Adjacent passive agent

Level 3

In Malay, when using the di- passive, you can often drop the word oleh (by) if the person or thing doing the action comes immediately after the verb.

How It Works

This pattern is a variation of the standard passive with oleh. It is extremely common in both formal and casual Malaysian Malay.

1. The Adjacency Rule
The most important rule is proximity. The agent must be adjacent to the verb. If you want to say 'The book was read by Rina,' you can say Buku itu dibaca Rina. However, if you add a time word like 'just now' (tadi), you cannot say *dibaca tadi Rina. You must say dibaca tadi oleh Rina.

2. Third-Person Agents and -nya
In formal Malay, this pattern is strictly for third-person agents (e.g., names, 'them', or 'he/she'). When using the third-person suffix -nya as the agent (e.g., dimakannya), the suffix itself represents the agent, so oleh is not used in that specific construction. However, you can also express this using the prepositional form dimakan olehnya, which is equally correct and standard. For first and second person ('I' or 'you'), you should use the first-person object voice or second-person object voice instead.

3. Simple vs. Complex Agents
This construction is intended for simple Noun Phrases or Pronouns. If the agent is a complex clause or a very long phrase, you should use oleh to maintain clarity and readability.

4. Register and Usage
While oleh is often kept in very formal academic writing for clarity, omitting it is standard practice in news reports, literature, and daily conversation to make the sentence flow better.

Examples (4)

  1. Surat itu ditulis Ahmad.

    The letter was written by Ahmad.

    Word by Word: Letter that was-written Ahmad.

    Here, 'Ahmad' is the agent. Since he follows 'ditulis' immediately, 'oleh' is omitted.

  2. Nasi lemak itu dimakan mereka dengan gelojoh.

    The nasi lemak was eaten by them greedily.

    Word by Word: Rice fat that was-eaten them with greedily.

    The third-person pronoun 'mereka' (them) acts as the agent directly after the verb.

  3. Kereta itu dibaiki mekanik semalam.

    The car was repaired by the mechanic yesterday.

    Word by Word: Car that was-repaired mechanic yesterday.

    The agent 'mekanik' is adjacent to the verb, so 'oleh' is not required.

  4. Buku ini dipinjam Ali dari perpustakaan.

    This book was borrowed by Ali from the library.

    Word by Word: Book this was-borrowed Ali from library.

    Even with a prepositional phrase following, the agent 'Ali' stays next to the verb.

Common Mistakes

  • Inserting an adverb between the verb and the agent without 'oleh'.

    Baju itu dicuci bersih ibu.
    Baju itu dicuci bersih oleh ibu.

    Because the word 'bersih' (cleanly) separates the verb 'dicuci' and the agent 'ibu', you must use 'oleh'.

  • Using this pattern with first or second person pronouns in formal contexts.

    Kerja itu dibuat saya.
    Kerja itu saya buat.

    For 'I' or 'you', Malay prefers the object voice (agent before the verb stem) rather than the 'di-' prefix.

How It Connects

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

Adjacent passive agentLevel 3

Learn This First

To understand the adjacent passive agent, you first need to be familiar with the basic 'di-' passive construction and how the agent is normally introduced with 'oleh'. Additionally, knowing how nouns are placed next to each other to show a relationship (like possession) helps in understanding how the agent can follow the verb directly without a preposition.