tempat yang ...
Relative Clauses After Place Nouns
In Indonesian, when you want to describe a place (like 'the city I visited'), you use tempat yang.... This is different from just saying where something happens; it identifies a specific location as the target of a description or action.
How It Works
Indonesian distinguishes between a place as a setting and a place as a target.
1. The Target (Head Noun): When the place is the head noun being modified, you use tempat yang.... The verb form depends on the role of the place in the relative clause:
• If the place is the object of the action, the verb usually shifts to the object voice or passive voice (e.g., tempat yang saya kunjungi - the place I visited).
• If the place is the subject of the action, the active voice is used (e.g., tempat yang menghadap laut - the place that faces the sea).
2. The Setting (Relative Marker): If you are specifying where an action occurs (e.g., 'the place where I work'), tempat acts as a relative marker similar to 'where'. In these cases, yang is typically omitted.
Example: Tempat saya bekerja (The place [where] I work).
3. Adjective Descriptions: When describing a place with an adjective, yang may link the noun to its quality; a direct noun–adjective phrase is also standard, such as tempat tenang or tempat aman (e.g., tempat yang tenang). However, yang is optional when using superlatives or the ter- prefix.
Example: Tempat terindah or Tempat paling indah (The most beautiful place).
Standard Writing And Attested Usage:
Relative di mana occurs in everyday speech and formal texts, but official usage guidance recommends tempat for a location serving as the setting of a following clause. Compare Kota di mana saya lahir. and the recommended standard-writing model Kota tempat saya lahir. (The city where I was born). These are not presented as equally standard alternatives. Use tempat yang... when the place has a different role in the relative description, as explained above.
Examples (5)
- Ini adalah tempat yang paling saya sukai.
This is the place that I like the most.
Word by Word: This is place that most I like.
Here, 'tempat' is the object of the verb 'sukai', so 'yang' is used to connect them.
- Kita harus mencari tempat yang aman.
We must find a safe place.
Word by Word: We must search place that safe.
'Yang' connects the noun 'tempat' to the adjective 'aman' (safe) to describe a specific property.
- Dia tinggal di tempat yang sangat jauh dari sini.
He lives in a place that is very far from here.
Word by Word: He lives at place that very far from here.
In this case, 'yang' is used to introduce a descriptive adjective phrase about the place.
- Itu adalah tempat yang mereka bangun tahun lalu.
That is the place that they built last year.
Word by Word: That is place that they build year last.
The verb 'bangun' is in the object-focus form because 'tempat' is the object being built.
- Saya mencari tempat yang menghadap ke laut.
I am looking for a place that faces the sea.
Word by Word: I search place that face to sea.
When the place is the subject of the action, the active voice with the meN- prefix is used.
Common Mistakes
Using the active 'meN-' prefix when the place is the object.
Tempat yang saya mengunjungi.Tempat yang saya kunjungi.In tempat yang saya kunjungi, use object voice: remove the meN- prefix and retain the suffix -i. The sequence saya mengunjungi does not fit this relative-clause model.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To understand 'tempat yang ...', you first need to know how the relative marker 'yang' functions to link a noun to a describing clause. Since this pattern specifically deals with places, familiarity with location prepositions and basic sentence structure is essential to correctly interpret the implied role of the place within the relative clause.
- yangRelative Clauses with Yang
The pattern 'tempat yang ...' is a specific application of the general relative clause marker 'yang' used to modify nouns.
Level 2 - diLocation with Di
Understanding how places are marked as locations is necessary because 'tempat yang' often replaces a prepositional phrase (e.g., 'di tempat itu').
Level 1
Related Patterns
- di manaWhere with Di Mana
Often confused with 'tempat yang', 'di mana' is the literal translation of 'where' but is less standard in relative clauses.
Level 1 - Object voice with saya or aku
Object voice is a common standard model when the place is the object of an action with a first- or second-person agent; it also occurs with third-person pronouns.
Level 3 - di-Basic Passive with Di-
Used in 'tempat yang...' clauses when the action is performed by a third party (e.g., 'tempat yang dibangun oleh mereka').
Level 2 - yang + AdjectiveSelecting by a Property
Used when 'tempat' is being described by a specific quality or property.
Level 2
Words in This Pattern
Practice tempat yang ... in Bubblegum
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