Tagalog “Mag” Verbs (Actor-focus)

As what you have seen in the last chapter, there are tons of affixes that make up the Tagalog language. Teaching this one by one will confuse both the teacher and the learner. So, to make learning these verbs and their conjugations easier, linguists and instructors decided to group Tagalog verbs by their affixes. Here’s our first set of Tagalog verb affix — “mag“.

Vocabulary

  • lalaki → man
  • babae → woman
  • doktor → doctor
  • turista → tourist
  • libro → book
  • nobela → novel
  • dyaryo → newspaper
  • reseta → prescription
  • laruan → toy
  • banyo → toilet
  • sasakyan → vehicle
  • jeep → a public transport vehicle similar to a bus
  • bangka → boat
  • basa → read
  • sulat → write
  • linis → clean
  • arkila → rent, lease

Tagalog “Mag” Verbs

“Mag” verbs get new meanings by attaching “mag-” affix group to the root word. These modified words form the infinitive form / imperative form. Verbs associated with the “mag-” affix are typically intentional actions towards someone/something.

Base Form (Infinitive Form / Imperative Form)

To get the infinitive form / imperative form, follow these steps:

  1. Take the root word. → luto
  2. Attach the affix as a prefix. → magluto
Root wordNew affixResult
basa (read)mag-magbasa (to read)
sulat (write)mag-magsulat (to write)
linis (clean)mag-maglinis (to clean)
arkila (rent, lease)mag-mag-arkila (to rent, to lease)

Note: If the root word starts with a consonant, attach the affix to make one whole word. If the root word starts with a vowel, place a hyphen after “mag-”. This is so that we don’t mix up the consonant-ending affix and the vowel-starting root word, phonetics-wise. We pronounce it as mag-arkila /mag • ar • ki • la/ and not magarkila /ma • gar • ki • la/.

Completed Action (Past Tense)

In Tagalog, there’s another grammar concept that can be a bit tricky for English speakers — aspects. I won’t go into full detail about aspects vs tenses just yet, because I want to focus first on the rules of conjugation, at least for “mag” verbs. You can learn more about aspects in the next chapter.

For now, let’s just say that the nearest, loosest equivalent of the Tagalog completed action (completed aspect) is the English past tense. To express the completed action form, follow these steps:

  1. Take the root word. → luto
  2. Change “mag-” to “nag-”. (Yes, sorry to confuse you from the get-go but you have to take note that affixes can also change form itself!)
  3. Attach the new affix as a prefix. → nagluto
Root wordNew affixResult
basa (read)nag-nagbasa (read)
sulat (write)nag-nagsulat (wrote)
linis (clean)nag-naglinis (cleaned)
arkila (rent)nag-nag-arkila (rented, leased)

Examples:

  • Nagbasa ang lalaki ng libro. → The man read a book.
  • Nagsulat ang babae ng nobela. → The woman wrote a novel.
  • Naglinis si Luis ng banyo. → Luis cleaned the toilet.
  • Nag-arkila ang mga Reyes ng sasakyan. → The Reyeses rented a vehicle.

Ongoing Action (Present Tense)

The Tagalog ongoing action (uncompleted aspect) is loosely equivalent to the English present tense. To express the ongoing action form, follow these steps:

  1. Take the root word. → luto
  2. Get the first syllable of the root word. → lu
  3. Change “mag-” to “nag-” and attach the syllable after “nag”. → naglu-
  4. Attach the new affix as a prefix. → nagluluto
Root wordFirst syllableNew affixResult
basa (read)ba-nagba-nagbabasa (will read)
sulat (write)su-nagsu-nagsusulat (will write)
linis (clean)li-nagli-naglilinis (will clean)
arkila (rent, lease)a-nag-anag-aarkila (will rent, will lease)

NOTE: If a verb starts with a vowel, add a hyphen (-) after the affix, then attach the repeated syllable to its root word.

Examples:

  • Nagbabasa ang lolo ng dyaryo. → The grandfather is reading the newspaper.
  • Nagsusulat ang writer ng script. → The writer is writing the script.
  • Naglilinis ang tatay ng laruan. → The father is cleaning the toy.
  • Nag-aarkila si Michael ng jeep. → Michael is renting a jeep.

Upcoming Action (Future Tense)

For the Tagalog upcoming action (contemplated aspect), the closest equivalent is the English future tense. To express the upcoming action form, follow these steps:

  1. Take the root word. → luto
  2. Get the first syllable of the root word. → lu
  3. Attach the syllable after “mag”. → “maglu-”
  4. Attach the new affix as a prefix. → magluluto
Root wordFirst syllableNew affixResult
basa (read)ba-magba-magbabasa (will read)
sulat (write)su-magsu-magsusulat (will write)
linis (clean)li-magli-maglilinis (will clean)
arkila (rent, lease)a-mag-amag-aarkila (will rent, will lease)

Examples:

  • Magbabasa si Adrian ng One Piece. → Adrian will read One Piece.
  • Magsusulat ang doktor ng reseta. → The doctor will write a prescription.
  • Maglilinis si Philip ng sasakyan. → Philip will clean the car.
  • Mag-aarkila ang mga turista ng bangka. → The tourists will rent a boat.

Conclusion

Quite a handful, right? Here is a cheat sheet for you to summarize this chapter.

Root wordBase Form (Infinitive/Imperative)Past TensePresent TenseFuture Tense
mag—nag—nag(…)—mag(…)—
lutomaglutonaglutonaglulutomagluluto
arkilamag-arkilanag-arkilanag-aarkilamag-aarkila
NOTE: (…) represents the 1st syllable of the root word

Now, you’ve got the basics of how to conjugate these verbs into their different forms. In the next chapter, let’s take a quick detour and explore Tagalog aspects, and how they really differ from English tenses!

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