Acara keluarga itu diakhiri dengan foto bersama di ruang tamu.

That family event was ended with a group photo in the living room.

Breakdown of Acara keluarga itu diakhiri dengan foto bersama di ruang tamu.

• itu: that
• di: in
• dengan: with
• keluarga: the family
• ruang tamu: the living room
• acara: the event
• diakhiri: to be ended
• foto bersama: the group photo

Questions & Answers about Acara keluarga itu diakhiri dengan foto bersama di ruang tamu.

Why is diakhiri used here instead of an active form like mengakhiri? What’s the difference?

Diakhiri is the passive form of the verb mengakhiri (“to end [something]”).

• Mengakhiri = active voice

  • Example: Mereka mengakhiri acara keluarga itu dengan foto bersama.
    → “They ended the family event with a group photo.”

• Diakhiri = passive voice

  • *Acara keluarga itu diakhiri dengan foto bersama...
    → Literally: “That family event was ended with a group photo...”

In the original sentence, the focus is on the event (“acara keluarga itu”), not on who ended it. Indonesian often prefers the passive in narratives or formal descriptions when the doer is not important or obvious from context.

What’s the difference between diakhiri and berakhir? Could I say Acara keluarga itu berakhir dengan foto bersama?

Both are possible, but there is a nuance:

• diakhiri (passive of mengakhiri):

  • Implies that someone intentionally ended the event.
  • Highlights a conscious closing action or arrangement.
  • Acara keluarga itu diakhiri dengan foto bersama...
    → “The family event was ended with a group photo...” (sounds like a planned closing activity).

• berakhir (intransitive, “to end / to come to an end”):

  • Describes the event itself coming to an end, more neutrally.
  • Acara keluarga itu berakhir dengan foto bersama...
    → “The family event ended with a group photo...” (more neutral; who planned it is not in focus).

In everyday speech, berakhir dengan foto bersama is very natural and common. Diakhiri dengan sounds slightly more formal or descriptive.

What does itu do in acara keluarga itu? Is it like “the” in English?

Itu is a demonstrative, usually meaning “that”, but in many contexts it works similarly to “the”:

• acara keluarga = “a family event” / “family event” (general, not specific)
• acara keluarga itu = “that family event” / “the family event” (a specific one already known in the context)

So itu points to a specific event, usually something already mentioned or both speaker and listener know which event is being referred to.

Without itu, the sentence is more generic:

• Acara keluarga diakhiri dengan foto bersama...
  → could sound more like “A family event is/was ended with a group photo...”, less tied to a specific known event.

Is itu necessary? Can I drop it and just say Acara keluarga diakhiri dengan foto bersama?

You can drop itu grammatically, but the meaning slightly changes:

• With “itu”: Acara keluarga itu diakhiri...
  → Refers to a specific family event you both know about.

• Without “itu”: Acara keluarga diakhiri...
  → Sounds more general, like a description of how family events are (typically) ended, or it’s unclear which event.

In real usage, if you are talking about one known past event, itu is very natural and helps the listener know you are referring to that particular event.

What exactly does foto bersama mean? Why not say berfoto bersama?

• foto = photo
• bersama = together / with each other
• foto bersama (noun phrase) = “group photo” or “a photo together”

In the sentence:

• ...diakhiri dengan *foto bersama...
  → “…was ended with a *group photo…”

Here, foto bersama is treated as a noun (an activity seen as a “thing” that closes the event).

Berfoto bersama is a verb phrase:

• berfoto = to take photos
• berfoto bersama = to take a photo together

You could say:

• Acara keluarga itu diakhiri dengan *berfoto bersama di ruang tamu.
  → also understandable, but feels more like “ended by *(everyone) taking photos together”.

Both are acceptable; foto bersama (noun) sounds a bit more like a standard “closing item” on a schedule.

What does dengan mean in diakhiri dengan foto bersama? Is it like “with” or “by”?

Here, dengan functions like “with” in English, expressing the means or accompaniment:

• diakhiri dengan foto bersama
  → “was ended with a group photo”

In many contexts, dengan can be translated as:

• “with”
• “by means of”
• “using”

So you can think of it as:
“The event was ended by means of a group photo.”

Does di ruang tamu describe where the event took place or where the photo was taken?

In this sentence, di ruang tamu most naturally attaches to foto bersama, not to the entire event:

• ...diakhiri dengan foto bersama di ruang tamu
  → “…ended with a group photo in the living room.”

In Indonesian, a location phrase at the end of the sentence usually modifies the closest relevant noun/verb before it. So the likely reading is: the photo was taken in the living room, not that the whole event took place there (though context could affect interpretation).

How is the word diakhiri formed? What are the parts of the word?

Diakhiri comes from the root akhir (“end”) with affixes:

• akhir = end (noun/verb root)
• mengakhiri = to end (something) → active transitive verb
• diakhiri = to be ended (by someone/something) → passive verb

Breakdown:

• di- = passive prefix
• akhir = root
• -i = suffix often meaning “to give something X” / “to treat something with X” / “to do X to (something)”

So literally, di-akhir-i ≈ “to be given an ending” → “to be ended”.

Is there any tense marking in this sentence? How do we know it’s past (“was ended”) and not present or future?

Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense. Diakhiri itself is tenseless; it only tells you voice (passive).

We understand it as past (“was ended”) from context, for example:

• Talking about a specific event that already happened.
• Time markers in surrounding sentences: kemarin (yesterday), tadi malam (last night), tahun lalu (last year), etc.

If you want to make the past time explicit, you can add words like:

• Acara keluarga itu *kemarin diakhiri dengan foto bersama...*
• Acara keluarga itu *tadi malam diakhiri dengan foto bersama...*

But grammatically, diakhiri itself works for past, present, or future:

• Nanti acara keluarga itu akan diakhiri dengan foto bersama.
  → “Later, the family event will be ended with a group photo.”

Why not just say Acara keluarga itu selesai dengan foto bersama? Is selesai different from diakhiri?

Yes, there is a difference:

• selesai = “finished / done” (state)

  • Acara keluarga itu selesai. → “The family event is finished.”
  • Acara keluarga itu selesai dengan foto bersama.
    → “The family event finished with a group photo.” (understandable, but less idiomatic for a planned closing activity.)

• diakhiri = “was ended” (focus on the action of ending)

  • Suggests a deliberate closing action (someone structured the event so it ends that way).
  • Sounds more natural when mentioning a final segment or ritual (speech, prayer, group photo, etc.)

For describing a planned closing segment, diakhiri dengan or berakhir dengan is more common than selesai dengan.

Is the word order fixed? Could you say Acara keluarga itu dengan foto bersama di ruang tamu diakhiri?

That word order is not natural in Indonesian.

The normal pattern is:

• [Subject] + [passive verb] + [complements]
• Acara keluarga itu (subject)
  diakhiri (passive verb)
  dengan foto bersama di ruang tamu (complements)

Reordering it to:

• Acara keluarga itu dengan foto bersama di ruang tamu diakhiri
  would sound odd and confusing.

In Indonesian, the verb usually comes right after the subject, especially in clear, neutral sentences like this.

What does acara keluarga literally mean? Is it like “family event,” “family gathering,” or something else?

Literally:

• acara = event / program / function
• keluarga = family

So acara keluarga = “family event” or “family gathering”.

Depending on context, it could refer to:

• a family reunion
• a birthday celebration within the family
• a family meeting
• any event organized for or by family members

In English translation, “family event” or “family gathering” are both reasonable. Context decides which is more natural.