Kami mengunjungi penampungan hewan besok.

We will visit the animal shelter tomorrow.

Breakdown of Kami mengunjungi penampungan hewan besok.

• kami: we
• besok: tomorrow
• mengunjungi: to visit
• penampungan hewan: the animal shelter

Questions & Answers about Kami mengunjungi penampungan hewan besok.

What is the difference between kami and kita, and why is kami used here?

Indonesian has two common words for “we”:

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

In Kami mengunjungi penampungan hewan besok, kami implies:

• The speaker and at least one other person are going.
• The listener is not part of that group.

If the speaker wanted to include the listener (e.g. “We (you and I) are visiting the animal shelter tomorrow”), they would say:

• Kita mengunjungi penampungan hewan besok.

How does mengunjungi work? Is it just the verb “to visit”?

Yes, mengunjungi is a verb that means “to visit (a person or place)”.

It is formed from:

• root: kunjung (visit)
• prefix: meN-
• suffix: -i

So: meN + kunjung + i → mengunjungi

The meN- -i pattern often makes a transitive verb that takes a direct object:

• mengunjungi penampungan hewan = visit the animal shelter

You do not add ke after mengunjungi:

• ✅ mengunjungi penampungan hewan
• ❌ mengunjungi ke penampungan hewan

Could we use berkunjung instead of mengunjungi?

Yes, but the structure changes slightly.

• mengunjungi [object]

  • Kami mengunjungi penampungan hewan besok.
  • “We visit the animal shelter tomorrow.”

• berkunjung ke [place]

  • Kami berkunjung ke penampungan hewan besok.
  • “We pay a visit to the animal shelter tomorrow.”

Both are correct and natural.
mengunjungi directly takes the object; berkunjung normally needs ke before the place.

Why is there no word like “will” in this sentence to show the future?

Indonesian usually does not use a separate word for tense (past, present, future).
Time is shown mainly by time expressions like:

• kemarin = yesterday
• sekarang = now
• besok = tomorrow

So:

• Kami mengunjungi penampungan hewan besok.
  The verb form mengunjungi doesn’t change; besok tells you it’s in the future.

If you want to make the future meaning extra clear or a bit more formal, you can add akan:

• Kami akan mengunjungi penampungan hewan besok.
  = We will visit the animal shelter tomorrow.

Both versions are correct; akan is optional here.

Where can besok go in the sentence? Is the word order fixed?

The word order is fairly flexible. All of these are acceptable:

• Kami mengunjungi penampungan hewan besok.
• Besok kami mengunjungi penampungan hewan.
• Kami besok mengunjungi penampungan hewan. (less common, but possible in speech)

Most natural in everyday speech are:

• Besok kami mengunjungi penampungan hewan.
• Kami mengunjungi penampungan hewan besok.

Placing besok at the beginning can put extra emphasis on “tomorrow”.

Does hewan mean “animal” or “animals”? Why is there no plural form?

Indonesian usually does not mark plural with special endings like English -s.
One word can mean “animal” or “animals”, depending on context.

• hewan = animal / animals
  In penampungan hewan, it clearly refers to multiple animals, because a shelter normally houses more than one animal.

To emphasize the plural, you can:

• repeat the word: hewan-hewan = animals
• use a number or quantifier: banyak hewan = many animals

But in this phrase, penampungan hewan is already understood as “animal shelter” (with animals plural in English).

Is penampungan hewan the standard way to say “animal shelter”?

Yes, penampungan hewan is a common and clear term for “animal shelter”.

Breakdown:

• tampung = to hold, to accommodate
• penampungan = a place or facility for accommodating / collecting
• hewan = animal(s)

So literally: “a place that accommodates animals”.

Variations you might also see:

• tempat penampungan hewan = place for sheltering animals
• penampungan kucing = cat shelter
• penampungan anjing = dog shelter

But penampungan hewan on its own is natural and widely understood.

Could I drop kami and just say Mengunjungi penampungan hewan besok?

You can, but it changes the feel of the sentence.

• Kami mengunjungi penampungan hewan besok.
  Clear: the subject is we (excluding you).

• Mengunjungi penampungan hewan besok.
  No explicit subject. This might sound like:

  • a note to oneself (“Visiting the animal shelter tomorrow.”)
  • a shorthand heading or plan item
  • a response in a conversation where the subject is already clearly understood

In normal full sentences, especially in writing or more formal contexts, it’s better to keep kami.

How would this sentence change if I wanted to include the listener in “we”?

You switch kami to kita:

• Kita mengunjungi penampungan hewan besok.
  = We (you and I / you included) are visiting the animal shelter tomorrow.

Everything else stays the same; only the pronoun changes the meaning of who is included.

Can mengunjungi also mean “to visit a person,” or only places?

mengunjungi can be used for both people and places:

• Kami mengunjungi nenek besok.
  = We are visiting Grandma tomorrow.

• Kami mengunjungi penampungan hewan besok.
  = We are visiting the animal shelter tomorrow.

So the verb itself is neutral; the object (person or place) tells you what kind of visit it is.

Is there a difference in meaning between besok and esok?

Both relate to “tomorrow”, but usage differs slightly:

• besok

  • Very common in everyday spoken Indonesian.
  • Neutral, informal to standard.

• esok

  • Feels more formal, literary, or used in certain fixed phrases.
  • For example: esok hari (the next day / tomorrow), masa depan yang lebih baik di hari esok (a better future in the days to come).

In this sentence, besok is the most natural choice:

• Kami mengunjungi penampungan hewan besok. ✅
• Kami mengunjungi penampungan hewan esok. (possible, but sounds more formal/poetic in modern usage)

How would I say “We visited the animal shelter yesterday” using this pattern?

You can keep the same verb form mengunjungi, and just change the time word:

• Kami mengunjungi penampungan hewan kemarin.
  = We visited the animal shelter yesterday.

Again, Indonesian doesn’t change the verb form for past vs future; it relies on time markers like kemarin (yesterday), besok (tomorrow), tadi (earlier), etc.