Vocabulary
magbus
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to take the bus
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naman
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enclitic particle that adds the nuance please
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nga
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enclitic particle that adds the nuance please
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papunta
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bound for, headed to
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magtaksi
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to take a taxi
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mag-isip
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to think
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magkita
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to meet someone
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manok
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chicken
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eskwelahan
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school
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kuwarto
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room
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Grammar
Mag-verbs Imperative
We already put the three verb aspects into use, so now let’s see one thing we can do with the infinitive. The imperative is used to command or request, and it’s formed by using the infinitive plus a pronoun.
Ex: Magbus ka doon.
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= (you) Go there by bus.
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Although we don’t normally say the you in English, notice that in Tagalog the pronoun is used. These are ka, kayo or tayo for mag-verbs since the actor takes ang-form.
Adding naman or nga makes it more polite.
Ex: Magbus ka naman doon.
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= Please go there by bus.
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Ex: Magbus ka nga doon.
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= Please go there by bus.
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That was basic imperative. There are some other forms of imperative, for example when the actor is known, you can just use the root.
Ex: Basa!
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= Read!
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And if you want to tell someone to do something habitually you can use the contemplative aspect like in
Mag-aaral ka ng Tagalog. = Study Tagalog (regularly).
But these are less common so we will only work with basic imperative from this point on.
Imperative Summary Notes
these are mag-verbs, so the same notes apply
the actor will either be ka, kayo or tayo
the verb is infinitive
Papunta
I’d like to introduce the adjective papunta here because it’s often used with verbs of motion. If you are going to a destination and the verb doesn’t use punta as the root, you should include papunta in the sentence.
Ex: Magbus ka papunta sa Maynila.
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= Take the bus to Manila.
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Ex: Magbisikleta tayo papunta sa bahay niya.
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= Let’s ride bicycles to her house.
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If you don’t use papunta, the sentences have another meaning.
Ex: Magbus ka sa Maynila.
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= Take the bus in Manila.
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Ex: Magbisikleta tayo sa bahay niya.
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= Let’s ride bicycles in her house.
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If punta is in the root, you don’t need papunta.
Ex: Magpunta ka sa Maynila.
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= Go to Manila.
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Note – normally pumunta is used instead magpunta, so we won’t discuss magpunta any more in this book, and we won’t discuss pumunta again until we get to um-verbs.
Papunta is an adjective, so it’s possible to modify nouns with it too.
Ex: ang bus papuntang Maynila
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= the bus going to Maynila
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Papunta Summary Notes
use when you are going to a destination but the verb doesn’t contain the root punta
word order - place it before the destination
you can modify nouns with papuntang
A Word about Intransitive Verbs
Recall that
basic-sentence word order is <verb, actor, object, location, time>
object takes ng-form, location takes sa form
So you might be wondering what is going on in sentences like
Ex: Magbus ka sa Maynila.
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= Take the bus in Manila.
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It might look like the object is taking the sa-form. But it turns out that magbus doesn’t take an object, meaning it’s an intransitive verb. So Maynila is a location, not an object. In Tagalog there are also verbs that need an object, or transitive verbs, and verbs that work with or without objects, or ambitransitive verbs.
Sample Sentences
Q1
Think. (naman)
Mag-isip ka naman.
Q2
Take the bus to Manila. (pl)
Magbus kayo papunta sa Maynila.
Q3
Speak!
Magsalita ka!
Q4
Cook a chicken.
Magluto ka ng manok.
Q5
Let's meet!
Magkita tayo!
Q6
Take a taxi to school. (nga)
Magtaksi ka nga papunta sa eskwelahan.
Q7
Let’s brush our teeth.
Magsipilyo tayo ng ngipin.
Q8
Clean your room.
Maglinis ka ng kuwarto mo.
Q9
The taxi to your house is fast.
Mabilis ang taksi papuntang bahay mo.
Q10
Read a book. (pl)
Magbasa kayo ng libro.