Object voice inside yang clauses

Level 4

To describe the affected participant with a yang relative clause, use object voice or a di- passive: buku yang saya baca or buku yang dibaca Budi. The ordinary active clause saya membaca buku must be reorganized for these patterns.

How It Works

When using yang to modify a noun that is the object of an action, the structure of the verb changes based on the actor. This lesson covers both di- passive clauses and the object voice construction.

1. First and Second Person (saya, aku, kami, kita, kamu, Anda):
For these actors, the Actor + Verb Stem pattern is the ordinary choice. In this construction, the verb must lose its meN- prefix.

  • Structure: yang + [Actor] + [Verb Stem]
  • Example: Buku yang saya baca (The book that I read).
  • Clitic Forms: For aku and kamu, it is very common to use the prefixes ku- and kau- attached directly to the stem (e.g., Buku yang kubaca).
  • Note: Do not generalize this pattern into a complete ban on the di- passive with first- or second-person agents. Standard grammar accepts coordinated agents such as oleh kamu dan saya, and contemporary writing also has other person choices depending on context.

2. Third Person Pronouns (dia, ia, mereka, beliau):
Third-person pronouns are flexible. They can use either the di- passive or the Actor + Verb Stem pattern.

  • Option A: Buku yang dia baca (Actor + Stem).
  • Option B: Buku yang dibaca (oleh) dia (di- passive).

3. Names and Common Nouns:
A long noun phrase naming an actor normally uses the di- passive. Short names and kinship terms can occur before the verb, especially in everyday use; the official grammar explicitly describes this variation.

  • Buku yang dibaca Budi uses di-.
  • Buku yang Budi baca has a short named actor before the verb; it is not universally ungrammatical.

4. Placement of Auxiliaries and Negation:
In the Actor + Stem construction, words like sudah, akan, or tidak must come before the actor.

  • Correct: Buku yang belum saya baca.
  • Incorrect: *Buku yang saya belum baca.

Examples (5)

  1. Ini adalah film yang saya tonton kemarin.

    This is the movie that I watched yesterday.

    Word by Word: This is movie that I watch yesterday.

    Since 'film' is the object of 'watch', the verb 'menonton' loses its prefix and follows the actor 'saya'.

  2. Mana surat yang harus kamu tulis?

    Where is the letter that you must write?

    Word by Word: Where letter that must you write?

    The auxiliary 'harus' (must) is placed before the actor 'kamu', and the verb 'tulis' is in its bare form.

  3. Kopi yang kita minum tadi sangat enak.

    The coffee that we drank earlier was very delicious.

    Word by Word: Coffee that we drink earlier very delicious.

    Using the inclusive 'kita' directly before the stem 'minum' to describe the object 'kopi'.

  4. Baju yang kaubeli itu bagus sekali.

    That shirt you bought is very nice.

    Word by Word: Shirt that you-buy that good very.

    The second-person proclitic 'kau-' is attached directly to the verb stem 'beli'.

  5. Mobil yang dibeli ayah berwarna merah.

    The car that father bought is red.

    Word by Word: Car that passive-buy father colored red.

    For a third-person actor (ayah), the 'di-' passive is used to modify the object (mobil).

Common Mistakes

  • Retaining the meN- prefix in an object relative clause.

    Buku yang saya membaca itu menarik.
    Buku yang saya baca itu menarik.

    In a 'yang' clause modifying an object, the active 'meN-' prefix must be dropped for 1st and 2nd person actors.

  • Separating the actor and the verb with an auxiliary or negation.

    Makanan yang saya tidak makan sudah dingin.
    Makanan yang tidak saya makan sudah dingin.

    In the Object Voice, the actor (saya) and the verb (makan) must be immediately adjacent. Negators like 'tidak' must come before the actor.

How It Connects

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

Object voice inside yang clausesLevel 4

Learn This First

To understand 'object voice in relative clause', a learner must first understand how basic relative clauses are formed using 'yang'. They also need to be familiar with the object voice (passive-like) construction where the actor precedes the verb without the 'meN-' prefix, as this is the structure embedded within the 'yang' clause.

Words in This Pattern