Now comes the hard exciting part — Tagalog verb conjugations! In the early chapters I explained how verbs transform depending on which participant is the focus of the sentence. Before we dive into the technicalities of conjugating Tagalog verbs, let’s first talk about the types of affixes in Tagalog. Okay now, let’s jump right in — no vocab section this time. 😄
Root Words and Affixes
Root words are the base form of words that carry the core meaning, while affixes are elements that are added to modify or expand the meaning of it. Let’s warm up with something familiar — how do English affixes work?
- I walked (-ed to express what I did)
- I am walking (-ing to express what I’m currently doing)
“Walk” is the root word, while “-ed” and “-ing” are the affixes, suffixes to be exact. In English, you commonly see these affixes as prefixes and suffixes.
- unhappy → “-un” to express negation, sadness
- sadness → “-ness” to express the amount or intensity of being sad
- readable → “-able” to express the ability to be read
- creation → “-ion” to express the act of creating
- creations → “-s” to express plurality
Tagalog Affixes
Affixes are essential in the Tagalog language because they are practically the building blocks of the language. From verbs to nouns to adjectives, attaching these affixes to a root word creates new meanings. It can express tense, focus, comparison, intensity, intent, commands, you name it. Heck, it can even be attached to any an English word! (See demo at the end of this lesson)
With great power comes great responsibility — and a few more grammar rules. In Tagalog, we have more than just prefixes and suffixes. We have prefixes, suffixes, infixes, circumfixes, or a combination of prefix and infix, and so on.
Prefixes (Unlapi)
Prefixes are affixes that are attached before the root word to mean something else. Commonly used prefixes include mag-, nag-, na-.
| Root word | Modified word | Prefix | Turned into a |
|---|---|---|---|
| luto (cook) | nagluto (cooked) | nag- | verb (past tense) |
| ganda (beauty) | maganda (beautiful) | ma- | adjective |
| klase (class) | kaklase (classmate) | ka- | noun (person) |
| bili (buy) | nagpabili (asked someone to buy something) | nagpa- | verb (past tense) |
| kulay (color) | magpapakulay (intent to have someone color/dye/paint something) | magpapa- | verb (future tense) |
Aside from these common prefixes, you will notice that prefixes can also form based on the first syllable of a root word.
| Root word | Modified word | Prefix | Turned into a |
|---|---|---|---|
| kain (to eat) | kakain (will eat) | ka- | verb (future tense*) |
| sulat (to write) | susulat (will write) | su- | verb (past tense*) |
| husay (skill) | [ang] huhusay (skillful, plural) | hu- | plural adjective |
Infixes (gitlapi)
Infixes are affixes that are inserted in a root word. Yes, insert. Commonly used infixes are -um- and -in-.
| Root word | Modified word | Infix | Turned into a |
|---|---|---|---|
| kain (to eat) | kumain (ate) | -um- | verb (past tense) |
| sulat (to write) | sinulat (wrote) | -in- | verb (past tense) |
Suffixes (hulapi)
Suffixes are affixes that are attached after the root word.
| Root word | Modified word | Suffix | Turned into a |
|---|---|---|---|
| simba (to go to mass) | simbahan (church) | -an | noun (location) |
| sulat (to write) | sulatan (to write on something) | -an | verb (command) |
| halal (to elect) | halalan (elections) | -an | noun (event) |
| awit (to sing) | awitin (song) | -in | noun |
Circumfixes (kabilaan)
Circumfixes are affixes that you attach on both the start and the end of the root word.
| Root word | Modified word | Circumfix | Turned into a |
|---|---|---|---|
| inom (to drink) | iinumin (to express intent to drink something) | i-, -in (notice how inom changed to inum) | Verb (future tense) |
| sigurado (sure, definite) | kasiguraduhan (certainty) | ka-, -han (notice the change from sigurado to siguradu | Noun |
| buti (good) | kabutihan (kindness/goodness) | ka-, -han | Noun |
Combination infix + suffix
There are also affixes that you insert in the root word and at the end of it.
| Root word | Modified word | Affixes | Turned into a |
|---|---|---|---|
| kain (eat) | Kinainan (the dining utensils or the spot you just used while eating) | -in-, -an | Noun (thing / location) |
Conjugating English Words
Since the purpose of this guide is to teach you casual Tagalog and Taglish, let me demonstrate how you can attach affixes to a seemingly innocent, oblivious English word — which is not under the jurisdiction of the rules of Tagalog grammar — and use it like a native Tagalog word.
| Root word | Modified word | Affixes | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| like | pa-like /pa • laik / — pronounce it the same way as it is in English | pa- (prefix) | Pa-like ng FB page ko. → Please like my FB page. |
| reply | replyan /rep • la • yan/ | -an (suffix) | Replyan mo si Jackie. → Go reply to Jackie. (command) |
| magic | minagic /mi • nad • dyik/ | -in- (infix) | Minagic niya ang results. → He/she manipulated the results. (lit. He/she played magic on the results) |
| join | jumoin /jyu • moyn/ — turned a single-syllable word into two syllables — bizarre right? | -um- (infix) | Jumoin na kayo! → Join us! (lit. Y’all go join us!) |
| follow | mag-followan /mag • follow • wan/ | mag-, -an (circumfix) | Mag-followan tayo sa IG. → Let’s follow each other on IG. |
Interesting right?? Just know that you can express yourself a bit with minimal Tagalog vocabulary as long as you know when and where you attach these affixes and how the grammar works.
I believe that’s all we have to cover for now. There is quite a lot of affixes that exist in the Tagalog language which will not be covered in this guide. I’ll just cover some of the most used affixes that will get you up and speaking in no time.