Verb (Pandiwa) is a word that typically express action, state, or a relation between two things, and that (when inflected) may be inflected for tense, aspect, voice, mood, and to show agreement with their subject or object.
Conjugation is used for inflecton of verbs. So how do we conjugate root verbs and make them active or passive in Filipino? There are plenty of ways.
All auxiliary verbs ending in consonants, other than n, do not need ligatures. The ones ending in vowels need them.
Halimbawa:
Dapat kumain ng tamang pagkain ang lumalaking mga bata. -
Growing kids must eat the right food.
Maaaring tanggapin ang may pitong gulang sa mababang paaralan.
- Seven-year olds can be accepted in the primary school.
Using maging
The auxiliary verb maging is used with a noun or adjective. It is a very common auxiliary verb that is used to express a change in state or condition.
Halimbawa:
maging mabait [to become good, to be good]
maging mayaman [to become rich]
Conjugation pattern
infinitive - maging mabait
imperative - maging mabait
past tense - naging mabait (change maging to naging)
present tense - nagiging mabait (change maging to nagiging)
future tense - magiging mabait (change maging to magiging)
Using ma and maka
Root verbs when used with ma could be active or passive verbs. It is in the active form if the verb is intransitive.
Halimbawa:
maligo [ligo - to bath]
makinig [kinig - to listen]
It is in the passive form if it is transitive.
Halimbawa:
maalala [alala - to remember]
mabili [bili - to buy]
Using um and mag with root verbs
The most commonly used verbs are those root verbs that use a prefix or infix um and the mag prefix.
Um and mag are used to make root verbs into active verbs. Some root verbs become active with um while others with a mag prefix. There are some root verbs that can become active with either um or mag.
Observe:
- root verb kain, meaning 'to eat', becomes kumain as an active verb. It is wrong to say magkain.
- root verb tanong, meaning 'to ask', becomes magtanong as an active verb. never say tumanong.
- root verb lakad, meaning 'to walk', becomes lumakad as an active verb, however, equally correct to say maglakad.
Conjugation Pattern
Using um
- where the first letter of the root verb is a vowel; using the word alis meaning 'to leave' as an example, the conjugation is as follows:
infinitive - umalis
imperative - umalis
past tense - umalis
present tense - umaalis
future tense - aalis (first syllable is repeated)
- where the first letter of the root verb is a consonant; using the word sulat, meaning 'to write' as an example, the conjugation is as follows:
infinitive - sumulat
imperative - sumulat
past tense - sumulat
present tense - sumusulat
future tense - susulat (first syllable is repeated)
Using mag
- where the first letter of the root verb is a vowel; using the word isip, meaning 'to think" as an example, the conjugation is as follows:
infinitive - mag-isip
imperative - mag-isip
past tense - nag-isip (change mag to nag)
present tense - nag-iisip (nag- plus first syllable is repeated)
future tense - mag-iisip (mag- plus first syllable is repeated)
Please observe the insertion of the hyphen when the root verb starts with a vowel.
- where the first letter of the root verb is a consonant; using the word salita, meaning 'to speak' as an example, the conjugation is as follows:
infinitive - magsalita
imperative - magsalita
past tense - nagsalita (change mag to nag)
present tense - nagsasalita (nag plus first syllable is repeated)
future tense - magsasalita (mag plus first syllable is repeated)
Using in with root Verbs
All root verbs when used with in are passive.
Conjugation Pattern
- using the word alis, meaning 'to remove' as an example, the conjugation is as follows:
infinitive - alisin
imperative - alisin
past tense - inalis
present tense - inaalis (in plus first syllable is repeated)
future tense - aalisin (first syllable is repeated plus in)
- using the word basa, meaning 'to wet' as an example, the conjugation is as follows:
infinitive - basain
imperative - basain
past tense - binasa
present tense - binabasa (first syllable is repeated then insert in)
future tense - babasain (first syllable is repeated and in is added)
- using the word basa, this time meaning 'to read', the conjugation is as follows:
infinitive - basahin
imperative - basahin
past tense - binasa
present tense - binabasa
future tense - babasahin
Observe:
in is suffixed to root verbs:
- ending with a consonant,
- ending with a vowel with a glottal stop.
hin is suffixed to all root verbs ending with a vowel without a glottal stop.
Variants:
- with root verbs ending with a vowel and pronounced acutely, the last vowel is removed and hin is added.
Halimbawa:
bili - bilihin is the same as bilhin
- omission of the last vowel in the root verb and suffixing of in
Halimbawa:
kain - kainin is the same as kanin
- infix in becomes a prefix ni to root verbs that begins with l, w and y, for their past and present tenses.
Halimbawa:
luto - niluto is the same as linuto
Auxiliary Verbs
Using dapat, maaari and kailangan
The most common of the auxiliary verbs are:
a. dapat [must, shall, should, will, would]
b. maaari [can, could, may, might]
c. kailangan [have to, need to]
Auxiliary verbs are used only with the infinitive form of the root verbs.
Halimbawa:
Dapat sundin ng mamamayan ang batas. - The citizens must obey
the law. The root word sunod means to obey.
Use the personal pronoun with a ligature between the auxilliary verb and the root verb.
Halimbawa:
Kailangan kong umalis ngayong umaga. - I have to leave this
morning.
Conjugation Pattern
- using the word tulog, meaning 'to sleep' as an example, the conjugation is as follows:
infinitive - matulog
imperative - matulog
past tense - natulog (change ma to na)
present tense - natutulog (change ma to na and first syllable is
repeated)
future tense - matutulog (first syllable is repeated)
- using the word kita, meaning 'to see', as an example will conjugate as follows:
infinitive - makita
imperative - none
past tense - nakita (change ma to na)
present tense - nakikita (change ma to na and first syllable is
repeated)
future tense - makikita (first syllable is repeated)
Root verbs used with maka have the same meaning as those used with ma. However all of them are all active. Not all verbs used with ma have their equivalents in maka. Only action root verbs can be used with maka.
Halimbawa:
makabasag [basag - break]
Conjugation Pattern
- using the word buhay, meaning 'to give life', as an example will conjugate as follows:
infinitive - makabuhay
imperative - none
past tense - nakabuhay (change ma to na)
present tense - nakabubuhay (change ma to na and first syllable is
repeated)
future tense - makabubuhay (first syllable is repeated)
Using magkaroon
The word magkaroon means 'to have'. Short variant is the magka prefix.
Halimbawa:
magkaroon ng pamilya (magkapamilya). [to have a family]
conjugated as follows using the same example:
past tense - nagkaroon ng pamilya (nagkapamilya) [had a family]
present tense - nagkakaroon ng pamilya (nagkakapamilya) [having
a family]
future tense - magkakaroon ng pamilya (magkakapamilya) [will
have a family]
Using paki for requests
The word paki, also maki, are prefixes added to action root verbs to signify a request. They are the equivalent of the word please. Verbs using paki are passive. Verbs with maki are active.
Conjugation Pattern
- using the word kuha, meaning 'to get' as an example, the conjugation is as follows using maki:
infinitive - makikuha
imperative - makikuha
past tense - nakikuha
present tense - nakikikuha
future tense - makikikuha
- using the same word with paki, the conjugation is as follows:
infinitive - pakikuha
imperative - pakikuha
past tense - pinakikuha
present tense - pinakikikuha
future tense - pakikikuha
The word nga is used to give more intensity to a request. The word naman is another but has a softening effect to otherwise a command or order.
Using gusto and nais
The words gusto and/or nais must not be confused with the word mahal.
The word mahal means 'to love'. Gusto and nais are both equivalent to the English word nice.
Halimbawa:
Gusto kong magbasa bago matulog. - I like/love to read before I
go to bed. Never say 'Mahal kong magbasa bago matulog'.
Mahal kita. - I love you.
Gusto kita. - I like you.
Nais kong manood ng sine. - I like to see a movie.