Nested institutional passives

Level 6

Formal institutional prose can combine modals such as harus and dapat with passive verbs to state requirements and possibilities. An agent can remain unexpressed or appear in an oleh phrase.

How It Works

In Indonesian bureaucratic and academic prose, the use of nested institutional passives serves to create an authoritative and agent-neutral tone. This is often called bahasa pejabat (officialese).

1. The Structure
The chain typically consists of:

  • Primary Modal: Defines the obligation or necessity (e.g., harus, perlu).
  • Secondary Modal: Defines the possibility or capability (e.g., dapat).
  • Passive Verb: Usually a complex transitive verb using the di-...-kan or di-...-i affixes.

2. Functional Precision
While it may seem wordy, this structure is a tool for precision. Saying harus dapat dipertanggungjawabkan (must be able to be accounted for) is different from a simple passive. It implies that the capability for accountability is the legal or institutional requirement, not just the act itself.

3. Register and Usage
This style is characteristic of formal registers. You will find it in:

  • Government regulations and laws.
  • Academic theses and journals.
  • Official corporate reports.

Dense chains can sound bureaucratic in ordinary conversation; their suitability depends on the purpose and context.

Examples (4)

  1. Laporan keuangan tersebut harus dapat dipertanggungjawabkan secara transparan.

    The financial report must be able to be accounted for transparently.

    Word by Word: Report finance that must can be-accounted-for in-a-way transparent.

    This uses the modal chain 'harus dapat' with the complex passive verb 'dipertanggungjawabkan' to set a formal institutional requirement.

  2. Hasil evaluasi ini perlu segera ditindaklanjuti oleh pihak terkait.

    The results of this evaluation need to be immediately followed up on by the relevant parties.

    Word by Word: Result evaluation this need immediately be-followed-up-on by party related.

    Here, 'perlu' (need) is combined with a passive verb to focus on the action required by the institution rather than a specific person.

  3. Kebijakan baru tersebut diharapkan dapat diselesaikan sebelum akhir tahun anggaran.

    The new policy is expected to be able to be completed before the end of the fiscal year.

    Word by Word: Policy new that be-expected can be-completed before end year budget.

    The passive 'diharapkan' (is expected) acts as the first layer, followed by the modal 'dapat' and the final passive verb.

  4. Data penelitian ini harus sudah dapat diverifikasi sebelum dipublikasikan.

    This research data must already be able to be verified before being published.

    Word by Word: Data research this must already can be-verified before be-published.

    This example adds the aspect marker 'sudah' into the chain, further refining the institutional timeline.

Common Mistakes

  • Putting the agent directly after a di- verb.

    Masalah ini harus dapat diselesaikan kami.
    Masalah ini harus dapat diselesaikan oleh kami.

    A di- passive needs oleh before the agent: diselesaikan oleh kami. Without oleh, the sentence is wrong. Object voice is a different, valid pattern: the pronoun comes before a bare verb, as in Masalah ini harus dapat kami selesaikan. Do not mix the two.

  • Reversing the order of the modal verbs.

    Hal itu dapat harus diperbaiki.
    Hal itu harus dapat diperbaiki.

    To mean that it must be possible to repair something, use harus dapat diperbaiki: obligation has scope over possibility. Reversing these two words does not express that intended meaning. This example does not establish one universal order for every possible sequence of Indonesian modals.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Nested institutional passivesLevel 6

Learn This First

To understand nested institutional passives, a learner must first be comfortable with basic passive constructions (di-) and how they interact with suffixes like -kan. Additionally, they need to understand how modal verbs (harus, dapat, perlu) function as auxiliary elements that precede the verb to create layers of obligation or possibility.