baik ... mahupun ... tidak
Neither Reading from Scoped Negation
The structure baik [A] mahupun [B] ... [negation] is the formal way to say 'neither A nor B' in Malay. While the conjunction itself is inclusive, the negative meaning comes from the tidak or bukan that follows in the sentence.
How It Works
This pattern is a hallmark of formal, academic, and literary Malay. It is used to group two entities together under a single negative proposition.
1. Structure and Negation Choice
The choice of negator depends on what follows:
- Use tidak if the following word is a verb or adjective (e.g., tidak bersetuju - does not agree).
- Use bukan if the following word is a noun or to emphasize a contrast (e.g., bukan milik saya - not mine).
- Use belum for temporal negation (e.g., belum sampai - neither has arrived yet).
2. Register and Usage
This is a high-register structure. In casual conversation, speakers rarely use mahupun. Instead, they might use pun twice with a negative, such as Ali pun tak, Hasan pun tak. In formal writing, however, baik... mahupun is the standard.
3. Placement
The negator must appear in the predicate (after the second item). Placing the negator before the first 'baik' is ungrammatical in Standard Malay.
Examples (4)
- Baik pihak kerajaan mahupun pihak pembangkang tidak bersetuju dengan cadangan itu.
Neither the government nor the opposition party agrees with the proposal.
Word by Word: Both side government or side opposition not agree with proposal that.
Here, 'tidak' negates the verb 'bersetuju' (agree), applying the negation to both parties mentioned.
- Baik di bandar mahupun di luar bandar, bekalan elektrik masih belum stabil.
Neither in the city nor in the countryside is the electricity supply stable yet.
Word by Word: Both in city or in outside city, supply electric still not-yet stable.
This shows the pattern used with prepositional phrases. 'Belum' is used to indicate the state is 'not yet' stable in both locations.
- Baik buku itu mahupun buku ini, bukan milik saya.
Neither that book nor this book belongs to me.
Word by Word: Both book that or book this, not property I.
Since 'milik' (property/belonging) functions as a noun phrase here, 'bukan' is the correct negator to use.
- Baik ayah mahupun ibu tidak tahu tentang berita itu.
Neither father nor mother knows about that news.
Word by Word: Both father or mother not know about news that.
A standard formal sentence where the negation 'tidak' covers both subjects.
Common Mistakes
Using 'atau' instead of 'mahupun' in this formal pair.
Baik Ali atau Hasan tidak hadir.Baik Ali mahupun Hasan tidak hadir.'Baik ... atau ...' is also used, but 'baik ... mahupun ...' is the standard formal pair for this meaning.
Omitting the negator (tidak/bukan).
Baik dia mahupun saya bersalah.Baik dia mahupun saya tidak bersalah.Without 'tidak', the sentence means 'Both he and I are guilty.' To mean 'neither', you must explicitly include the negator.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To understand this pattern, learners must first be familiar with the basic 'baik ... mahupun' correlative conjunction used to group two items. They also need to understand how 'tidak' functions as a general negator for verbs and adjectives, as this pattern involves placing 'tidak' in a position that negates the relationship between the two items mentioned.
Related Patterns
- tidakNegating Verbs and Adjectives with Tidak
The primary negator used with verbs and adjectives in this pattern.
Level 1 - bukanNegating Nouns with Bukan
The negator used when the predicate is a noun or for contrastive emphasis.
Level 1 - atauAlternatives with Atau
The basic word for 'or', often confused with the 'mahupun' part of this pair.
Level 1 - punAdditive Pun
Used in less formal speech to create a 'neither' meaning (e.g., A pun tak, B pun tak).
Level 3
Words in This Pattern
Practice baik ... mahupun ... tidak in Bubblegum
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