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Past progressive in Tagalog Is there something such as an equivalent to the past progressive in Tagalog or do you have to use the completed form to achieve a similar construction? For example: [Relating past events] I was looking for a challenge so I started learning Tagalog. How would you translate this? Thank you!
Nov 1, 2017 3:37 AM
Answers · 3
2
In this case, you would use the incompleted form "naghahanap". "Naghahanap ako ng challenge kaya nagsimula akong mag-aral ng Tagalog." This is where Tagalog differs from English and other Indo-European languages. English has tenses, i.e. it is important to know whether the action happened in the past, in the present, or in the future. On the other hand, Tagalog has aspects. The question it asks is whether the action had been completed, is incompleted, or is contemplated regardless of when it happened. In your sentence "I was looking for a challenge" the action is not yet finished, hence the incompleted aspect. Hope this clears it up.
November 1, 2017
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Valeuraph
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Chinese (Mandarin), English, Filipino (Tagalog), French, Haitian Creole, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Persian (Farsi), Portuguese, Spanish, Vietnamese
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Chinese (Mandarin), Filipino (Tagalog), Haitian Creole, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Persian (Farsi), Portuguese, Spanish, Vietnamese