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Dompet saya akhirnya ditemukan di kantor.

Dompet saya akhirnya ditemukan di kantor.
My wallet was finally found at the office.

Breakdown of Dompet saya akhirnya ditemukan di kantor.

di
at
kantor
the office
dompet
the wallet
saya
my
akhirnya
finally
ditemukan
to be found
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Questions & Answers about Dompet saya akhirnya ditemukan di kantor.

In Dompet saya, why does saya come after the noun instead of before it, like in English my wallet?

In Indonesian, the possessor usually comes after the thing owned:

  • dompet saya = my wallet (literally wallet I)
  • rumah mereka = their house (literally house they)
  • mobil kamu = your car

Putting saya before the noun (saya dompet) is ungrammatical in this possessive sense.

Alternative, more informal forms are:

  • dompetku = my wallet (using suffix -ku)
  • dompetmu = your wallet
  • dompetnya = his/her/their wallet (context decides who)
Where is the verb “was” in Dompet saya akhirnya ditemukan di kantor? Why isn’t there a word like “was”?

Indonesian does not use a separate verb like English “to be” (am/is/are/was/were) in this kind of sentence.

The verb is contained in ditemukan:

  • ditemukan = was found / is found (passive verb)

So:

  • Dompet saya akhirnya ditemukan di kantor.
    Literally: Wallet my finally found at office.
    Natural English: My wallet was finally found at the office.

There is no extra word for “was”; the passive form ditemukan already carries the idea of “to be found” and the time is understood from context and words like akhirnya (“finally”).

What exactly does ditemukan mean, and how is it formed?

Ditemukan is a passive verb. It comes from:

  • root: temu = to meet / to find (base idea)
  • active: menemukan = to find (someone/something)
  • passive: ditemukan = to be found

Morphology:

  • di- (passive prefix) + temu (root) + -kan (suffix often used with verbs that take an object)
    → ditemukan

So:

  • Mereka menemukan dompet saya. = They found my wallet. (active)
  • Dompet saya ditemukan (oleh mereka). = My wallet was found (by them). (passive)

In your sentence, the agent (“by whom?”) is not mentioned, which is very common in Indonesian.

How do we know this sentence is in the past (“was found”) and not present (“is found”)?

Indonesian verbs generally do not change form for tense (past, present, future). The word ditemukan by itself could mean:

  • is found
  • was found
  • will be found (in some special contexts)

The time reference comes from context and from time expressions. In this sentence:

  • akhirnya = finally (implies a process that ended)
  • The situation (“my wallet was finally found”) is understood as something completed.

So Dompet saya akhirnya ditemukan di kantor is naturally interpreted as “My wallet was finally found at the office.” but grammatically it could also be translated differently if the context were different.

What is the role of akhirnya and where can it go in the sentence?

Akhirnya is an adverb meaning “finally / in the end / at last”.

In your sentence:

  • Dompet saya akhirnya ditemukan di kantor.
    → My wallet was finally found at the office.

It modifies the whole event “ditemukan di kantor” (“was found at the office”).

Possible placements (all understood, but with slightly different emphasis):

  1. Akhirnya dompet saya ditemukan di kantor.
    → Emphasizes “Finally!” at the start.

  2. Dompet saya akhirnya ditemukan di kantor.
    → Very natural; smooth, neutral emphasis.

  3. Dompet saya ditemukan di kantor akhirnya.
    → Still understandable, but sounds less natural; can feel like “It turned out it was at the office after all” with a bit of afterthought.

The most common and natural positions here are start or before the verb as in your sentence.

There are two di’s: in ditemukan and di kantor. Are they the same word?

They look the same, but function differently:

  1. di- in ditemukan is a prefix:

    • It attaches to a verb root to form a passive verb.
    • It is written together with the verb: ditemukan, dibaca, ditulis, etc.

  2. di in di kantor is a preposition:

    • It means “in / at / on” (location).
    • It is written separately from the noun: di kantor, di rumah, di sekolah.

A useful spelling rule:

  • di-
    • verb: one word → ditemukan, ditulis
  • di
    • place noun: separate words → di kantor, di rumah
What does di kantor mean exactly? Is it “in the office” or “at the office”? And where is the word “the”?

Di kantor can be translated as either:

  • in the office
  • at the office

Indonesian di for location is flexible; the choice between “in” and “at” in English depends on context and natural usage, not a strict grammatical difference in Indonesian.

Also, Indonesian does not always express “the” or “a”:

  • kantor can mean “office / an office / the office”
    In this sentence, since it’s probably a specific workplace, we translate naturally as “at the office.”

So:

  • Dompet saya akhirnya ditemukan di kantor.
    → My wallet was finally found at the office.
Could we add saya to kantor and say di kantor saya? How would that change the meaning?

Yes, you can say:

  • di kantor saya = at my office

Difference:

  • di kantor = at the office (context decides which office)
  • di kantor saya = at my office (specifically “my” workplace)

So you could say:

  • Dompet saya akhirnya ditemukan di kantor saya.
    → My wallet was finally found at my office.

Use di kantor when it’s already clear from context which office is meant (for example, your usual workplace). Use di kantor saya if you want to explicitly say it’s your own office.

Why is there no word meaning “by” in Dompet saya akhirnya ditemukan di kantor? In English we say “was found by someone.”

In Indonesian passive sentences, the agent (the doer) is often left out if it’s not important or obvious.

  • Dompet saya akhirnya ditemukan di kantor.
    → My wallet was finally found at the office.
    (We don’t say who found it; it’s not crucial.)

If you want to mention who found it, you can add oleh:

  • Dompet saya akhirnya ditemukan oleh petugas kebersihan di kantor.
    → My wallet was finally found by the cleaning staff at the office.

But many times, especially in everyday speech, Indonesians simply omit oleh + agent, just like in your example.

Is there a more informal way to say “was found” than ditemukan?

Yes. In informal speech, people often use ketemu (from bertemu, “to meet”) in a more colloquial way:

  • Dompet saya akhirnya ketemu di kantor.
    → Literally: My wallet finally “met” (was found) at the office.
    → Natural: My wallet finally turned up at the office.

Comparison:

  • ditemukan → more neutral/formal, explicitly passive “was found”
  • ketemu → informal / colloquial, more like “turned up / got found”

Your original sentence with ditemukan is neutral and acceptable in both spoken and written Indonesian, including somewhat formal contexts.

Could I say “Saya punya dompet akhirnya ditemukan di kantor” instead of “Dompet saya akhirnya ditemukan di kantor”?

No, “Saya punya dompet akhirnya ditemukan di kantor” is ungrammatical and confusing.

Why:

  • Saya punya dompet = “I have a wallet.” (a complete clause)
  • If you keep adding akhirnya ditemukan di kantor after that, it sounds like you’re gluing two structures together incorrectly.

Correct ways to express the idea:

  • Dompet saya akhirnya ditemukan di kantor.
    (Standard, natural.)

More variants:

  • Dompet saya yang hilang itu akhirnya ditemukan di kantor.
    → My wallet that was lost was finally found at the office.
  • Akhirnya dompet saya ditemukan di kantor.
    → Finally, my wallet was found at the office.

So, to say “my wallet was found,” you should use dompet saya, not saya punya dompet in this kind of sentence.