| 7. | Chakap, to speak. Bilang, to tell. Khabar-kan, to tell, inform. Ber-mulut, to speak, utter. Sabda, to say, command. Cheritra-kan, to relate. Meripit, to chatter, gabble. Mengomong, to chat, gossip. | Kata, to say, speak, talk. Tutur, to talk, tell, converse. Sĕbut, to tell, mention. Uchap, to utter, express. Titah, to say, command (as a raja). Merongut, to mutter. Ber-bual, to chat. Ber-sungut, to grumble, to murmur. |
Fourth, Learn to employ the passive form of the verb which takes the prefix di-. Easy examples of this have been given occasionally in the preceding lessons, and the exercises on pages [107] and [108] contain abundant illustrations of it. It is a mistake to suppose that the Malay passive is confined to the written language; it is of common use colloquially among Malays, but, probably because it offers certain difficulties of construction, it is little understood and seldom employed by Europeans in the Straits of Malacca.
“He did not, or would not, accept it,” would be vulgarly rendered dia ta’ mahu tĕrima; but it may be more elegantly translated tiada-lah di-tĕrima-nia, “It was not accepted by him.” Here the affix -nia has the force of “by him,” and, as it denotes the agent, immediately follows the verb in accordance with the rule stated on [p. 61].
Examples.
He ordered (it was ordered by him)— Di-suroh-nia.
He seized the robber (the robber was seized by him)— Di-tangkap-nia penchuri.
They cut away (were cut away by them) the huts and prevented the fire from spreading far— Di-potong-nia rumah-rumah tiada di-bĕri me-larat panjang api itu.
The rats ate up three candles— Dian tiga batang habis di-makan tikus.
They have not yet erected the house; they are getting the timber ready— Rumah belum di-diri-kan lagi, tengah di buat kayu-kayu-nia.
The boat was leaky and the water got in— Bochor prahu itu di-masok ayer dalam-nia.