Sesetengah pemain suka berjoging di taman pada waktu pagi.

Some players like to jog in the park in the morning.

Breakdown of Sesetengah pemain suka berjoging di taman pada waktu pagi.

• suka: to like
• di: in
• taman: the park
• pada: in
• waktu pagi: the morning
• berjoging: to jog
• pemain: the player
• sesetengah: some

Questions & Answers about Sesetengah pemain suka berjoging di taman pada waktu pagi.

What does sesetengah mean exactly, and how is it different from beberapa or ramai?

Sesetengah means some (of them) or certain (ones) and usually refers to part of a known group.

• Sesetengah pemain = some of the players / certain players (from a specific group already known in context).
• Beberapa pemain = several players / a few players (focus on quantity, not “part of a known group”).
• Ramai pemain = many players (focus on there being a lot of them).

So in this sentence, sesetengah pemain suggests you already have a particular group of players in mind, and you’re saying that only some of them like jogging in the park in the morning.

Why doesn’t pemain have a plural ending like players in English?

Malay generally does not mark plural with a special ending like English -s. A noun like pemain can mean:

• pemain = a player / the player / players / the players

Number is usually understood from context or from words like:

• seorang pemain – one player (person)
• dua orang pemain – two players
• banyak pemain – many players
• sesetengah pemain – some players

In this sentence, sesetengah already shows that we’re talking about more than one, so pemain stays in the same basic form.

Why is it suka berjoging and not just suka joging?

Both suka berjoging and suka joging can be heard, but suka berjoging is more standard and natural.

• suka = to like
• berjoging = to go jogging / to jog

The prefix ber- turns the base word joging (jogging) into a verb of doing that activity.

So:

• suka berjoging = like to jog / like jogging

Saying suka joging is understandable, but it sounds a bit less “complete” as a verb. In careful or formal Malay, use berjoging here.

What does the prefix ber- in berjoging do?

The prefix ber- in Malay often:

• turns a noun into an intransitive verb (“to be/do [that thing]”), or
• indicates having or being in a state of something.

In berjoging:

• joging = jogging (the activity)
• berjoging = to jog / to be doing jogging

Other examples:

• bekerja (ber- + kerja) – to work
• berlari (ber- + lari) – to run
• berenang (ber- + renang) – to swim

So berjoging is simply the normal verb form “to jog”.

What is the difference between di taman and ke taman?

• di = at / in / on (location)
• ke = to / towards (direction or movement)

In the sentence, you’re describing where the jogging happens, not where they are going:

• berjoging di taman – jogging in/at the park (location)
• pergi ke taman – go to the park (direction)

So berjoging di taman is correct because the action is taking place there.

Can I say just pada pagi or only pagi instead of pada waktu pagi?

Yes, you have a few natural options, with small differences in formality:

• pada waktu pagi – in the morning (more formal/complete; common in writing)
• pada pagi – in the morning (still okay, a bit less “textbooky”)
• waktu pagi – morning time (no preposition; often used in speech and writing)
• pagi – in the morning / morning (most informal and common in speech)

So you could also say:

• Sesetengah pemain suka berjoging di taman pagi. (very colloquial)
• Sesetengah pemain suka berjoging di taman pada pagi.
• Sesetengah pemain suka berjoging di taman waktu pagi.

The original pada waktu pagi sounds neutral and correct, especially in written or more careful Malay.

Does pada waktu pagi have to come at the end, or can I move the time expression?

You can move the time expression pada waktu pagi without changing the core meaning. All of these are grammatical:

• Sesetengah pemain suka berjoging di taman pada waktu pagi.
• Pada waktu pagi, sesetengah pemain suka berjoging di taman.
• Sesetengah pemain pada waktu pagi suka berjoging di taman. (less common, but possible)

General tendencies:

• In spoken Malay, time is often placed at the beginning or end.
• The original sentence (time at the end) is very natural and common.

Just avoid splitting phrases in a way that breaks their unity (e.g. don’t split pada away from waktu pagi).

Is pemain specifically “sports player/athlete”, or can it mean any kind of “player”?

Pemain is a general word for player and is often used for:

• sports players: pemain bola sepak (football player), pemain tenis (tennis player)
• game players: pemain catur (chess player), pemain video game
• performers in some contexts: pemain muzik (musician, literally “music player”), pemain drama (actor in a drama)

In this sentence, the context (jogging in the park) suggests sports players / athletes, but pemain on its own is broad.

If you want to stress “athletes”, you can say:

• Sesetengah atlet suka berjoging di taman pada waktu pagi.

How would I negate this sentence? Where does tidak go?

To negate suka (like), you put tidak directly before it:

• Sesetengah pemain tidak suka berjoging di taman pada waktu pagi.
  = Some players do not like jogging in the park in the morning.

Pattern:

• [subject] + tidak + [verb/adjective] + …

You don’t say suka tidak berjoging here; that would sound like “like not jogging”, which is a different meaning in English and not how Malay normally expresses this idea.

How do you pronounce sesetengah and why does it start with se twice?

Pronunciation (roughly in English-style syllables):

• se-se-teng-ah
  
  • se – like “sir” but very short
  • teng – “teng” (as in “tangent” minus the “ant”)
  • ah – “ah”

So: /sə.sə.təŋ.ah/ (depending on accent).

The double se is just part of the standard word formation; it isn’t se- + setengah in a meaningful way in modern usage. You can treat sesetengah as one whole word meaning some (of them).

Why isn’t there any word for “the” or “some” before pemain, like in English?

Malay does not have direct equivalents of a/an/the. Instead:

• sesetengah pemain inherently means some players / some of the players
• Definiteness or indefiniteness (a vs the) is understood from context.

Examples:

• pemain itu – that player / the player (using itu = that)
• pemain ini – this player / the player (using ini = this)

In your sentence, sesetengah already carries the “some” idea, so no extra article is needed.

Is this sentence formal or informal? Would it sound natural in everyday conversation?

The sentence:

• Sesetengah pemain suka berjoging di taman pada waktu pagi.

sounds neutral and is perfectly fine in both:

• written Malay (articles, reports, textbooks), and
• spoken Malay, especially in a careful or standard style.

In very casual speech, people might simplify:

• Ada pemain yang suka berjoging di taman pagi-pagi.
• Ada sesetengah pemain suka berjoging di taman waktu pagi.

But your original sentence is fully natural and correct.