Appendix:Tagalog verbs

Tagalog verbs follow a complex system of affixes to create verbs with subtle differences in meaning, and are inflected for focus/trigger, aspect and number. As a Philippine language, Tagalog follows the Austronesian voice system to determine the focus/trigger of the verb in a sentence (which are indicated by ang or si)

Conjugation

Conjugations of Tagalog verbs are based on the Austronesian system, which is retained in the Philippine and Formosan languages, some Bornean languages, and Malagasy, but is lost in most other Malayo-Polynesian languages (e.g. Malay, Indonesian, Javanese, Chamorro, Māori, Hawaiian). The table below shows a non-exhaustive summary of commonly used verb conjugations, including dialectal ones (e.g. those used in Batangas, Tayabas and Marinduque dialects).

Tagalog verb conjugations can be analyzed through their trigger/focus and mood, or their morphology; the former primarily used in Tagalog grammar taught to Filipinos, and the latter to foreign learners:

Tagalog verb conjugations by focus and mood
Aspect (aspekto)		Complete (naganap)	Progressive (nagaganap)	Contemplative (magaganap)	Infinitive (pawatas)	Imperative (pautos)	Example
Trigger/focus (pokus)	Mood
Actor	Indicative I (-um-)	C-um-V	C-um-CV na-CV*	CV~ ma-CV*	C-um-V	none	kumain (root: kain)
	Indicative II (mag-)	nag-CV	nag-C~V naga-CV*	mag-C~V maga-CV* ga-CV*	mag-CV	pag-CV*	magpuntá (root: puntá)
	Indicative III (mang-)	nang-CV	nang-C~V	mang-C~V	mang-CV	none	manghalík (root: halík)
	Indicative IV (ma-)	na-CV	na-C~V	ma--C~V	ma--CV	pa-CV*	matulog (root: tulog)
	Causative I (magka-)	nagka-CV	nagka-C~V	magka-C~V	magka-CV	none	magkaroón (root: doón)
	Causative II (maka-)	naka-CV	naka-C~V	maka--C~V	maka--CV	none	makagawâ (root: gawâ)
	Instrumental (magpa-)	nagpa-CV	nagpa-C~V	magpa-C~V	magpa-CV	none	magpadalá (root: dalá)
Object	Indicative I (-in)	C-in-V	C-in-CV ina-CV*	CV~-in a-CV*	CV-in	root word or infinitive + mo	kunin (root: kuha)
	Indicative II (i-)	i-C-in-V	i-C-in-~V ina-CV*	i-C~V a-CV*	i-CV	CV-(h)an or CV-(h)i*	itapon (root: tapon)
	Indicative III (-an)	C-in-V-(h)an	C-in-C~V-(h)an ina-CV-(h)an*	C~V-(h)an a-CV-(h)an*	CV-an	none	bilhán (root: bilí)
	Instrumental I (ipa-)	ipina-CV	ipinapa-CV/ipina-C~V	ipapa-CV/ipa-C~V	ipa-CV	none	ipahirám (root: hirám)
	Instrumental II (ipag-)	ipinag-CV	ipinapag-C~V/ipinag-C~V	ipapag-C~V/ipag-CV	ipag-CV	none	ipagbilí (root: bilí)
Locative (-an)		C-in-V-(h)an	C-in-C~V-(h)an ina-CV-(h)an*	C~V-(h)an a-CV-(h)an*	CV-an	none	bilhán (root: bilí)
Benefactive (i-)		i-C-in-V	i-C-in-~V	i-C~V	i-CV	none	ibilí (root: bilí)
Instrumental (ipang-)		ipinang-CV	ipinapang-C~V/ipinang-C~V	ipapang-C~V/ipang-C~V	ipang-CV	none	ipambukas (root: bukas)
Causative (ika-)		ikina-CV	ikinaka-CV/ipinapa-C~V	ikaka-CV/ika-C~V	ika-CV	none	ikahuli (root: huli)
Directional (-an)		C-in-V-(h)an	C-in-C~V-(h)an ina-CV-(h)an*	C~V-(h)an a-CV-(h)an*	CV-an	none	puntahán (root: puntá)
*Only used in dialects.

Tagalog verb conjugations by morphology
Type		Complete (naganap)	Progressive (nagaganap)	Contemplative (magaganap)	Infinitive (pawatas)	Imperative (pautos)	Example
Type	Conjugation type
Type I (um- and -um-)		C-um-V	C-um-V~ na-CV~	CV~ ma-CV	C-um-V	none	kumain (root: kain)
Type II (ma-, mag- and mang-, m to n in complete and progressive)	1st conjugation (reduplication in root on progressive and contemplative)	na-CV	na-CV~	ma-CV~	ma-CV	pa-CV	matulog (root: tulog)
		nag-CV	nag-CV~	mag-CVCV~	mag-CVCV~	pag-CV~	magbigay (root: bigay)
		nang-CV	nang-CV~	mang-CV~	mang-CV	none	mamili (root: bili)
		na- -anCV	na- -anCV~	ma- -anCV~	ma- -anCV	none	mabigyan (root: bigay)
		nag- -anCV	nag- -anCV~	mag- -anCV~	mag- -anCV	none	magsayawan (root: sayaw)
	2nd conjugation (reduplication on prefix in progressive and contemplative)	naka-CV	nakaka-CV	makaka-CV	maka-CV	none	makakita (root: kita)
		nakapag-CV	nakakapag-CV	makakapag-CV	makapag-CV	none	magkaroon (root: doon)
		nagka-CV	nagkaka-CV	magkaka-CV	magka-CV	none	makakita (root: kita)
		naki-CV	nakiki-CV	makiki-CV	maki-CV	none	makisama (root: sama)
		nakipag-CV	nakikipag-CV	makikipag-CV	makipag-CV	none	makipagkita (root: kita)
		nagma-CV	nagmama-CV	magmama-CV	magma-CV	none	magmalaki (root: laki)
		napa-CV	napapa-CV	mapapa-CV	mapa-CV	none	mapasama (root: sama)
		nagpa-CV	nagpapa-CV~	magpapa-CV~	magpa-CV	none	magpagawa (root: gawa)
Type III	1st conjugation	C-in-V-(h/n)an	C-in-V~-(h/n)an	CV~-(h/n)an	CV-(h/n)an	CV-(h/n)an mo	bigyan (root: bigay
		i-C-in-V	i-C-in-V~	i-CV~	i-CV	none	isulat (root: sulat
		C-in-V	C-in-V~	CV~-(h/n)in	CV-(h/n)in	CV-(h/n)in mo	basahin (root: basa
		ikina-CV	ikina-CV~	ika-CV~	ika-CV		ikalungkot (root: lungkot

Aspects

Tagalog verbs are conjugated by aspect, which rather conveys the completion of the act and the time the action is done. The verb aspects are the complete (naganap), progressive (nagaganap), contemplative (magaganap), and the recently complete (kagaganap).

• Complete or perfective: (naganap) - indicates the action has been completed.
• Progressive (nagaganap) - indicates the action is still being in progress.
• Contemplative (magaganap) - indicates the action is not done but anticipated.
• Recently complete (kagaganap) - only used in some verbs. Indicates the action has been recently completed.

Voice

Agent-focus (or "active voice")

The agent focus or active voice (tinig tahasan) places the focus of the sentence on the agent of the verb.

Patient-focus (or "passive voice")

The patient focus or passive voice (tinig balintiyak) places the focus of the sentence on the patient or object of the verb.

Verb types

Singular verb

The common form is used the agent is singular.

Plural verb

This verb form is used with plural agents.

Trigger system

Tagalog verbs use the Austronesian system to indicate the thematic role of the subject (indicated by ang) in a sentence. The Tagalog system uses these triggers: actor, object, locative, benefactive, instrumental, causative, directional, and reciprocal. Tagalog verbs are formed from adding affixes to a root word, and is very intricate, as they also convey moods.

1.) Actor trigger

Magluluto ang babae ng kalamay.

The woman will cook kalamay.

2.) Object trigger

Lulutuin ng babae sa lata ang bigas.

The woman will cook the rice in a can.

3.) Locative trigger

a. location subject

Binilhan ng lalaki ng bigas ang tindahan ng lola.

The man bought rice in the old woman's store.

b. goal subject

Binilhan ng lalaki ng bigas sa palengke ang lola.

The man bought rice in the market for the old woman.

4.) Benefactive trigger

Ibinili ni Pepe ng sapatos ang kanyang anak na babae.

Pepe bought his daughter shoes.

5.) Instrumental trigger

Ipinambukas nila ng pinto ang susi.

They opened the door using the key.

6.) Causative trigger

Ikinagulat ng pamilya ang biglang pagkamatay ng kanilang anak.

The family are shocked by the sudden death of their child.

Moods

Tagalog verbs can also be conjugated for moods, including indicative, causative, distributive, social, and potential. Affixes also have nuances on the mood they indicate, as given

• Imperative (ipa-)
• Indicative (ma-, mag-)
• Causative (mapa-, magpa-)
• Distributive (magsi-)
• Social (maki-)
• Potential (maka-, magka-)

Verbs with no inflection

Tagalog also has verbs lacking inflection, such as the existential particles may and mayroon, and the particle hala, which has no exact English translation and is used to indicate a plea or a warning. These are not true verbs, but are particles.

Irregular verbs

Tagalog also has irregular verbs, like:

• Verbs with elision and metathesis: tupdín (root: tupád), tamnán (root: taním), sidlán (root: silíd)
• Verbs with substitution: hagkán (root: halík), datnán (root: datíng), tawanan (root: tawa)
• Clipped verbs: magpasabi (root: pasabi), magpasulat (root: pasulat)

Agent-verb agreement in agent-focus verbs

The number in Tagalog agent-focus verbs is determined by the subject, where:

• A singular verb is used with a singular agent

  Example: Kumakain siya ng sinigang.

  He is eating sinigang.

• A plural verb is used with a plural agent

  Example: Magsikain na tayo.

  Let us eat.

Verb focuses

• Actor

  Example: Bumili si Berto ng bigas.

  Berto bought rice.

• Object

  Example: Nagpapatatapon ako ang basura.

  I'm asking [you] to throw away the garbage.

• Locative

  Example: Nagtatanim ang pamilya ng gulay sa kanilang bakuran.

  They family are planting vegetables in their backyard.

• Benefactor

  Example: Huwag kang magbigay ng pera sa pulubi.

  Don't give the beggar money.

• Causative

  Example: Naiyak siya sa eksenang napanood niya sa pelikula.

  She cried after seeing a scene in the movie.

• Direction

  Example: Lumuwas sila pa-Maynila.

  They left for Manila.

Verb-object agreement in patient-focus verbs

The inflection of Tagalog patient-focus verbs also must agree with the object it focuses on.

• Actor

  Example: Nagdiriwang ng kanilang ikadalawampung anibersaryo ang mag-asawa.

  The couple are celebrating their 20th anniversary.

• Objective

  Example: Nagsasayaw sila ng tinikling.

  They are dancing tinikling.

• Benefactor

  Example: Binigyan niya ng bagong laruan ang kanyang mga anak.

  He gave his children new toys.

• Locative

  Example: Binilhan nila ng bagong damit sa tiyangge.

  They bought new clothes in the flea market.

• Instrumental

  Example: Pinunasan ni Allen ang bintana gamit ang basahan.

  Allen wiped the mirror with a rug.

• Directional

  Example: Ipinasyal niya sa Luneta ang kanyang pamilya.

  He strolled his family at Luneta.

Verbal nouns

Certain actor-trigger verb conjugations also give a verbal noun form.

• um- -> pag-
• mag- -> pag-
• mang- -> pang-