Breakdown of Ketika dia tersenyum, wajah dia kelihatan bahagia.
dia
he/she
bahagia
happy
tersenyum
to smile
ketika
when
Questions & Answers about Ketika dia tersenyum, wajah dia kelihatan bahagia.
Does this sentence mean “When he smiles” or “When he smiled”? How do I know the tense in Indonesian?
Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense, so Ketika dia tersenyum, wajah dia kelihatan bahagia can mean:
- When he/she smiles, his/her face looks happy (general/present)
- When he/she smiled, his/her face looked happy (past story context)
The tense is understood from context or from extra time words like tadi (earlier), kemarin (yesterday), nanti (later), etc. The verb forms tersenyum and kelihatan themselves are neutral for tense.
What is the difference between ketika, saat, and waktu for “when”?
All three can introduce a time clause and are often interchangeable:
- ketika – a bit more formal/neutral, common in writing: Ketika dia tersenyum…
- saat – also common and neutral, slightly more colloquial: Saat dia tersenyum…
- waktu – literally “time”, but also used as “when” in speech: Waktu dia tersenyum…
In everyday conversation saat and waktu are very frequent. In more careful writing, ketika is very common.
Why is it wajah dia and not wajahnya? Which one is more natural?