Kerja tim penting bagi proyek besar ini.

Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Indonesian grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning Indonesian now

Questions & Answers about Kerja tim penting bagi proyek besar ini.

Why is there no word meaning “is” in this sentence? In English we say “Teamwork is important for this big project.”

Indonesian usually does not use a separate verb like “to be” (is/am/are) when the pattern is:

  • Noun + Adjective

So:

  • Kerja tim penting literally looks like “teamwork important”, but it is understood as “teamwork is important”.

You only normally use adalah (which often corresponds to “is/are”) when linking:

  • Noun + Noun, for example:
    • Dia adalah guru. = He/She is a teacher.

Here, penting is an adjective (important), so Kerja tim penting is perfectly complete without adalah.

Can I say Kerja tim itu penting bagi proyek besar ini? What is the difference from the original?

Yes, you can say:

  • Kerja tim itu penting bagi proyek besar ini.

Differences in nuance:

  • Kerja tim penting…

    • General statement: “Teamwork is important…”
    • Feels like a general truth or neutral statement.
  • Kerja tim itu penting…

    • itu works like “that” or sometimes like an emphatic “that/the”.
    • Feels more like: “That teamwork is important…” or “Teamwork, that’s important…”
    • Slightly more emphatic or specific, often referring to teamwork you’ve just been talking about.

Both are grammatically correct; the original is more neutral and general.

Why is it kerja tim and not tim kerja? Are they different?

Yes, they are different:

  • kerja tim

    • Literally: team work (work done in a team way).
    • Meaning: teamwork as an abstract concept or style of working.
    • This is what you want in Kerja tim penting… = Teamwork is important…
  • tim kerja

    • Literally: working team (a team whose job is to do some work).
    • Meaning: a specific work team / task force.
    • Example: tim kerja proyek = project work team.

So:

  • Kerja tim penting… = Teamwork is important… (talking about how people work together).
  • Tim kerja penting… would sound like “The work team is important…”, referring to a group of people, not the concept of teamwork.
Could I use kerja sama instead of kerja tim? What’s the difference?

You could say:

  • Kerja sama penting bagi proyek besar ini.

Differences:

  • kerja tim

    • Focus on working specifically as a team.
    • Implies structured team-based collaboration.
  • kerja sama

    • More general cooperation / collaboration, not necessarily in a formal “team” structure.
    • Can be between individuals, departments, or even countries.

Both are natural, but:

  • kerja tim = teamwork within a team
  • kerja sama = cooperation/collaboration in a broader sense
What’s the difference between bagi and untuk here? Can I say penting untuk proyek besar ini?

Yes, you can also say:

  • Kerja tim penting untuk proyek besar ini.

Both bagi and untuk can be translated as “for”, but there are nuances:

  • untuk

    • Very common, neutral “for / in order to / for the purpose of”.
    • Works well in almost all contexts.
  • bagi

    • Slightly more formal or written feel.
    • Often emphasizes for the sake of / in relation to / from the viewpoint of something or someone.
    • Common in sentences about importance, impact, benefit:
      • Pendidikan penting bagi anak-anak. = Education is important for children.

In this sentence, bagi and untuk are both correct; the meaning difference is very small.
untuk sounds a bit more casual; bagi a bit more formal/“written”.

Why is the word order proyek besar ini and not ini proyek besar?

Indonesian noun phrase order is usually:

  • Noun + Adjective + Demonstrative (ini/itu)

So:

  • proyek = project (noun)
  • besar = big (adjective)
  • ini = this (demonstrative)

Put together as a noun phrase:

  • proyek besar ini = this big project

If you say:

  • Ini proyek besar.

That is a full clause, not just a phrase. It means:

  • “This is a big project.”

So:

  • proyek besar ini → noun phrase: this big project
  • Ini proyek besar. → sentence: This is a big project.

In Kerja tim penting bagi proyek besar ini, you need a noun phrase object of bagi, so proyek besar ini is the correct structure.

Could I say Kerja tim sangat penting bagi proyek besar ini to mean “Teamwork is very important for this big project”? Where does sangat go?

Yes, that’s exactly how you say it:

  • Kerja tim sangat penting bagi proyek besar ini.
    = Teamwork is very important for this big project.

Rules:

  • sangat (very) goes before the adjective.
    • sangat penting = very important
    • sangat besar = very big

You cannot put sangat after the adjective in standard Indonesian;
penting sangat or besar sangat is not normal.

Why is kerja used instead of bekerja? What’s the difference?
  • kerja

    • Noun: work / job / labor.
    • Also used in noun–noun combinations:
      • kerja tim = teamwork
      • kerja malam = night work
      • kerja kantor = office work
  • bekerja

    • Verb: to work (an action).
    • Example: Saya bekerja di Jakarta. = I work in Jakarta.

In Kerja tim penting… you need a noun (the thing that is important), so kerja is correct:

  • Kerja tim = teamwork (noun).
    If you used bekerja tim, it would sound like “to work in a team” as a verb phrase, which doesn’t fit as the subject in this simple nominal sentence.
Do I need any plural marker for “project(s)” or “team(s)” here? How would I say “these big projects”?

Indonesian usually does not mark plural if it’s clear from context.

In the original sentence:

  • proyek besar ini = this big project (singular, because of ini = this).

To make it clearly plural:

  • proyek-proyek besar ini = these big projects
    • proyek-proyek is the reduplicated plural of proyek.
    • besar ini still follows the same order: noun + adjective + demonstrative.

Some options:

  • proyek besar ini

    • Usually understood as this big project (one project).
  • proyek-proyek besar ini

    • Clearly these big projects.

Indonesian does not change the form of kerja tim for plural; context tells you whether you mean teamwork in general or in multiple teams.