Object voice with kamu or Anda

Level 3

To focus on the object of an action performed by “you,” use object voice: Surat itu Anda kirim. The active sentence Anda mengirim surat is also grammatical; the two forms organize the same participants differently.

How It Works

Indonesian object voice is the ordinary object-focused construction with a simple first- or second-person pronoun. Its word order and verb form follow specific rules. It is not mandatory for all sentences containing these actors: active clauses are also standard, and di- clauses can occur in other contexts, especially with a coordinated or emphasized agent.

1. The Verb Form
To form this, you must remove the meN- prefix from the verb. However, you must keep any suffixes like -kan or -i.

  • Active: Anda membaca buku.
  • Object Voice: Buku itu Anda baca.

2. Word Order
The actor (kamu, Anda, or titles like Bapak/Ibu) must be placed immediately before the verb. Nothing can come between them.

3. Auxiliaries and Modals
Words like harus (must), sudah (already), or akan (will) must be placed before the actor, not before the verb.

  • Correct: Tugas itu sudah Anda kerjakan.
  • Incorrect: Tugas itu Anda sudah kerjakan.

Examples (5)

  1. Buku ini harus Anda baca.

    You must read this book.

    Word by Word: Book this must you read.

    The modal 'harus' comes before the actor 'Anda', and the verb 'baca' has no prefix.

  2. Kopi yang kamu pesan sudah datang.

    The coffee that you ordered has arrived.

    Word by Word: Coffee which you order already come.

    In the relative clause 'yang kamu pesan', the object voice is used because 'kamu' is the actor.

  3. Surat itu akan Bapak kirim besok.

    You (Sir) will send that letter tomorrow.

    Word by Word: Letter that will Father send tomorrow.

    Titles used as second-person addresses (like Bapak) follow the same object voice rules as pronouns.

  4. Mobil ini silakan Anda pakai.

    Please use this car.

    Word by Word: Car this please you use.

    A polite invitation using 'silakan' combined with the object voice.

  5. Tugas tersebut sudah kamu selesaikan?

    Have you finished that task?

    Word by Word: Task mentioned already you finish?

    The suffix '-kan' is retained in 'selesaikan' even though the 'meN-' prefix is dropped.

Common Mistakes

  • Keeping the meN- prefix in the object voice.

    Buku itu Anda membaca.
    Buku itu Anda baca.

    In the object voice, the verb must be in its bare form (no meN- prefix).

  • Placing an auxiliary between the actor and the verb.

    Buku itu kamu sudah baca.
    Buku itu sudah kamu baca.

    Auxiliaries like 'sudah' must precede the entire actor-verb unit.

  • Inserting oleh between the preverbal actor and the verb in object voice.

    Buku itu Anda oleh baca.
    Buku itu Anda baca.

    In object voice, Anda directly precedes baca without oleh. Do not generalize this to a ban on all di- clauses with second-person actors: coordinated agents such as oleh kamu dan saya are explicitly accepted in standard grammar.

How It Connects

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

Object voice with kamu or AndaLevel 3

Learn This First

To understand the second-person object voice, learners first need to understand the general structure of the object voice (where the object moves to the front and the verb loses its prefix) and be familiar with the specific second-person pronouns 'kamu' and 'Anda' that function as the actor in this pattern.

Words in This Pattern