Indonesian keeps the di- verb unchanged while separate preverbal particles build aspect, time orientation, modality, and negation. Dibaca remains dibaca in sudah dibaca, sedang dibaca, akan dibaca, bisa dibaca, tidak dibaca, and belum dibaca. This page builds on the basic di- clause; the challenge here is particle order and scope, not verb conjugation.
The neutral particle slot
The most useful template is:
patient subject + particle(s) + di-verb + agent + other complements
The aspect, modal, or negative particle is written separately. Passive di- stays attached to the verb.
| Particle | Example | Core interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| sudah | Buku itu sudah dibaca Rina. | completed or already realized |
| sedang | Buku itu sedang dibaca Rina. | in progress |
| akan | Surat itu akan ditulis oleh Ali. | prospective/future |
| bisa | Kuncinya bisa diambil sekarang. | possible or permitted |
| tidak | Buku itu tidak dibaca Rina. | event or habit denied |
| belum | Surat itu belum ditulis oleh Ali. | not realized yet |
| jangan | Kuncinya jangan diambil. | prohibition |
Buku itu sudah dibaca Rina.
Rina has already read that book.
Buku itu sedang dibaca Rina.
Rina is currently reading that book.
Surat itu akan ditulis oleh Ali.
That letter will be written by Ali.
Kuncinya bisa diambil sekarang.
The key can be collected now.
Buku itu tidak dibaca Rina.
Rina does not read that book.
Surat itu belum ditulis oleh Ali.
That letter has not yet been written by Ali.
Kuncinya jangan diambil.
Do not take the key.
These are minimal sequences: two central aspect markers (sudah, sedang), prospective akan, modal bisa, two negators (tidak, belum), and prohibitive jangan all precede the unchanged passive verb.
Sudah: realized before the reference point
Sudah presents the event as realized or the relevant result as already in place. It often corresponds to English already, has, or a simple past, but it is not itself a past-tense ending.
Buku itu sudah dibaca Rina sebelum rapat dimulai.
Rina had read that book before the meeting began.
Surat itu sudah ditulis, tetapi belum ditandatangani.
The letter has been written but has not yet been signed.
Kuncinya sudah diambil dari meja.
The key has already been taken from the table.
The reference point can be future:
Besok pagi, semua surat itu sudah ditulis dan siap dikirim.
By tomorrow morning, all those letters will have been written and be ready to send.
This confirms that sudah is aspectual, not simply “past.”
Sedang: an event in progress
Sedang selects a dynamic event viewed during its development.
Buku itu sedang dibaca Rina di ruang tunggu.
Rina is reading that book in the waiting room.
Surat itu sedang ditulis oleh Ali, jadi jangan ganggu dia.
Ali is writing that letter, so do not disturb him.
Lantainya sedang disapu; tunggu di luar sebentar.
The floor is being swept; wait outside for a moment.
Indonesian does not add a participial ending. The same surface verb dibaca appears after sedang and sudah.
Akan: prospective time and intention
Akan places the event after the reference point or presents it as planned. The agent phrase remains after the passive verb.
Surat itu akan ditulis oleh Ali sore ini.
That letter will be written by Ali this afternoon.
Buku itu akan dibaca Rina selama perjalanan.
Rina will read that book during the journey.
Kuncinya akan diambil setelah kantor buka.
The key will be collected after the office opens.
Akan can combine with negation; the order helps determine scope.
Bisa: ability, possibility, permission, or readability
Bisa di-verb may describe practical possibility, permission, or a property that makes the action possible.
Dokumen ini bisa dibaca tanpa kata sandi.
This document can be read without a password.
Kuncinya bisa diambil setelah pukul sembilan.
The key may be collected after nine.
Tulisan kecil itu tidak bisa dibaca dari sini.
That small writing cannot be read from here.
The last example can mean that reading is physically impossible or that the writing is illegible. Context chooses the interpretation.
Tidak and belum are different negators
Tidak dibaca denies reading as an event, habit, or plan. Belum dibaca says the reading has not occurred by the relevant point while leaving an expectation that it may occur later.
Buku itu tidak dibaca Rina karena topiknya tidak relevan.
Rina does not read that book because its topic is not relevant.
Buku itu belum dibaca Rina karena baru tiba pagi ini.
Rina has not read that book yet because it arrived only this morning.
Surat itu tidak ditulis oleh Ali; ia hanya menandatanganinya.
That letter was not written by Ali; he only signed it.
Surat itu belum ditulis, tetapi kerangkanya sudah siap.
The letter has not been written yet, but its outline is ready.
English not covers both, so learners must decide whether “not yet” and an unrealized expectation are part of the meaning.
Scope in particle combinations
tidak akan versus sudah tidak
Buku itu tidak akan dibaca Rina.
Rina will not read that book.
Buku itu sudah tidak dibaca Rina.
Rina no longer reads that book.
In tidak akan, negation scopes over the prospective event. In sudah tidak, sudah marks the onset of a negative state: reading has ceased. Reversing the words does not preserve the meaning; tidak sudah dibaca is not the ordinary way to say “not already read.” Use belum dibaca.
tidak sedang and belum akan
Laporan itu tidak sedang ditulis; Ali sedang memeriksa datanya.
The report is not currently being written; Ali is checking its data.
Laporan itu belum akan dibahas sampai minggu depan.
That report is not scheduled to be discussed until next week.
Tidak sedang denies an ongoing event. Belum akan postpones a prospective event relative to an expected schedule.
tidak bisa versus bisa tidak
Lampiran itu tidak bisa dibaca tanpa aplikasi khusus.
The attachment cannot be read without a special application.
Bagian pengantar bisa tidak dibaca jika waktunya terbatas.
The introductory section may be left unread if time is limited.
In tidak bisa dibaca, negation scopes over possibility: reading is impossible. In bisa tidak dibaca, bisa scopes over the negative event: not reading it is an available option. This second order is useful but more context-dependent.
belum bisa
Berkas itu belum bisa dibaca karena masih rusak.
That file cannot be read yet because it is still corrupted.
Belum combines nonrealization with a future expectation; it is not merely tidak plus a past translation.
Jangan and passive prohibitions
Jangan prohibits the event. A passive prohibition is natural when the patient is already the topic or when the agent is a general addressee.
Surat itu jangan dibaca sebelum rapat.
Do not read that letter before the meeting.
Kuncinya jangan diambil tanpa izin.
Do not take the key without permission.
Pintu ini jangan dibuka saat mesin menyala.
Do not open this door while the machine is running.
Do not insert di- before jangan. The prohibitive particle precedes the complete passive verb.
Bukan is not the ordinary verbal negator
Use tidak to deny a passive event and belum for “not yet.” Bukan ordinarily negates a noun phrase or marks an explicit correction.
Surat itu tidak ditulis Ali.
That letter was not written by Ali.
Surat itu bukan ditulis tangan, melainkan diketik.
The letter was not handwritten; rather, it was typed. (explicit contrast)
The second sentence is possible because bukan ... melainkan ... corrects one manner against another. It does not make bukan the default negator for ditulis.
Control and stativity restrictions
Neutral modals such as harus and bisa readily precede a patient-oriented predicate:
Buku itu harus dibaca Rina sebelum ujian.
Rina must read that book before the exam.
Volitional predicates such as ingin “want” and mau “want/be willing” require an animate controller. In Buku itu ingin dibaca Rina, postverbal agent Rina is understood as the wanter. If that agent is omitted, Buku itu ingin dibaca leaves the controller unclear and can invite a personified reading in which the book “wants” to be read. Actor voice or pronoun-agent object voice makes control maximally explicit.
Buku itu ingin dibaca Rina malam ini.
Rina wants to read that book tonight.
Rina ingin membaca buku itu malam ini.
Rina wants to read that book tonight.
Buku itu ingin saya baca malam ini.
That book, I want to read tonight.
With an animate patient, the same pattern can be genuinely ambiguous. Siti ingin dibantu Ali may mean either that Siti wants Ali to help her or that Ali wants to help Siti. Context can favor one reading, but an active or object-voice alternative is safer when the identity of the wanter matters.
Siti ingin dibantu Ali.
Siti wants to be helped by Ali; alternatively, Ali wants to help Siti. (ambiguous)
Aspect also interacts with lexical event type. Sedang naturally presents dynamic ditulis as ongoing, but a stable state such as dikenal “be known” usually prefers no progressive marker or a change marker such as mulai.
Kota itu sudah dikenal sebagai pusat kerajinan.
That city is already known as a craft center.
Kota kecil itu mulai dikenal wisatawan asing.
That small town is beginning to become known to foreign tourists.
Sedang dikenal is possible only under a special developing or temporary interpretation; it is not the neutral description of an established reputation.
Common Mistakes
Moving an aspect marker after the passive verb
❌ Buku itu dibaca sudah Rina.
Incorrect neutral order — sudah precedes the passive verb.
✅ Buku itu sudah dibaca Rina sampai selesai.
Rina has already read that book to the end.
Separating di- after a particle
❌ Surat itu belum di tulis oleh Ali.
Incorrect spelling — di- remains attached to tulis.
✅ Surat resmi itu belum ditulis oleh Ali.
The official letter has not yet been written by Ali.
Choosing the wrong verbal negator
❌ Buku itu bukan dibaca Rina kemarin.
Incorrect for a simple denial — use tidak.
✅ Buku itu tidak dibaca Rina kemarin.
Rina did not read that book yesterday.
❌ Surat itu tidak belum ditulis.
Incorrect — belum already expresses ‘not yet.’
✅ Surat itu belum ditulis.
The letter has not yet been written.
Putting di- before jangan
❌ Kuncinya di jangan ambil.
Incorrect order and spacing — jangan precedes the complete passive verb.
✅ Kuncinya jangan diambil.
Do not take the key.
Forcing progressive aspect onto a stable reading
❌ Kota itu sedang dikenal sebagai pusat kerajinan sejak ratusan tahun lalu.
Aspectual mismatch — an established centuries-long reputation is not an event currently in progress.
✅ Kota itu sudah lama dikenal sebagai pusat kerajinan.
That city has long been known as a craft center.
Key Takeaways
- Preverbal particles remain separate, while di- stays attached: sudah dibaca, belum ditulis.
- The passive verb is uninflected; particles and context supply aspect, modality, and temporal interpretation.
- Tidak, belum, and jangan deny an event, mark “not yet,” and prohibit it; bukan is reserved for nominal or explicit contrastive negation.
- Particle order determines scope: tidak bisa, bisa tidak, and sudah tidak are different.
- Volitional control and stative meanings can restrict otherwise possible particle combinations.
Now practice Indonesian
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Indonesian →Related Topics
- di- Passive: Overview and FormationA1 — Recognize and form the Indonesian di- passive, where an affected patient is subject and a third-person agent may follow or remain unspoken.
- di- Passive: Subjects, Objects, and Argument OrderA2 — Track patient subjects, demoted agents, remaining complements, pronouns, and word-order changes in Indonesian di- passive clauses.
- di- Passive: Choosing This ConstructionA2 — Choose di- passive when an affected patient is the clause's topic, contrasting it with actor voice and pronoun-agent object voice across genres.
- Time, Aspect, and Mood Without ConjugationA1 — Build past, present, future, habitual, possible, and desired meanings around an unchanged Indonesian predicate.
- Past, Present, and Future ReferenceA1 — Locate unchanged Indonesian predicates in past, present, and future time through adverbs, sequencing, world knowledge, and recoverable context.
- tidak with Verbs and AdjectivesA1 — Use tidak before verbal and adjectival predicates, control its scope with modals and frequency words, and answer negative questions naturally.