Breakdown of Rapat diadakan di kantor besok pagi.
pagi
the morning
di
at
kantor
the office
rapat
the meeting
Questions & Answers about Rapat diadakan di kantor besok pagi.
Why is diadakan used instead of mengadakan? What’s the difference between passive diadakan and active mengadakan?
In Indonesian, passive voice is formed by adding the prefix di- to the verb root. The root of mengadakan (to hold/organize) is adakan. So:
- mengadakan = active form (“to hold”)
- diadakan = passive form (“is/was/will be held”)
In Rapat diadakan di kantor besok pagi, the focus is on the meeting itself rather than who organizes it, so we use the passive diadakan.
What is the function of the two dis in diadakan and in di kantor? Are they the same?
They look identical but serve different roles:
- The di- in diadakan is a verb prefix marking passive voice.
- The di in di kantor is a preposition meaning “in/at.”
Context tells you whether di is part of the verb or a separate preposition.
Why doesn’t the sentence tell us who holds the meeting? How would you include the organizer?
In passive constructions, Indonesian often omits the agent when it’s obvious or not important to mention. To explicitly include the organizer, use oleh + agent:
Rapat diadakan oleh manajemen
= “The meeting is held by management.”
Here oleh manajemen clearly marks who does the action.