sebelum tenggat is already complete and natural. The other versions are not wrong; they just add nuance or emphasis.

How do we know the tense? Does Kami bekerja sama… mean past, present, or future?

Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense. Context (and sometimes time words) show whether it’s past, present, or future.

Kami bekerja sama menyelesaikan proyek kelompok sebelum tenggat could be interpreted as:

• Past: We worked together to finish…
• Present: We work together to finish… (habit)
• Future (with context): We will work together to finish…

To make it explicit, you could add time markers:

• Past:

  • Kemarin kami bekerja sama menyelesaikan proyek kelompok sebelum tenggat.
    Yesterday we worked together…

• Present/progressive:

  • Sekarang kami sedang bekerja sama menyelesaikan proyek kelompok sebelum tenggat.
    Right now we are working together…

• Future:

  • Besok kami akan bekerja sama menyelesaikan proyek kelompok sebelum tenggat.
    Tomorrow we will work together…

What is the difference between bekerja sama and bersama / bersama-sama?

They all relate to doing something with others, but are used differently:

• bekerja sama = to cooperate, to work together

  • Focus on cooperation / joint effort
  • Example: Kami bekerja sama menyelesaikan proyek itu.
    We cooperated to finish that project.

• bersama = together / with (preposition/adverb)

  • Often used before a noun or pronoun
  • Example: Saya belajar bersama teman-teman.
    I study with friends.

• bersama-sama = together (emphatic)

  • Often used like an adverb
  • Example: Kami menyelesaikan proyek itu bersama-sama.
    We finished the project together (all of us).

You could rephrase the sentence in different ways:

• Kami bekerja sama menyelesaikan proyek kelompok sebelum tenggat.
• Kami menyelesaikan proyek kelompok bersama-sama sebelum tenggat.

Both are natural; the first highlights cooperation, the second highlights the idea of doing it all together.

Could we say Kami sedang bekerja sama menyelesaikan proyek kelompok sebelum tenggat? What does sedang add?

Yes, that sentence is correct.

• sedang marks an action that is in progress right now, similar to English “am/are/is -ing”.

So:

• Kami bekerja sama menyelesaikan proyek kelompok sebelum tenggat.
  → could be general/habitual or simply factual.

• Kami sedang bekerja sama menyelesaikan proyek kelompok sebelum tenggat.
  → We are (currently) working together to finish the group project before the deadline.
  It clearly describes an action happening at this moment or over the current period.