Dia dilihat di pasar semalam.

He/She was seen at the market yesterday.

Breakdown of Dia dilihat di pasar semalam.

• dia: he/she
• pasar: the market
• di: at
• semalam: yesterday
• dilihat: to be seen

Questions & Answers about Dia dilihat di pasar semalam.

What does dia mean in this sentence?

dia is the third-person singular pronoun: ‘he’, ‘she’, or ‘it’. Malay pronouns don’t indicate gender, so you rely on context (or extra words) to know if dia refers to a male or female. Here, dia is simply “the person who was seen.”

How do we form the passive voice in Malay, as seen in dilihat?

The passive in Malay is made by adding the prefix di- to the verb stem.

• Verb stem: lihat (‘to see’)
• Passive form: di- + lihat → dilihat (‘was seen’)
  The subject (who is being seen) precedes the passive verb.

How can I tell the difference between the passive prefix di- and the preposition di meaning “at” or “in”?

They look the same but follow different spacing rules:

• Passive di- attaches directly to a verb: dilihat, ditulis, diberi.
• Prepositional di is a separate word with a space before a noun: di pasar (‘at the market’), di rumah (‘in the house’).

There’s no verb for “was” in Malay. How do I know the sentence is past tense?

Malay verbs are not conjugated for tense. Time is shown by adverbs or particles. Here, semalam (‘yesterday’) tells you the action happened in the past. You could also add telah or sudah before the verb for clarity:
• Dia telah dilihat di pasar semalam.

What does di pasar mean and why is there a space between di and pasar?

di pasar is a location phrase: di (preposition ‘at/in’) + pasar (‘market’). The space shows di is a preposition, not the passive verb prefix.

How do I mention the person who did the seeing (the agent) in a passive sentence?

Use oleh before the agent:
• Dia dilihat oleh Ali di pasar semalam.
If you prefer active voice, swap roles:
• Ali melihat dia di pasar semalam.

Can I move the time word semalam to another position?

Yes. Malay allows flexibility with time adverbs. All of these are correct:
• Dia dilihat di pasar semalam.
• Semalam dia dilihat di pasar.
• Dia semalam dilihat di pasar.
Ending with the time phrase is most common, but fronting it is also fine.

How do I change this sentence into active voice?

Put the doer first, then the verb, then the object/place/time. For example:
• Ali melihat dia di pasar semalam.
(‘Ali saw him/her at the market yesterday.’)