Ma- Maka- Makapag- Makapang- and kaya, when to use them in Tagalog Maka- Makapag- (Makapang-) and occasionally ma- [which has a stronger nuance of "to be able to be ..."] are prefixes that all express that someone is "able to do something". One may also use "kaya" in some circumstances to convey the same meaning. Is there a general rule to know which prefix to use with which verb? If not, perhaps there's one prefix that is more common than the others and could act as a "go-to" in case we don't know which one to use for a given verb. I don't think they're interchangeable at will, although I've seen some verbs take both "maka" and "makapag". Examples: Maka + kain = makakain. Maka + kita = makakita. Makapag + luto = makapagluto. Makapag + aral = makapag-aral Salamat!