Third-person passive preference

Level 3

The di- passive is the standard way to form passive sentences in Malay when the 'doer' is a third person. It shifts focus from the actor to the object being acted upon.

How It Works

The third-person di- passive is a fundamental part of Malay syntax. Unlike English, where 'by' works for everyone, Malay distinguishes between first/second person and third person actors.

1. Formation:
To form this passive, take the verb root and add the prefix di-. Unlike the active meN- prefix, di- never changes the starting letter of the root (e.g., tulis becomes ditulis).

2. The Agent (The Doer):
The person performing the action follows the verb. You have three options for marking them:

  • Using oleh (by): Buku itu dibaca oleh Ali.
  • Directly after the verb: Buku itu dibaca Ali.
  • Using the suffix -nya: Buku itu dibacanya.

3. Strict Usage Rule:
In formal Malay, this pattern is only for third-person actors. You cannot say *dibaca oleh saya (by me) or *dibaca oleh kamu (by you). For those, you must use first-person object voice or second-person object voice.

Examples (4)

  1. Surat itu ditulis olehnya pagi tadi.

    The letter was written by him/her this morning.

    Word by Word: Letter that be-written by-him/her morning just-now.

    Here, the prefix 'di-' is attached to the root 'tulis' (write), and the agent is represented by the suffix '-nya'.

  2. Pencuri itu telah ditangkap oleh pihak polis.

    The thief has been caught by the police.

    Word by Word: Thief that already be-catch by side police.

    This is a formal sentence where 'pihak polis' (the police) is the third-person agent.

  3. Nasi lemak itu dimakan Ali dengan selera.

    The nasi lemak was eaten by Ali with gusto.

    Word by Word: Nasi lemak that be-eat Ali with appetite.

    In this example, 'oleh' is omitted, which is common and perfectly correct when the agent (Ali) immediately follows the verb.

  4. Kereta itu sedang dibaiki di bengkel.

    The car is being repaired at the workshop.

    Word by Word: Car that progressive be-repair at workshop.

    This is an agentless passive where the person doing the repairs is not mentioned, but the 'di-' prefix is still used.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the di- passive for first or second person actors.

    Buku itu dibaca oleh saya.
    Buku itu saya baca.

    In careful formal Malay, 'di-' with 'oleh saya' or 'oleh kamu' is avoided. Tatabahasa Dewan prefers the object voice, where the pronoun comes before the bare verb root.

  • Writing 'di-' as a separate word when it is a verb prefix.

    Buku itu di beli oleh Ali.
    Buku itu dibeli oleh Ali.

    The passive prefix 'di-' must be attached to the verb. Only the location preposition di is written as a separate word.

How It Connects

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Third-person passive preferenceLevel 3

Learn This First

To understand the third-person passive preference, you must first be familiar with the basic di- passive prefix and how agents are marked with 'oleh'. Additionally, you need to understand the object-voice construction used for first and second persons to recognize why the di- passive is specifically preferred for third-person actors.

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Words in This Pattern

di-oleh