Filipino Experiencer-focus Verbs

Note: This post has tables with multiple rows and columns. It is best to view the tables using a desktop or laptop computer, not a mobile phone. Not all Filipino verbs with the affix UM and MA are actor-focus verbs. Others are experiencer-focus verbs (pokus sa nakakaranas). If the subject of the sentence is the one experiencing or undergoing the action or event that is described by the verb, then the verb is an experiencer-focus verb. Ramos and Bautista in Handbook of Tagalog Verbs: Inflections, Modes, and Aspects (1986) call the subject the actor-undergoer, which could be persons and animals, or animate objects. They did not call the verb an experiencer-focus verb in their work, but a special type of actor-focus verb. According to them, if the subject is an inanimate object, the verb is an object-focus verb. For the authors, the verb lumamig in the sentence below is an object-focus…

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Translating Present Tense Verbs in English to Filipino

In the previous post, we learned how to translate past tense verbs (simple past and past continuous) in English to Filipino. In this post, I’ll discuss how to translate English verbs in the simple present tense and present continuous tense to Filipino. Recall that Filipino has three main tenses: past, present, and future. For both the simple present tense and present continuous tense verbs in English, the present tense of Filipino action verbs is used. There are a few ways to make the present tense form of Filipino action verbs. The first syllable or letter, or first two letters of the root word is reduplicated. Then a specific prefix or infix is added. The prefixes may be nag-, na-, or um-. The infix -um- is inserted between the first two letters reduplicated. Note that this rule applies for actor-focus verbs. In conjugating Filipino verbs, reduplication comes first before affixation. SIMPLE…

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Translating Past Tense Verbs in English to Filipino

DISCLAIMER: I am not a Filipino teacher. Filipino is not my first language. The content of this post is based on my personal experience and what I have researched on the topic. If you find any errors in the information provided here or in the translations that I have made, let me know by leaving a comment or contacting me by using the contact form above. I would be happy to make any changes, if necessary. This is a discussion post. It does not have a worksheet at the end. The clipart used in this post is by Little Red. In English, there are verbs of being or “to be” verbs and these have different forms that depend on the tense and on whether the subject is singular or plural. The table below shows the positive “to be” verbs. It is claimed that the Filipino language does not have “to…

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Mga Pandiwa

The PDF file below lists 24 simple Filipino verbs with clip art images of children doing the actions (6 verbs per page). There are also sheets with the English translations of these verbs. Except for the images in the last lesson sheet, all the clip art images of children are by Kari Bolt. Check out her online store by clicking the link or image below. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Kari-Bolt-Clip-Art The clip art images for the verbs write, read, sleep, bathe, and brush are by Samut-samot Mom. The clip art image for play was obtained from openclipart.org. The lesson sheets are for personal and classroom use only. You may print and distribute these to your children or students, but you may not do so for profit or use these for any commercial purpose. You also may not upload this PDF file or any part of it in any other website such as (but not…

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Aralin sa Pandiwa and Pandiwa Worksheets

The pdf lesson and worksheets on Filipino verbs (pandiwa) below are free. Feel free to print (and photocopy if you wish) them for your children or students. Please do not distribute them for profit. Aralin sa Pandiwa :  This 7-page pdf lesson on Filipino verbs includes a long list of common verbs grouped according to their tense (aspekto/panahunan). The following worksheets test a student’s skill in recognizing Filipino verbs in sentences and selecting the correct form of the verb: 1.  Pagkilala sa Pandiwa_1 ,  Mga sagot sa Pagkilala sa Pandiwa_1 :  This 20-item worksheet asks the student to encircle the verb in each sentence. 2.  Pagkilala sa Pandiwa_2 ,  Mga sagot sa Pagkilala sa Pandiwa_2 :  This 20-item worksheet asks the student to encircle the verb in each sentence. This worksheet is a bit more challenging than the previous one. 3.  Pagpili ng Tamang Pandiwa_1 ,  Mga sagot sa Pagpili ng Tamang Pandiwa_1 :  This 20-item worksheet…

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