Passive Sentences

Not all active sentences have corresponding forms in the passive. Only active and transitive
sentences(SPOC* and SPOA*) can be transformed into passive sentences.
Transitive sentences can be transformed into passive sentences by:

1. making the object of the active sentence become the subject of the passive sentence;
2. replacing the prefix me- with di- (see prefix di- chapter)
3. making the subject of the active sentence become the agent, recipient of the passive form
signaled by the preposition oleh(by) which may be left out if the doer is obvious or unimportant.

Agentive Passive Sentences

Agentive passive sentences are where the doer or the agent is explicitly expressed by the
proposition ‘oleh‘(by) plus agent.
Active Sentences
Subject Predicate Object Adverb Meaning

Anwar sudah mendengar berita itu kemarin. He heard the news yesterday.

Dia bisa meminjam uang dari Bank. He can borrow the money from the bank

Passive Sentences
Subject Predicate Agent Adverb Meaning

Berita itu sudah didengar olehAnwar kemarin. The news was heard by him yesterday.
Money can be borrowed by him from the
Uang bisa dipinjam olehnya dari Bank
bank.

Passive sentences are also called object-focus sentences, because the object is the focus of the
attention. They are commonly used especially in newspaper headlines.

Passive Sentences For The First and Second Person

Some grammarians argue that the rules for transforming active sentences into passive sentences
are not applicable for the first(saya, aku) or second person(kamu, kau, engkau, Anda). It only
applies if the subject or doer is the third person.
Examples
Active Sentences Passive Sentences(1) Passive Sentences(2)
Saya menulis buku itu. Buku itu ditulis oleh saya. Buku itu saya tulis.
Aku menulis buku itu. Buku itu ditulis oleh aku. Buku itu kutulis.
I wrote the book. The book was written by me. The book was written by me.

Kamu menerima bungkusan itu Bungkusan itu diterima olehmu (oleh Bungkusan itu kamu terima kemarin.
kemarin. kamu) kemarin.
Kau menerima bungkusan itu. Bungkusan itu diterima oleh engkau
Bungkusan itu kauterima kemarin.
You received the packaged kemarin.(never said this way)
The packaged was received by you
yesterday. The packaged was received by you
 yesterday yesterday

When the first and the second pronoun happen to be aku(I) and engkau, kau(you), the clitic form
‘ku’ and ‘kau’ is used and is joined together with the verbs.
Most grammarians think the correct passive form is Passive Sentences(2). The only grammarians
who accept both Passive Sentences(1) and (2) are Dr. Gorys Keraf, R. Ross Macdonald and Prof.
Dr. Soenjono Darjowidjojo.
Read also this article: The Passive: Apa yang Sebaiknya Guru Ajarkan?

Non-agentive Passive Sentences

Newspaper headlines are full of non-agentive passive sentences where doers are omitted because
they are understood or not important.

Tiga pejabat baru dilantik. Three new officers were appointed.

Dua polisi ditindak. Two policemen were disciplined.
Supaya mudah dibaca, tulislah besar- To make it easy for people to read, please write in big
besar. letters.
Passive Sentences With Prefix ter-
The prefix ter- is also used to express the passive voice but the prefix ter- implies that the action is
accidentally done.(see prefix ter- chapter)

Penumpang itu dilempar ke luar. The passenger was thrown outside.

Penumpang itu terlempar ke laut.
Kaki orang itu diinjak oleh Ahmad.
Kaki orang itu terinjak oleh Ahmad.
Rumahnya dibakar tadi malam.
Rumahnya terbakar tadi malam.
The passenger was accidentally thrown outside.
The man’s foot was trampled on by Ahmad.
The man’s foot was accidentally trampled on by Ahmad.
The house was burned down last night.
The house was burned down by accident last night.

Passive Sentences With Affix ke-an

The affix ke-an has a passive tone also.

Saya kedinginan karena AC.
Mereka kehujanan kemarin.
Soal itu ketahuan oleh orangtuanya.
Saya kehabisan uang.
Tadi malam saya kecurian dompet.
I suffered from the cold because of the air conditioner.
They were caught in the rain(yesterday).
The matter was found out by his parents.
I ran out of money.
Last night my wallet was stolen.

Passive Sentences With The Word ‘Kena‘

Saya ditipu oleh orang itu. Saya kena tipu orang itu. I was cheated by that person.
Uangnya dicuri. Uangnya kena curi. His money was stolen.
Kami didenda polisi. Kami kena denda polisi. We were fined by the police.
Anak itu dihukum Anak itu kena hokum That boy was punished by his
bapaknya. bapaknya. father.
*)SPOC: Subject – Predicate – Object – Complement
SPOA: Subject – Predicate – Object – Adverb
See Sentence Pattern chapter.
Reference:
Indonesian Grammar Made Easy by Dr. Liaw Yock Fang, TIMES 1996

Interrogative Sentences
Interrogatives can be formed by:
1. using Intonation and/or adding a question tag, ‘bukan‘ or ‘kan‘(colloquial)
to the questions if we wish to confirm our questions;
2. using particle –kah;
3. using the word apa or apakah;
4. using interrogative pronouns:apa, siapa, berapa, bagaimana;
5. using interrogative adverbs: mengapa, di mana, ke mana, kapan.
Si Dul ada? Is Dul in/around?
Si Dul ada, bukan? Dul is in/around, isn’t he?
Si Dul ada, kan? Dul is in/around, isn’t he?
Si Dul ada kah? Is Dul in/around?
Menangiskah dia? Did she cry?
Apakah pak Ali guru? Is pak Ali a teacher?
Siapa duduk disana? Who was it that sat there?
Bagaimana dia? how is she?
Kapan dia pergi? When di he go?