Language/Tagalog/Grammar/Regular-Verbs
Introduction
As a Tagalog language teacher for over 20 years, I always start off with the basics. We have already covered the basic pronouns, sentence structures, and tenses including past, present, and future. Now we're moving on to verbs. In this lesson, we'll be talking about regular verbs in Tagalog and its tenses.
What are Regular Verbs?
Regular verbs are verbs whose past tense and past participle are formed by adding a suffix to the base form of the verb. This suffix depends on the first letter of the verb root. For regular verbs in Tagalog, the suffix "-um-" is used for verbs that start with a vowel while the suffix "-in-" is used for verbs that start with a consonant.
Present Tense
The present tense in Tagalog is simply the base form of the verb. For regular verbs, the base form can either start with a vowel or a consonant. Here are some examples:
Tagalog | Pronunciation | English Translation |
---|---|---|
tawa | ta-wah | laugh |
kain | kah-een | eat |
lakad | lah-kad | walk |
Past Tense
In Tagalog, the past tense of a regular verb is formed by adding the prefix "nag-" to the base form of the verb for verbs that start with a vowel, and the prefix "nag-" and infix "-um-" for verbs that start with a consonant. Here are some examples:
Tagalog | Pronunciation | English Translation |
---|---|---|
nagtawa | nahg-ta-wah | laughed |
naglakad | nahg-lah-kad | walked |
nagkain | nahg-kah-een | ate |
Future Tense
The future tense of regular verbs in Tagalog is formed by adding the prefix "mag-" to the base form of the verb, for both vowel and consonant-initial verbs. Here are some examples:
Tagalog | Pronunciation | English Translation |
---|---|---|
magtawa | mag-ta-wah | will laugh |
maglakad | mag-lah-kad | will walk |
magkain | mag-kah-een | will eat |
Commands
Tagalog commands for regular verbs are the same as the present tense. Simply use the base form of the verb for both vowel and consonant-initial verbs. Here are some examples:
Tagalog | Pronunciation | English Translation |
---|---|---|
tawa | ta-wah | laugh! |
lakad | lah-kad | walk! |
kain | kah-een | eat! |
Conclusion
Regular verbs are the most common type of verbs in Tagalog. With the right prefixes and suffixes, you can easily form the different tenses of the verb. I hope this lesson has helped you understand Tagalog verbs better. In the next lesson, we'll be discussing irregular verbs.
Related Lessons
- 0 to A1 Course
- Past and Present Tenses
- Conditional Mood
- Asking Questions
- Basic Sentence Structure
- Basic Pronouns
- How to Use Have
- Plurals
- Questions
Sources
Videos
Regular and Irregular Verbs Explained in Tagalog! - YouTube