Passive Voice in Penang Hokkien

In the passive voice, the grammatical subject undergoes the action or change of state. In Penang Hokkien, not all sentences in the active voice can be converted into the passive voice, as many will result in awkward construction.

Sentences in the Active Voice In the active voice, the subject plays the agent role that causes or initiates an action or event.

1. Ma1ta2 liak3 chat1.
   The police caught the thief.
   
   
2. Phang1 teng33 heh1-leh1 ae1kau4.
   The bee stung the mute.
   
   
3. Ie1 that1 heh1-leh1 tim3ba1.
   He kicked the bucket.
   
   
4. Gu2 tui1 heh1-leh1 cheng33 ang3 sna1-eh3 ta3por3 gin1na4.
   The cow chased the little boy in red shirt.
   
   

Passive Voice using hor33 The above sentences can be converted to the passive voice using hor33, which means "by", followed by the agent (the person who does the action).

1. Heh-leh1 chat1 hor33 ma1ta2 liak1.
   The thief was caught by the police.
   
   
2. Heh1-leh1 ae1kau4 hor33 phang1 teng33.
   The mute was bitten by a bee.
   
   
3. Heh1-leh1 tim3ba1 hor33 ie1 that3.
   The bucket was kicked by him.
   
   
4. Heh1-leh1 cheng33 ang3 sna1-eh3 ta3por3 gin1na4 hor33 gu3 tui1.
   The little boy in red shirt was chased by the cow.
   
   

Passive Voice without hor33 You can drop mentioning the agent, in which case you place tiok3 in front of the action verb. It carries the meaning of "got" (though you can also replace it with "was/were").

1. Heh-leh1 chat1 tiok3 liak1.
   The thief got/was caught.
   
   
2. Heh1-leh1 ae1kau4 tiok3 teng33.
   The mute got/was stung.
   
   
3. Heh-leh1 tim3ba1 tiok3 that3.
   The bucket got/was kicked.
   
   
4. Heh1-leh1 cheng33 ang3 sna1-eh3 ta3por3 gin1na4 tiok3 tui1.
   The little boy in red shirt got/was chased.
   
   

Penang Hokkien Grammar

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