# i- vs ipag- (beneficiary-focused)



## Change1031

I'm starting to understand a little more about other focused verb. Right now I want to understand beneficiary-focused. I understand that to make the verb beneficiary, you must either add i- or ipag-.

*Bili* = buying
*Bilhin* = to buy
*Ibili* = to buy for

but

*Luto* = cooking
*Lutuin* = to cook
*Ipagluto* = to cook for.

My question is: how do I know which to use, i- or ipag-? And, is there *Iluto,* because *Ipagbili* means to sell?


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## DotterKat

Change1031 said:


> *...Luto* = cooking
> *Lutuin* = to cook
> *Ipagluto* = to cook for.
> 
> My question is: how do I know which to use, i- or ipag-? And, is there *Iluto,* because *Ipagbili* means to sell?



A good rule of thumb is that the ipag- prefix renders a verb more obvious as being in the beneficiary focus.

1) Ipagluto mo siya ng itlog.

Strictly speaking, the i- prefix is  used for object-focus sentences.

2) Iluto mo ang itlog.

However, colloquially the i- prefix is sometimes used in the sense of a beneficiary-focus sentence.

3) Iluto mo siya ng itlog.

Between #1 and #3, the sentence that is more obviously (and more correctly) in the beneficiary-focus is #1 (ipag-). Use ipag- for beneficiary focus sentences.

Ipagbili, which means to sell, is a special case (at first glance, one might think that ipagbili means to buy something for someone). Most people use the word _benta_ when they mean _to sell_ something.

To make the beneficiary focus, use i- (ibili).

Ibili mo siya ng itlog.


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## Change1031

Can you check if I have conjugated the ipag- and i- verb correctly?

Root = completed, incomplete, contemplated 

*Ipagluto* = Ipinagluto, Ipinagluluto, Ipagluluto
*Iluto* = Ilinuto, Ilinuluto, Iluluto
*Ipagbili* = Ipinagbili, Ipinagbibili, Ipagbibili
*Ibili* = Ibinili, Ibinibili, Ibibili

These words below are from a workbook, but there is no answer keys, so I'm not sure if I am conjugating them correctly.

*Ipaglaba* = Ipinaglaba, Ipinaglalaba, Ipaglalaba
*Ipaglihis* = Ipinaglihis, Ipinaglilihis, Ipaglilihis
*Ipaghanda* =Ipinaghanda, Ipinaghahanda, Ipaghahanda
*Ipagdala* = Ipinagdala, Ipinagdadala, Ipagdadala
*Ipagpinta* = Ipinagpinta, Ipinagpinta, Ipagpipinta
*Ilabas* = Ilinabas, Ilinalabas, Ilalabas
*Ikuha* = Ikinuha, Ikinukuha, Ikukuha
*Ikopya* = Ikinopya, Ikinokopaya, Ikokopya
*Isulat* = Isinulat, Isinusulat, Isusulat
*Ihingi* = Ihiningi, Ihinihigi, Ihihigi


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## DotterKat

Change1031 said:


> *Ipagluto* = Ipinagluto, Ipinagluluto, Ipagluluto
> *Iluto* = Ilinuto / Iniluto,  Ilinuluto / Iniluluto, Iluluto  Colloquial usage allows for ilinuto and ilinuluto.
> *Ipagbili* = Ipinagbili, Ipinagbibili, Ipagbibili
> *Ibili* = Ibinili, Ibinibili, Ibibili





Change1031 said:


> *Ipaglaba* = Ipinaglaba, Ipinaglalaba, Ipaglalaba
> *Ipaglihis* = Ipinaglihis, Ipinaglilihis, Ipaglilihis  Do you mean Ipagli*n*is? Ipinaglinis, Ipinaglilinis, Ipaglilinis





Change1031 said:


> *Ipaghanda* =Ipinaghanda, Ipinaghahanda, Ipaghahanda
> *Ipagdala* = Ipinagdala, Ipinagdadala, Ipagdadala
> *Ipagpinta* = Ipinagpinta, Ipinagpinta Ipinagpipinta, Ipagpipinta
> *Ilabas* = Ilinabas  / Inilabas, Ilinalabas / Inilalabas, Ilalabas  Colloquial usage allows for ilinabas and ilinalabas.





Change1031 said:


> *Ikuha* = Ikinuha, Ikinukuha, Ikukuha
> *Ikopya* = Ikinopya, Ikinokopaya, Ikokopya
> *Isulat* = Isinulat, Isinusulat, Isusulat
> *Ihingi* = Ihiningi, Ihinihigi Ihinihingi, Ihihigi Ihihingi


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## Change1031

Since we are talking about beneficiary-focus in this post, I want to add the topic of "sa" from the other post as preposition used in beneficiary-focused sentence.

Technically, these are correct in their own way.

*Ipinagluto mo siya ng itlog.
Ipinagluto mo ang itlog para sa kanya.
Nagluto ka ng itlog para sa kanya. *(actor-focus, though I thought I include here as well)

*Iginawa niya ang klase ng eskamen.
Iginawa niya ang eskamen para sa klase.
Gumawa siya ng eskamen para sa klase. *(same)

*Ibinili ng lalaki ang babe ng alak.
Ibinili ng lalaki ang alak para sa babae. *(this sound colloquially better)
*Bumili ang lalaki ng alak para sa babae.*


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## DotterKat

Change1031 said:


> *Ipinagluto mo siya ng itlog.
> Ipinagluto mo ang itlog para sa kanya.
> Nagluto ka ng itlog para sa kanya. *(actor-focus, though I thought I include here as well)


Among the uses of ang is to mark the focus of the sentence, which could the subject or object. In the Tagalog language "frame of mind" *ang* cues the listener to expect the word following it to be the focal point of the text and to pay particular attention to it. Hence, the sentence *Ipinagluto mo ang itlog para sa kanya *is syntactically flawed though it may have semantic value because the true meaning is straightened out at the end by the use of _para sa_. The sentence does not immediately ring true on first reading because the ang marker cues the listener to the wrong focus. Ipag- is a beneficary-focus marker (the beneficiary being _kanya_) and yet the ang seems to be pointing to a different focus. It is as if the clause Ipinagluto mo ang itlog.... (You cooked _for the egg_...) is written within the context of a creative piece of work in which a tiny anthropormophized egg is perched on a high chair, waiting to be fed.



Change1031 said:


> *Iginawa niya ang klase ng eskamen.
> Iginawa niya ang eskamen para sa klase.
> Gumawa siya ng eskamen para sa klase. *(same)


Same problem as above with the ang marker causing some initial confusion. I- is an object-focus marker, which should be eksamen but the ang seems to be pointing to klase as the focal point. The nuance does not translate to English, since the latter does not differentiate among focal points in the same manner.



Change1031 said:


> *Ibinili ng lalaki ang babae ng alak. *_Colloquially correct. However, there is the same syntactical problem because of the marker *ang*._
> *Ibinili ng lalaki ang alak para sa babae. *(this sound colloquially better) _Note how you have identified this sentence to be better. It is better because the ang marker correctly points to the true focus of the verb ibinili. _
> *Bumili ang lalaki ng alak para sa babae.*


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## Change1031

I can sort of see why *Iginawa niya ang klase ng eskamen* is not correct. It is basically saying _I made the class a test_, which sounds a little weird even in English. Because, the proper way of saying it would be _I made a test for the class_, thus the "test" is the focus of the sentence. Therefore, it should be *Iginawa niya ang eskamen para sa klase.
*
In that case, if it is just an object-focus form, shouldn't it be *Ginawa niya ang eskamen para sa klase*? What is a good example for *igawa, *which mean "to make for."


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## DotterKat

Change1031 said:


> In that case, if it is just an object-focus form, shouldn't it be *Ginawa niya ang eskamen para sa klase*?


My preference would be *ginawa*. However, iginawa is also colloquially used as an alternative object-focus form of gawa.



Change1031 said:


> What is a good example for *igawa, *which mean "to make for."


Igawa mo ako ng makakain.
Iginawa kita ng makakain. 

Igawa mo siya ng damit.
Iginawa ko siya ng damit.


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## Change1031

What if I want the class to be the focus?

*Gumawa siya ng eskamen para sa klase. *The focus is the actor (he/she). She/he made an exam for the class.
*Ginawa niya ang eskamen para sa klase. *The focus is the object (exam). The exam is what I made for the class.

So, if I want the class (the beneficiary to be the focus), shouldn't it be *Iginawa niya ang klase ng eskamen*? The focus here is the beneficiary (class). The class is who I made the exam for.

I think that beneficiary-focus works only well with a proper noun or a pronoun, where the antecedent is established for clarity. 

*Gutom si Dave. Ibibili ko siya ng mga litson. *or *Ibibili ko si Dave ng mga litson dahil gutom siya.
Masunurin ang klase ko. Gusto kong ipagtapon sila ng party. *or *Gusto kong ipagtapon ang klase ng party dahil masunurin sila.*


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## DotterKat

Change1031 said:


> What if I want the class to be the focus?
> 
> *Gumawa siya ng eskamen para sa klase. *The focus is the actor (he/she). She/he made an exam for the class.
> *Ginawa niya ang eskamen para sa klase. *The focus is the object (exam). The exam is what I made for the class.
> 
> So, if I want the class (the beneficiary to be the focus), shouldn't it be *Iginawa niya ang klase ng eskamen*? The focus here is the beneficiary (class). The class is who I made the exam for.


You could also say _Iginawa niya ang eksamen para sa klase_.
You could  use ipag-, although this particular conjugation is not commonly used (ipaggawa, note the double g). 
_Ipinaggawa niya ang klase ng eksamen_. 
I find that there is much confusion between ipagawa (to have something done by somebody else) and ipaggawa, so I would not recommend it.



Change1031 said:


> I think that beneficiary-focus works only well with a proper noun or a pronoun, where the antecedent is established for clarity.
> 
> *Gutom si Dave. Ibibili ko siya ng mga litson. *or *Ibibili ko si Dave ng mga litson dahil gutom siya.
> Masunurin ang klase ko. Gusto kong ipagtapon sila ng party. *or *Gusto kong ipagtapon ang klase ng party dahil masunurin sila.*


To say "throw a party", one would use _handa.
Ipaghahanda ko ang aking klase ng party dahil [masunurin / mabait] sila.
_
I don't find that the beneficiary necessarily needs to be determined in a preceding sentence. A well constructed sentence should establish the connection.


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