Indonesian relative-clause gap

Level 3

Indonesian uses the word yang to link a noun to a description. In this structure, the noun being described is simply 'missing' (gapped) from its position inside the relative clause.

How It Works

In Indonesian, the yang relative clause is the primary way to provide more information about a noun. The 'gap' strategy refers to the fact that the noun being described (the head noun) is not repeated or replaced by a pronoun inside the modifying clause. This pattern is used both for actions and for selecting by a property.

Key Rules:

  • Noun-Phrase Placement: Yang follows the complete noun phrase it modifies, not necessarily the head noun alone. Possessives, adjectives, and demonstratives may intervene, as in buku saya yang baru and mobil merah itu yang dicuri.
  • Subject Restriction: For verbs, the gap must be in the grammatical-subject position. You cannot relativize an object while keeping an active meN- verb. Instead, standard Indonesian uses Object Voice (also called Passive Type 2), whose bare verb promotes the patient to grammatical subject; this bare form is fully standard, including in formal writing.
  • Voice Change: To describe an object, you must use the di- passive or object voice so that the object becomes the grammatical subject of the clause. In formal Standard Indonesian, auxiliary words such as sedang or akan precede the pronoun so that the pronoun remains next to the bare verb (e.g., buku yang sedang saya baca). Colloquial Indonesian often relaxes that ordering (e.g., buku yang saya sedang baca), but use the former in formal prose. Pronouns are the ordinary agents in this pattern. The official grammar also describes short names and kinship terms before the bare verb, especially in everyday usage (for example, buku yang Ali baca). This does not allow any long noun phrase in that position.
  • No Resumptive Pronouns (Subject/Object): In formal Indonesian, you should not use a pronoun like dia or -nya to refer back to the head noun when it is the subject or object of the clause.
  • Possessive Exception: Unlike subject/object gaps, possessive relative clauses require the resumptive suffix -nya possession (e.g., orang yang anaknya sakit - the person whose child is sick).
  • Locative and Time Clauses: For locations, use tempat (without yang) as the relativizer (e.g., rumah tempat saya tinggal). For time nouns, use waktu or ketika without yang (e.g., hari waktu dia tiba).
  • Prepositional Clauses: Indonesian generally cannot strand a preposition. One option retains yang, the preposition, and a resumptive -nya (e.g., rumah yang di belakangnya ada pohon). Another uses an applicative suffix such as -i or -kan to promote the prepositional object to a direct object, which can then enter Object Voice and be relativized (e.g., gadis yang saya tulisi surat, 'the girl to whom I wrote a letter'). Modern Indonesian also uses di mana for locations and prepositional objects and yang mana in some complex clauses, although prescriptive guidance often discourages those extensions.

Becoming proficient in these strategies is essential for building complex sentences across all registers.

Examples (6)

  1. Orang yang melihat saya adalah paman saya.

    The person who saw me is my uncle.

    Word by Word: Person that see me is uncle my.

    This is a subject relative clause. The head noun 'orang' is the subject performing the action 'melihat', so the active meN- prefix is used.

  2. Orang yang saya lihat adalah paman saya.

    The person who I saw is my uncle.

    Word by Word: Person that I see is uncle my.

    This is an object relative clause. The head noun 'orang' is the object being seen, so the object voice is required, dropping the prefix from 'lihat'.

  3. Buku yang sedang saya baca sangat panjang.

    The book that I am reading is very long.

    Word by Word: Book that in-progress I read very long.

    When using the object voice in a relative clause, auxiliary words like 'sedang' must precede the pronoun ('saya'), keeping the pronoun and bare verb together.

  4. Wanita yang rumahnya besar itu adalah dokter.

    The woman whose house is big is a doctor.

    Word by Word: Woman that house-her big that is doctor.

    In possessive relative clauses, a gap is not used; instead, the -nya possession suffix is required.

  5. Rumah tempat saya tinggal sangat tua.

    The house where I live is very old.

    Word by Word: House place I live very old.

    For locations, Indonesian uses 'tempat' as the relativizer instead of 'yang'.

  6. Meja yang di atasnya ada buku itu milik saya.

    The desk on top of which there is a book is mine.

    Word by Word: Desk that at top-its exist book that property my.

    For prepositional clauses, 'yang' is retained, followed by the preposition and the resumptive pronoun '-nya'.

Common Mistakes

  • Trying to relativize an object while keeping the active 'meN-' prefix.

    Buku yang saya membaca itu bagus.
    Buku yang saya baca itu bagus.

    You cannot gap an object if the verb is in the active meN- prefix form. You must use the object voice (dropping the prefix) or the di- passive.

  • Using colloquial auxiliary placement in a formal object-voice relative clause.

    Buku yang saya sedang baca itu bagus.
    Buku yang sedang saya baca itu bagus.

    Formal Standard Indonesian places auxiliaries such as sedang, akan, and sudah before the pronoun, keeping the pronoun next to the bare verb. Colloquial speech often permits the auxiliary between them, but formal prose prefers the order shown in the correct example.

  • Using a resumptive pronoun (like 'dia' or '-nya') inside a subject or object relative clause.

    Orang yang dia datang tadi adalah paman saya.
    Orang yang datang tadi adalah paman saya.

    In Indonesian, you must leave a 'gap' when the head noun is the subject or object. Adding 'dia' (he/she) makes the sentence redundant. However, note that possessive relative clauses are different and do require '-nya'.

How It Connects

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Indonesian relative-clause gapLevel 3

Learn This First

To understand the Indonesian relative-clause gap, you first need to be comfortable with the basic 'yang' relative clause structure. You also need to understand how active verbs (meN-) and object pronouns (-nya) function, as this pattern specifically describes the omission of a pronoun that might be present in other languages when the modified noun is the subject or object of the relative clause.