Filipino(Tagalog) Actor Focus Verbs ( MAG , UM , MA )

In this lesson we will study the three affixes or actor focus verbs in Filipino(Tagalog). These affixes indicate that the focus of the sentence is doing the action (actor) of the verb. The three affixes are" MAG , UM , and MA," these affixes all have the same function. Adding either " MAG , UM , and MA " onto a verb will indicate that the focus of the sentence is doing the action. So let's take a look of their function and position onto a verb.

The " MAG " Verb

This verb is formed by attaching the prefix " MAG " to the verb root. Because " MAG " is a prefix, it is always attached to the front of the word. Here are some commonly used " MAG " verbs and sample sentences. All of which are in the perfect aspect ( past ) form.

Root Word= Actor Focus Verb= Sentence

1. laba= maglaba ( to wash clothes) Naglaba siya ng damit kahapon. ( She washed clothes yesterday.) 2. luto= magluto ( to cook ) Nagluto ng gulay ang nanay ko. ( My mother cooked vegetables. )

3. linis= maglinis ( to clean something ) Naglinis ng bakuran si Maria. ( Mary cleaned the backyard. )

4. prito= magprito ( to fry ) Nagprito siya ng manok. ( she fried the chicken )

5. laro= maglaro ( to play ) Naglaro sila ng basketball. ( They played basketball )

The " UM " Verb

This verb is formed by attaching the infix " UM " to the verb root. The " UM " affix always comes right before the first vowel of the root word. Here are some commonly used " UM " verbs and sample sentences. All of which are in the perfect aspect ( past ) form.

Root Word= Actor Focus Verb= Sentence

1. takbo= tumakbo ( to run ) Tumakbo ang lalake. ( The man ran. )

2. talon= tumalon ( to jump ) Tumalon ang bata sa bakod. ( The boy jumped over the fence. )

3. tawag= tumawag ( to call ) Tumawag si Juana kagabi. ( Jane called last night. )

4. bili= bumili ( to buy ) Bumili ng sapatos ang babae. ( The woman bought shoes. )

5. ani= umani ( to harvest ) Umani sila ng palay kahapon. ( They harvested rice yesterday. )

The " MA " Verb

" Ma " verb do not occur as frequently as the other two actor affixes. There are very few verb roots that take the " MA " prefix to mark actor focus. Here are some verbs and sample sentences. All of which are in the perfect aspect ( past ) form.

Root Word= Actor Focus Verb= Sentence

1. tulog= matulog ( to sleep ) Natulog ang sanggol. ( The baby slept. )

2. ligo= maligo ( to take a bath ) Naligo ang mga bata sa ilog. ( The children bathed in the river. )

3. nood= manood ( to watch something ) Nanood sila ng sine. ( They watched movie. )

I hope by means of studying this lesson, you can now start to write your own idea in a sentence using these three affixes. And by the way, would you believe if I will tell you that a young American girl can speak good Tagalog? Search for " Julia's Tagalog" at You Tube and watch the video clip. I'm sure you can speak Filipino(Tagalog) as well in the future.