An active sentence puts the doer first: Ali membaca buku itu. A passive sentence puts the thing affected first: Buku itu dibaca oleh Ali. Malay uses both, and choosing between them changes emphasis, not meaning.
This lesson belongs to the grammar, morphology and sentence accuracy module. It builds on affixes, because both forms depend on a correctly formed verb.
What are the two passive patterns?
Malay has two main patterns, and the one you need depends on the doer.
| Doer | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun, name or unknown | di- + root, optional oleh + doer | Pintu itu dikunci oleh pengawal. |
| Pronoun (saya, kami, kita, awak, mereka) | doer + plain root | Pintu itu kami kunci. |
In the pronoun pattern the doer stays right before the verb, and the verb loses its meN- prefix. The word order is thing, doer, verb.
How do I convert step by step?
- Mark the three parts of the active sentence: doer, verb, thing affected.
- Move the thing affected to the front.
- Change the verb. Drop meN- and use di- for a noun doer, or use the plain root right after a pronoun doer.
- Add oleh before a named doer, or leave the doer out when it is unknown or unimportant.
Worked example
(Invented sentences for practice.)
Active: Cikgu Hassan menerangkan peraturan baharu itu kepada murid.
Step 1. Doer: Cikgu Hassan. Verb: menerangkan. Thing affected: peraturan baharu itu.
Step 2 and 3. Peraturan baharu itu + diterangkan.
Step 4. The doer is a named noun, so add oleh: Peraturan baharu itu diterangkan oleh Cikgu Hassan kepada murid.
Same sentence with a pronoun doer. Active: Kami menerangkan peraturan itu. Passive: Peraturan itu kami terangkan. The doer kami stays before the verb, and the verb has no di-.
Doer unknown. Active: Seseorang telah mengunci pintu pagar. Passive: Pintu pagar telah dikunci. The doer is dropped because it adds nothing.
The mistake to watch for
Two forms get mixed in one sentence.
Mistaken sentence: Surat itu saya dihantar kelmarin.
The pronoun saya and the prefix di- are both used for the doer.
When the doer is saya, use the plain root: Surat itu saya hantar kelmarin. If you prefer di-, drop the pronoun or use oleh with a noun: Surat itu dihantar oleh Aina kelmarin.
A second slip is putting a noun doer before the verb without oleh and without a prefix, such as Buku itu Ali baca in a formal essay. Standard writing usually prefers Buku itu dibaca oleh Ali.
Check yourself
1. Make passive: Mereka membina jambatan itu pada tahun lalu.
Show answer
Mereka is a pronoun, so use the plain root: Jambatan itu mereka bina pada tahun lalu. The passive with di- and oleh is also acceptable: Jambatan itu dibina oleh mereka pada tahun lalu.
2. Make active: Rumah itu dicat oleh Pak Mat.
Show answer
Move the doer first and add meN-. Cat starts with c, so the form is mengecat: Pak Mat mengecat rumah itu.
3. Correct the error: Kereta itu kami dibaiki semalam.
Show answer
Kami is a pronoun doer, so remove di-: Kereta itu kami baiki semalam.
Where this leads next
Go on to selecting a connector that expresses the intended relationship, then use the module practice set. The writing revision compare view is useful for checking an active version against its passive rewrite.
A teacher in online one-to-one Malay tuition can set you pairs of rewrites and listen to why you pick each form.