The -An Affix Is Basically an Object-Focus Extension

Let me tell you something: Tagalog -an verbs are not exclusive to target-focus sentences. In fact, -an is better understood as an extension of the object-focus marking. If you’re already comfortable with object-focus verbs using -in, then you’re actually halfway to understanding -an.

Here’s the core idea of this chapter:

• -an builds on object-focus verbs
• -an exists because Tagalog needs one participant to highlight
• -an is used when that highlighted participant is not the direct object of the sentence

Once you see -an this way, a lot of confusing examples suddenly make sense.

Vocabulary:

Nouns:

• manggá → mango
• baryá → coin
• ballpen → pen
• tinidór → fork
• pinggán → plate
• pintô → door
• damít → clothes
• sampayan → clothesline
• lamesa → table
• kalat → trash
• kalsada → street
• pamaskó → Christmas gift, typically money

Verbs:

• bigáy → give
• nakaw → steal
• sabit → hang
• lapág → place, put
• hugas → wash
• bukas → open
• balát → peel
• walís → sweep
• abót → reach, give
• dalá → bring
• tawag → call
• kantá → sing

Why -An is Still Object-Focus

One clue that -an belongs to the group of object-focus affixes is how it is formed. You don’t jump straight to -an, you first conjugate the verb using -in, which is already an object-focus affix. From there, you add -an.

Target participants are still object participants. They’re just not the direct object. In English, think of direct objects and indirect objects. Both are objects, but they play different roles:

• The direct object is the thing directly affected by the action.
• The indirect object is the recipient, location, or surface connected to the action.

The reason why we need the -an is because of the concept of focus. Tagalog treats both as objects, but it only allows one to be the grammatical focus. That’s where -an comes in.

Using the -An Affix to Focus Target Participants

Let’s start with a sentence that contains all three participants.

Nagbigáy si Angel ng ballpen kay Joseph. → Angel gave Joseph a pen.

Here, Angel is the focus actor, marked with si, so the verb uses an actor-focus affix (mag-).

Binigáy ni Angel ang ballpen kay Joseph. → Angel gave Joseph the pen.

Here, the pen is the focused participant. It’s the direct object, marked with ang, so the verb uses -in.

Binigáy ni Angel ng ballpen si Joseph. ❌

Here, we try to focus Joseph, the indirect object. He’s marked with si, but the verb is still plain -in. This doesn’t work. To properly highlight the indirect object, Tagalog needs a different form.

Binigyán ni Angel ng ballpen si Joseph. ✅

This is where -an comes in. To focus the target participant, you add -an to the object-focus verb. Take the -in form, then add -an.

Here are more examples:

• Nagnakaw si Ricky ng baryá sa bag ni Nora. → Ricky stole coins from Nora’s bag.
• Ninakaw ni Ricky ang baryá sa bag ni Nora. → Ricky stole the coins from Nora’s bag. (Focus: the coins)
• Ninakawan ni Ricky ng baryá ang bag ni Nora. → Ricky stole coins from Nora’s bag. (Focus: the bag)

• Magsasabit ako ng damít sa sampayan. → I will hang clothes on the clothesline.
• Isasabit ko ang damít sa sampayan. → (Focus: the clothes)
• Sasabitan ko ng damít ang sampayan. → (Focus: the clothesline)

• Naglapág si Joel ng tinidór sa lamesa. → Joel placed a fork on the table.
• Inilapág ni Joel ang tinidór sa lamesa. → (Focus: the fork)
• Nilapagán ni Joel ng tinidór ang lamesa. → (Focus: the table)

Verbs That Prefer -An

Some verbs resist plain -in forms and naturally lean toward -an. These are often actions done on a surface, area, or set of objects. Take hugas (to wash).

Naghugas ako ng mga pinggán. ✅ → I did the dishes.

This is an actor-focus sentence. Hugas can be conjugated as a -mag verb.

Hinugas ko ang mga pinggán. ❌ → I did the dishes.

While technically understandable, this form sounds awkward to most native speakers.

Hinugasan ko ang mga pinggán. ✅ → I did the dishes.

Here, -an is the natural choice because the action happens on the surface of the dishes.

Examples:

• Binukas niya ang pintô. ❌
• Binuksán niya ang pintô. ✅ → He/she opened the door.
• Binalat niya ang manggá. ❌
• Binalatán niya ang manggá. ✅ → He/she peeled the mango.

When -In and -An Change the Nuance

Some verbs can use both -in and -an, but the meaning shifts slightly.

-In vs -An with Recipients

Winawalisán niya ang kalsada. ✅ → She is sweeping the street.

This uses -an because the street is the surface where the action happens.

Wináwalís niya ang kalsada. ⚠️→ She is sweeping the street. (literally, as if the street is being displaced from its position by the broom)

This sentence use -in, but you can’t sweep an entire street, can you? The street cannot be a direct object of the sentence, because it is the surface that the action is being acted on.

Wináwalís niya ang kalat. ✅ → She is sweeping the trash.

In this case, -in works perfectly, because the trash is the thing being affected.

• Wináwalís niya ang kalat sa kalsada.

-In vs -An with Recipients

Abutín mo ang remote control. → Reach for the remote control.

Abután mo si Jake ng pamaskó. → Give Jake a Christmas gift.

In the first sentence, abót describes physically reaching an object. The focus is on what is being reached.

In the second sentence, abót shifts toward causing someone to receive something. The action is no longer about physical reach, but about ensuring that Jake gets something. The focus moves from the object to the recipient.

Dinalá niya ang bag kay Mikaela. → She brought the bag to Mikaela.

Dinalhán niya ng bag si Mikaela. → She brought Mikaela a bag.

The first one highlights the movement of the bag. The sentence answers the question: What happened to the bag?

In contrast, the second sentence emphasizes providing something for someone.

Tatawagin ka ng receptionist. → The receptionist will call you.

Tatawagan ka ng call center agent. → A call center agent will call you.

In the first sentence, tawag refers to the act of calling someone’s attention—often in the same physical space, such as calling a name in a waiting area.

In the second one, tawag naturally takes on the meaning of calling someone via phone, with the listener as the intended recipient of the call. The focus is on who the call is for, not just the act itself.

-In vs -An with Experiential Targets

Kinákanta niya ang “Palagi.” → He/she is singing “Palagi.”

Kinákantahán niya ang kanyang girlfriend. → He/she is singing to his/her girlfriend.

In the first sentence, kantá is about performing a song. The song itself is the focus.

In the second sentence, kantá becomes directional—the act of singing is done for someone. The girlfriend is no longer just a listener; she is the experiential target of the action.

Summary: -in vs -an

The verb doesn’t really change its core meaning. What changes is where the action is aimed.

• Use -in when the sentence is about what happens to a thing
• Use -an when the sentence is about who the action is for, toward, or experienced by

This is why -an often feels more personal, intentional, or relational, even though it’s still part of the object-focus system.

Conclusion

Seen this way, -an is a logical extension of object-focus marking. Tagalog uses -an when the sentence needs to focus a participant that is not the direct object, such as a recipient, location, or a surface.

There are more ways to form verbs, including combinations with mag- and -an, and affixes like ipag- that introduce additional nuances. We’ll leave those for future sections. For now, what matters is the core structure of Tagalog sentences.

In the next lesson, we’ll explore enclitics, a worthy opponent of the pronouns, position-wise.