Please read about the aspect in Appendix F and focus in Appendix G before attempting this lesson.
Vocabulary
magbisikleta
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to ride a bicycle
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mag-aral
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to study
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magbasa
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to read
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magsalitá
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tp speak
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magsipilyo
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to brush one's teeth
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ngipin
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teeth
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maglinis
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to clean
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magtennis
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to play tennis
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maghapunan
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to have supper
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magtanghalian
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to have lunch
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maglutó
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to cook
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adobo
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Philippine dish
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libro
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book
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bukas
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tomorrow
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Grammar
Congratulations, you’ve gotten to the verbs, the very heart of the grammar!
Usages:
Mag verbs are actor-focus, meaning you use them to draw attention to the actor or doer of the action.
MagX roughly means “to do X”.
Ex: Magbibisikleta ako bukas.
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= I’ll ride my bicycle tomorrow.
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Formation:
Infinitive: add the prefix mag to the root. If the root starts with a vowel, use a dash (–)
Ex: aral => mag-aral
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to study
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Ex: basa => magbasa
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to read
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Completed Aspect: from the infinitive, change m to n
Ex: mag-aral => nag-aral
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studied
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Ex: magbasa => nagbasa
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read
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Uncompleted Aspect: same as completed except repeat first syllable of root
Ex: nag-aral => nag-aaral
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studying
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Ex: nagbasa => nagbabasa
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reading
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Contemplated Aspect: same as incompleted, but change n to m
Ex: nag-aaral => mag-aaral
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will study
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Ex: nagbabasa => magbabasa
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will read
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Additional Notes
the actor takes ang-form
the object takes ng-form
the location takes sa-form
I call the sample sentences below basic-sentences.
basic-sentence word order is <verb, actor, object, location, time> if there are no enclitics (more on word order later)
the verb in basic-sentences is an enclitic magnate, so if there are enclitics they come right after it. The order of the enclitics should be <ka/ko/mo, po, ba, other pronouns> (more on enclitics later)
Sample Sentences
(no infinitives – they will come next lesson)
Q1
She’s speaking.
Nagsasalita siya.
Q2
Miguel will brush his teeth.
Magsisipilyo si Miguel ng ngipin.
Q3
Stephen cleaned the house.
Naglinis si Stephen ng bahay.
Q4
They played tennis.
Nagtennis sila.
Q5
We’re eating supper.
Naghahapunan kami.
Q6
We ate lunch at Jerry’s Grill.
Nagtanghalian kami sa Jerry’s Grill.
Q7
Stephen’s wife will cook adobo.
Magluluto ang asawa ni Stephen ng adobo.
Q8
We’re reading books.
Nagbabasa kami ng mga libro.
Q9
The students rode bicycles.
Nagbisikleta ang mga estudyante.
Q10
I will study Tagalog tomorrow.
Mag-aaral ako ng Tagalog bukas.