Pasukan kami berkumpul di lobi hotel.

Our team gathers in the hotel lobby.

Breakdown of Pasukan kami berkumpul di lobi hotel.

• di: in
• berkumpul: to gather
• hotel: the hotel
• lobi: the lobby
• kami: our
• pasukan: the team

Questions & Answers about Pasukan kami berkumpul di lobi hotel.

What does each word in the sentence correspond to in English?

• Pasukan = team/squad/force
• kami = we/our (exclusive; does not include the listener)
• berkumpul = to gather/assemble (intransitive; no object)
• di = at/in
• lobi = lobby
• hotel = hotel

So: Pasukan kami (our team) berkumpul (gathered/are gathering) di lobi hotel (in the hotel lobby).

Why is the possessive pronoun after the noun (Pasukan kami) instead of before?

In Malay, possessive pronouns follow the noun:

• pasukan kami = our team
• bilik saya = my room
• kereta mereka = their car

Colloquial alternatives like kami punya pasukan exist but sound informal; the standard and most natural is pasukan kami.

What’s the difference between kami and kita, and which one should I use here?

• kami = we/our (exclusive; excludes the listener)
• kita = we/our (inclusive; includes the listener)

Use pasukan kami if you’re talking to someone who is not part of the team. Use pasukan kita if the listener is also part of the team.

Does the sentence indicate past, present, or future?

Malay doesn’t mark tense on the verb, so it’s determined by context. You can add markers:

• Present progressive: Pasukan kami sedang berkumpul… (are gathering)
• Past/completed: Pasukan kami sudah/telah berkumpul… (have gathered)
• Future: Pasukan kami akan berkumpul… (will gather)

Why is di used and not ke?

• di marks location (at/in/on): di lobi hotel = at/in the hotel lobby.
• ke marks movement toward (to): ke lobi hotel = to the hotel lobby.

Your sentence describes where the gathering happens, not movement, so di is correct.

Do I need di dalam to say “inside the lobby”?

Not necessarily. di lobi hotel already implies “in/at the hotel lobby.” Use di dalam lobi hotel only if you want to emphasize being inside (as opposed to, say, outside the lobby).

How do I make “the hotel lobby” explicit in Malay when there are no articles?

Malay has no articles like “the” or “a.” You can add:

• Demonstratives for definiteness: di lobi hotel itu/ini (in that/this hotel’s lobby)
• A classifier for indefiniteness: di lobi sebuah hotel (in the lobby of a/one hotel)

Why is it lobi hotel and not hotel lobi?

Malay noun-noun compounds place the head first, modifier second:

• lobi hotel = the hotel’s lobby
• bilik hotel = hotel room “Hotel lobby” is expressed as lobi hotel, not hotel lobi.

Could I say lobi di hotel instead of lobi hotel?

You can, but it’s less tight and can sound clunkier. lobi hotel is the standard compound (“the hotel’s lobby”). lobi di hotel literally “a lobby at a hotel” has a slightly looser, descriptive feel.

Is pasukan the best word for “team” here?

• pasukan is common in Malay for sports teams, work teams, and organized groups (also “force/squad” in military/police contexts).
• kumpulan = group (general grouping, not necessarily a formal team).
• rombongan = a party/delegation/tour group. In Indonesian, tim (from “team”) is common; in Malay, pasukan is very natural.

What does the ber- in berkumpul do?

ber- forms many intransitive verbs. kumpul (gather) + ber- → berkumpul = to gather/assemble (no object). Transitive counterpart: mengumpulkan = to gather/collect something/someone. Example:

• Mereka berkumpul di lobi. (They gathered in the lobby.)
• Dia mengumpulkan pasukan. (He/She gathered the team.)

How is berkumpul different from bertemu?

• berkumpul: to assemble/come together (focus on forming a group in one place).
• bertemu: to meet (focus on the act of meeting). Both can fit, but nuance differs:
• Pasukan kami berkumpul di lobi hotel. (Our team assembled in the lobby.)
• Kami bertemu di lobi hotel. (We met in the lobby.)

Do I need to be careful with spacing in di lobi?

Yes. As a preposition, di is written separately: di lobi. The attached di- (no space) is a passive verb prefix (e.g., dilobi = “was lobbied”), which would change the meaning completely.

How do I pronounce the sentence naturally?

• Pasukan: pa-SU-kan (stress tends to be on the second-to-last syllable)
• kami: KA-mi
• berkumpul: ber-KUM-pul (the “e” in ber- is a schwa)
• di: dee
• lobi: LO-bee
• hotel: HO-tel (h is pronounced)

Vowels are generally pure: a as in “father,” u as “oo,” o like “oh,” i like “ee.”

How do I negate this sentence?

• To negate the verb (didn’t/doesn’t gather): Pasukan kami tidak berkumpul di lobi hotel.
• To negate the location specifically (not at the lobby): Pasukan kami bukan di lobi hotel; (…they’re at the restaurant instead). Often you’ll restructure: Pasukan kami tidak berkumpul di lobi hotel, tetapi di restoran.

Can I front the location for emphasis?

Yes. Fronting gives focus/emphasis to the place:

• Di lobi hotel, pasukan kami berkumpul. The neutral word order is the original, but both are grammatical.

How would I add time information, like “at 6 o’clock” or “every morning”?

• Specific time: Pasukan kami akan berkumpul di lobi hotel pada pukul enam.
• Habitual: Pasukan kami berkumpul di lobi hotel setiap pagi.
• Recent past: Pasukan kami baru sahaja berkumpul di lobi hotel. (just gathered)