You've learned how to form active verbs with `me-` (e.g., "I read a book"). Now, you'll learn how to form the **passive voice** using the `di-` prefix. This allows you to say that an action *was done* to something (e.g., "The book was read by me").
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
The `di-` prefix is attached to a verb's root word. The spelling is incredibly easy: **you just add `di-` to the root word**. There are no sound changes or melting rules to worry about.
| Root Verb | Active Verb (`me-`) | Passive Verb (`di-`) |
|---|---|---|
| baca | membaca (to read) | dibaca (is read / was read) |
| tulis | menulis (to write) | ditulis (is written / was written) |
| masak | memasak (to cook) | dimasak (is cooked / was cooked) |
| pukul | memukul (to hit) | dipukul (is hit / was hit) |
To change an active sentence to a passive one, you essentially swap the subject and the object.
Active Sentence: Subject (`me-` verb) Object
Ali membaca buku itu. (Ali reads that book.)
Passive Sentence: Object (`di-` verb) `oleh` Subject
Buku itu dibaca oleh Ali. (That book was read by Ali.)
The word `oleh` means "by" and is used to introduce the person or thing that performed the action in a passive sentence. While it's grammatically correct to always include it, in casual speech, `oleh` is often dropped if the doer is obvious or unimportant.
This is a common point of confusion for learners. How do you tell the difference in writing?
Master the passive `di-` prefix and its sentence structure.
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For each phrase, identify if `di` is a prefix or a preposition.
Convert the following active sentences to passive sentences.
A story about a surprise party.
Semalam hari jadi saya. Sebuah parti kejutan telah dirancang oleh kawan-kawan saya. (...suh-boo-ah par-tee kuh-joo-tahn tuh-lah dee-rahn-chahng oh-leh kah-wahn-kah-wahn sah-yah.)
Kek yang sedap telah dibuat oleh Siti. Hadiah-hadiah pula dibeli oleh Ahmad. (kayk yahng suh-dahp tuh-lah dee-boo-at oh-leh see-tee. hah-dee-ah-hah-dee-ah poo-lah dee-buh-lee oh-leh ah-mahd.)
Bilik itu dihias dengan cantik. Saya sangat gembira. (bee-leek ee-too dee-hee-ahs duh-ngahn chahn-teek. sah-yah sah-ngaht guhm-bee-rah.)
Yesterday was my birthday. A surprise party was planned by my friends.
A delicious cake was made by Siti. The presents, meanwhile, were bought by Ahmad.
The room was decorated beautifully. I was very happy.
Tahniah! You have now mastered all the essential prefixes: `me-`, `ber-`, `ter-`, and `di-`. You are now ready to move on to suffixes (`akhiran`). In the next chapter, we will explore the versatile and extremely common suffix Imbuhan Akhiran '-kan'.