# Verb Focus and conjugation



## wordmad

I am new to this forum.  Recently moved to the Philippines and making a serious attempt at learning Tagalog.  Here are some examples that left me somewhat confused:

Actor focus sentences:
Kumain ako ng tinapay.
Kumakain ako ng tinapay.
Kakain ako ng tinapay.

Object focus sentences:
Kinain ko ang tinapay.
Kinakain ko ang tinapay.
Kakainin ko ang tinapay.

Now this is straightforward enough for the completed, incomplete and contemplated forms.  But then I learned elsewhere that if I am to say "Rice is what I what I want to eat" it goes "Kanin ang gusto kung kainin".  Not sure how the verb form "kainin" fits into the above scheme?  Your help would be greatly appreciated, especially with one or two additional examples following the same pattern for kainin showed here using related verbs. Thanks!


----------



## DotterKat

_Gusto_ is a pseudo-verb.  Other pseudo-verbs are kailangan, maari, puwede, ibig, nais, ayaw and dapat.  These pseudo-verbs express a desire, need, dislike or necessity for something that is not yet the reality.  For instance in your sentence Rice is what I want to eat, the person wishes to eat rice.  This has not happened yet, that is, he has not yet eaten rice but that is what he wants to happen.

Pseudo-verbs usually occur at the beginning of a sentence (Gusto kong kumain ng kanin).  However, as in your example  gusto can also occur after the marker ang. In this type of construction the predicate verb is usually in the imperative form. For actor-focus verbs you would have kumain, sumulat, magluto, humiram, etc. For object-focus verbs you would have kainin, isulat, lutuin and hiramin.

Actor-focus verbs, with gusto in the initial position:

Gusto kong kumain ng kanin.
Gusto kong sumulat ng liham si Maria.
Gusto kong magluto si Jose ng hapunan.
Gusto ni Mario na humiram ng pera.

Actor-focus verbs, with gusto in a non-initial position:

Ako ang gustong kumain ng kanin.
Si Maria ang gusto kong sumulat ng liham.
Si Jose ang gusto kong magluto ng hapunan.
Si Mario ang gustong humiram ng pera.

Object-focus verbs, with gusto in the initial position:

Gusto kong kainin ang kanin.
Gusto kong isulat ni Maria ang liham.
Gusto kong lutuin ni Jose ang hapunan.
Gustong hiramin ni Mario ang pera.

Object-focus verbs, with gusto in a non-initial position:

Kanin ang gusto kong kainin.
Liham ang gusto kong isulat ni Maria.
Hapunan ang gusto kong lutuin ni Jose.
Pera ang gustong hiramin ni Mario.


----------



## wordmad

Thank you very much DotterKat for the detailed exposition.  Forgive my naivete in grammar, but as I understand your painstaking explanation, with the use of a pseudo verb, in the object-focused construction --- kanin ang gusto kong kainin --- the predicate verb is in the imperative form (kainin).  Is my reading of your explanation correct?  Second, would the meanings between the corresponding examples you gave remain unchanged in the various orders you gave?   Third, it would appear the verb conjugation source I use does not include the imperative regardless of whether subject- or object-focused.  Is that the convention for verb conjugation?  Once again, much obliged.


----------



## DotterKat

wordmad said:


> Thank you very much DotterKat for the detailed exposition.  Forgive my naivete in grammar, but as I understand your painstaking explanation, with the use of a pseudo verb, in the object-focused construction --- kanin ang gusto kong kainin --- the predicate verb is in the imperative form (kainin).  Is my reading of your explanation correct?


Yes, the verb is in the imperative form but the sentence itself is not. The form or "conjugation" of the verb is merely being borrowed for the gusto sentences. Here are same verbs that are truly in the imperative mood:

Actor-focus:
Kumain ka ng kanin!
Maria, sumulat ka ng liham!
Jose, magluto ka ng hapunan!
Mario, humiram ka ng pera!

Object-focus:
Kainin mo ang kanin!
Maria, isulat mo ang liham!
Jose, lutuin mo ang hapunan!
Mario, hiramin mo ang pera!



wordmad said:


> Second, would the meanings between the corresponding examples you gave remain unchanged in the various orders you gave?


Yes, the meanings are essentially the same but as in other languages a change in syntax can change the nuance. For that matter, even a change in punctuation can alter nuance (eliminate the exclamation points in the sample sentences above and they become suggestions and not commands, though remaining in the imperative mood).
Thus:

Gusto kong kumain ng kanin (I want to eat rice) --- a simple declarative statement indicating the speaker's wish to eat some rice.
Ako ang gustong kumain ng kanin (I am the one who wants to eat rice) --- the speaker still wishes to eat rice, but now with special emphasis on the fact the he, and not another person, wishes to eat some rice.
Gusto kong kainin ang kanin (I want to eat the rice) --- same essential meaning, but now with emphasis on what the speaker wants to eat, that is, the rice and not any other food.
Kanin ang gusto kong kainin (Rice is what I want to eat) --- same meaning, but now the speaker is stating more emphatically that rice is really what he wants to eat.



wordmad said:


> Third, it would appear the verb conjugation source I use does not include the imperative regardless of whether subject- or object-focused.  Is that the convention for verb conjugation?  Once again, much obliged.


Again, the imperative form of the verb is merely being borrowed for purposes of the the gusto sentences. It is simply an easier way for teaching this particular construction. Another way to say it would be _use the root word (e.g. luto) plus the actor-focus affix (mag-) to produce the base form (magluto) or use the affixed base form before being conjugated into the three aspects (i.e. before magluto turns into nagluto, nagluluto, magluluto)._ Remember, we are only borrowing the imperative form of the verb but we are not producing imperative mood sentences.


----------



## wordmad

To just say thank you would be an understatement.  The clarity with which you write your responses is greatly appreciated.  Glad I signed up for this forum.  Have a wonderful day!


----------

