Example :
Active : Jaka membeli sepatu baru. Passive : Sepatu baru dibeli oleh Jaka.
From the examples, we can see that the preposition oleh in sentence 1.b and 1.c is optional. But if the predicate is not directly followed by the actor, oleh is an
obligatory.
If the subject of the transitive active is filled by third person or short pronoun, the passive sentence will be as follows :
1. Move O to the front of the sentence 2. Omit prefix meng- in the P
3. Move S to the suitable place before the verb
Examples:
Active : Dia sudah mencuri sepeda itu Passive : Sepeda sudah dia curi
According to Sneddon 1996: 246-262, some grammars of Indonesian do not use the terms active and passive, instead such terms as subject and object construction
or subjective and objective focus are used. Because there are differences between the constructions in Indonesian and the active and passive in European languages such as
English, in both structure and function. Nevertheless, there are also important similarities, and the relationship between the two constructions is often similar to the
relationship between active and passive in English, allowing the same terms to be
used to describe them. The structure of a passive clause can be described with reference to the corresponding active. The passive construction is more frequent in
Indonesian than in English. Where a passive translation would sound unnatural, translation by an active construction is usually given in the following sections. The
Indonesian passive has two different forms, called here „passive type one’ and „passive type two’.1 The choice of passive type is determined by the actor.
In Indonesian, passive has two different forms, called „passive type one’ and „passive type two’. The choice of passive type is determined by the actor Sneddon,
1996. a.
Passive Type One
In passive type one, the actor is the third person, that is, pronoun dia or mereka or a noun. The passive type one is also used if no actor is expressed. The
structure of an active clause and its corresponding passive type one is set out as follows:
Active voice:
Subject actor + men- verb + Object patient
Passive voice:
Subject patient + di- verb + oleh + Agent actor
These structures are illustrated by the following active clause and corresponding passive form:
Active: Dia menjemput saya.
He met me. Passive: Saya dijemput oleh dia.
I was met by him. In the above example the actor is dia
„he’. The following illustrate passives with the
other possible actors, mereka, a noun or no actor expressed:
SL : Barang ini akan dikirim ke Jepang.
TL : These goods will be sent to Japan.
SL : Surat ini ditulis oleh sekretaris.
TL : This letter was written by the secretary. A third person singular agent can be expressed by either dia or -nya. They are
optionally preceded by oleh
„by’:
SL : Saya dijemputnyaolehnyaoleh dia. TL : I was met by him.
Oleh is optional when the agent immediately follows the verb. If the agent does not
immediately follow the verb, oleh is obligatory. In passive type one the components
of the predicate apart from the verb remain unchanged:
SL : Mereka sudah dijemputnya. TL : They have already been met by him.
b. Passive Type Two
In passive type two the agent is a pronoun or pronoun substitute. The agent phrase comes before the verb, which does not have a prefix. The structure of passive
type two is thus: Subject patient + agent actor + verb
The following example shows the relationship between an active clause and a passive type two clause:
Active SL : Kami menjemput dia. TL : We met him.
Passive SL : Dia kami jemput. TL : He was met by us.
No other component of the clause can come between the agent and the verb in passive type two, especially in writing. In particular, components of the predicate
phrase, such as negative and temporal marker, come before the agent in passive type two:
SL : Buku ini tidak akan kami baca.
TL : This book will not be read by us. If the agent is aku
„I’ or kamu „you’ the bound forms, ku- and kau- respectively,
usually occur:
SL : Buku ini sudah kubaca. TL : I
‟ve read this book.
SL : Buku ini harus kau baca. TL : You must read this book.
First person Second person
Third person Singular
Saya Kamu , etc
Dia -nya A
Plural
Kami, Kita B
Mereka Nouns
Passive type one is used when the actor is in box A. Passive type two is used when the actor is in box B.
Beside using prefix di-, in Indonesian, passive voice can also be formed by using prefix ter-, ber- and circumfix ke
– an. These are examples which are related to passive form without di-:
1. Kaki orang itu terinjak oleh Ahmad. The man‟s foot was trampled on by Ahmad.
