Negated object voice

The object voice is a highly common construction used to topicalize or focus on the object of an action. While this often involves bringing the object to the front of the sentence, it is not strictly required; the predicate can also be fronted for emphasis while keeping the object at the end (e.g., Belum saya tulis surat itu 'I haven't written that letter yet'). It is frequently used when the agent is a first-person (saya/aku, kita, kami) or second-person pronoun (kamu/Anda, kalian), though third-person pronouns (dia, mereka) can also appear in this structure in modern Indonesian. In this structure, the transitive verb must lose its meN- prefix, though it retains any suffixes like -kan or -i. It also remains an object-voice verb without meN- and never takes di-: say Surat itu tidak saya tulis ('I did not write that letter'), not *Surat itu tidak saya ditulis. A critical rule in formal Indonesian is the inseparability of the actor and the verb; nothing, including negators like tidak or belum, can be inserted between them. When negators are used alongside aspect markers or modals (like akan or sudah), they cluster together and all of them must precede the actor (e.g., Surat itu tidak akan saya tulis 'I will not write that letter').

Third-person pronouns such as dia and mereka can occur in object voice. TBBI also recognizes relatively short personal names or kinship references in this pattern, especially in everyday usage; its example Berita duka itu belum Ayah dengar is not limited to direct address. With a long noun-phrase actor, use the di- passive model. For edited prose, di- remains a clear choice with an ordinary third-person noun or name: Surat itu belum dibaca oleh Budi. Do not turn a teaching preference into a universal ban on short names in object voice.

This structure is also a highly common way to form negative imperatives using jangan (do not) when focusing on the object. For example: Surat itu jangan kamu tulis! (Do not write that letter!). Additionally, this exact same object voice structure is required when asking questions about the object (e.g., Apa yang kamu tulis? 'What are you writing?' not *Apa yang kamu menulis?).

For first and second person, the actor often appears as a bound clitic prefix: ku- (from aku) or kau- (from engkau). Unlike independent words like saya and kamu, these clitics must be written attached directly to the verb without a space. When negated, the negator precedes the entire clitic-verb cluster (e.g., Surat itu tidak kutulis 'I did not write that letter', not *Surat itu ku tidak tulis).

However, when titles or names (like Bapak, Ibu, or Budi) are used as terms of address (acting as pronoun substitutes for 'you' or 'I'), they act like first or second-person pronouns and use this object voice structure (e.g., Buku itu belum Bapak baca 'You [sir] haven't read that book yet').

• Formal: Surat itu tidak saya tulis. (That letter was not written by me.)
• Formal (Clitic): Surat itu belum kutulis. (That letter has not yet been written by me.)
• Negative Imperative: Surat itu jangan kamu tulis! (Do not write that letter!)
• Colloquial: Surat itu saya tidak tulis. (A colloquial topic-plus-clause alternative; it is not the adjacent actor–verb model taught here).
• Incorrect: Surat itu tidak menulis saya. (Keeping the meN- prefix turns the letter into a sentient actor, meaning 'The letter is not writing me.')

Becoming proficient in this word order is essential for formal writing, as it allows you to focus on the object while maintaining the correct grammatical relationship with the actor.

Two Different Passive Models: Buku itu tidak dibaca oleh saya uses the di- passive, whereas Buku itu tidak saya baca uses object voice. The second is the ordinary model with a simple first-person actor; do not classify the first as an object-voice sentence with a misplaced oleh. TBBI explicitly permits di- with coordinated pronouns, as in Tugas itu harus diselesaikan oleh kamu dan saya.