# Affixes



## iggyca

Hi, I would like to know more about the affixes that change words such as; ma, pa, na and ka.

I have somewhat of an idea but i would like an actual definition. 

ex. matulong, patulong, natulong, katulong (probably not all correct)

thanks


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## rockjon

katulong in theory means a helper or assitant but it usually often refers to a maid.  Quite often though not all the time ka- is a reciprocal prefix. It occurs with people or things you have a relationship with somehow but not always.

Ex:
Kapatid = brother or sister
Kaklase = classmate
kaiskuwela = schoolmate 
Kamukha = a person that looks like you
kalaro = playmate
Kaaway = a person who you fight or argue with 

ma- prefixes are used in several ways. They can be used to form adjectives from root words but not all root words can be turned into ma- adjectives.  

Ex:
maganda = beautiful (ganda is beauty)
magandang babae siya.  She is a beautiful woman.

mataba = fat (taba is the root for fat)
nakita mo ba yung matabang babae? did you see the fat woman?

Ma- prefixes can also turn root words into verbs but like almost everything in Tagalog this does not apply to all root words.

Ex:

Matutulog na ako. I will sleep now.
Mananalo siya.  She will win. 
Makikita mo ang malaking daga mamaya. You will see a large rat later.  Notice in this sentence I used a ma- verb (makita) and ma- adjective (malaki)


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## niernier

I see that rockjon beats me to the most part but I was inspired by him so I think I would expound on the usage of these affixes in question.

Ka- prefix

ka- attaches to roots with quite diverse semantics. 
Generally, the usage of ka- is to express "togetherness". As a prefix describing a partial schema, it denotes specifically the notion of being part of a collection. 

For other semantic classes of ka-, it can denote a PARTICIPANT in SHARED EXPERIENCE which implies doing things together or of having things in common, or having the same experience. In some cases, it comes with the suffix -an thus forming a circumfix  which is something you can find very common in many Tagalog conjugations.

Ex.

kalaro (playmate)
kapatid (brother/sister)
kapangalan (person with the same name as yours)
kapareha (partner)
kaklase (classmate)
kaeskwela (schoolmate)
kadugo (relative)
kalahi (of the same race)
kainuman (contemporary term for "drinking buddy")
kakwentuhan (a person you tell stories with)
kasamahan (fellows or companions in a group)


The form [ka+first syllable of root verb+root verb] denotes the recent completive form of the verb.
Ex.
Kakakain = have just finished eating
kakikita = have just seen
kapupunta = have just went to
kagagawa = have just made


katakot-takot 'frightful'(derived from the root 'takot' which means fear) apparently derives an attributive from an emotion verb. Other examples of this class are kaakit-akit(attractive),  and kasiya-siya(pleasing)


Pa- prefix

pa- may be seen as the shortened form of the prefix paki- which when attached to root verbs adds the notion of request similar to "please" in English. 

Patulong -> "please help" as when used in the sentence, "Patulong naman oh.." in English, "please help naman oh.."
Paayos -> please arrange/fix 


pa- prefix also denotes direction of an object in motion or in place.

palayo = going further (root word layo from the adjective malayo which means far)
palapit = going near (root word lapit from the adjective malapit which means near)
paabante/pasulong = forward motion
paatras = backward motion
paharap = facing forward
patalikod = facing backward
pahalang = horizontally
patayo = vertically
padiagonal = diagonal\slanting


Ma- Verbs

These are verbs that takes the active form by using the prefix ma- and is therefore called a MA- verb. Ma- used as an actor affix and in rare instances as an object affix. Other verbs take active forms using the prefix [mag-] or the infix [-um] and are therefore called mag verb and um verbs.

natulog(past) - natutulog(present) - matutulog(future) - tulog - to sleep
natuto(past) - natututo(present) - matututo(future) - tuto - to learn
nakinig(past) - nakikinig(present) - makikinig(future) - kinig - to listen
nanood(past) - nanonood(present) - manonood(future) - nood - to watch



> EDIT: tulong is an um verb. Its active form uses the infix -um- but it can also conjugate to na- and ma- but with the suffix -an.
> 
> natulungan - natutulungan - matutulungan - tulong - to help


It seems I had some fun explaining so I am sorry for these exhaustive explanations Thank you for reading!


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## iggyca

ah salamat sa kayong dalawa.

some questions.

Ka - 

Kasamahan - same as barkada or would it be kabarkada for when actually together not just talking generally about your group of friends?

Pa - 

Paalis dyan - please move from there

pahingi ang lapis? - Is this same as - Pwede bang pahingi ang lapis? 

Ma - 

pretty straight forward but for practice.

nakita mo ba ang mabalis ng kotse? - did you see that fast car?


1.nakikita mo ba ang mabalis ng kotse? do you see the fast car?
2.kumakita mo ba ang mabalis ng kotse? Same as above
3.magkita mo ba and mabalis ng kotse? Same as above

1.makikita mo ang mabalis ng kotse. You will see the fast car.
2.kikita mo ang mabalis ng kotse. Same as above
3.magkikita mo ang mabalis ng kotse. Same as above

is there anyway to distinguish the three different ways of saying past , present or future if they are in fact correct. or does it come more with practice and experience speaking tagalog.


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## Ajura

iggyca said:


> ah salamat sa kayong dalawa.



It is salamat po sa inyo.

Pinapahirapan mo pa ang sarili mo.


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## niernier

iggyca said:


> ah salamat sa kayong dalawa.
> It should be Salamat sa inyong dalawa.
> some questions.
> 
> Ka -
> 
> Kasamahan - same as barkada or would it be kabarkada for when actually together not just talking generally about your group of friends?
> 
> Pa -
> 
> Paalis dyan - please move from there
> 
> pahingi ang lapis? - Is this same as - Pwede bang pahingi ang lapis?
> Should be pahingi ng lapis. OR pwede bang pahingi ng lapis?
> 
> Ma -
> 
> pretty straight forward but for practice.
> 
> nakita mo ba ang mabalis ng kotse? - did you see that fast car?
> Should be nakita mo yung mabilis na kotse?
> _-Use the na linker_ _when modifying a noun, that is if the ending letter of the adjective ends with a consonant other than 'n'_-
> _-In heavy Tagalog conversations, we use yung instead of ang. yung is more specific than ang_
> 
> 1.nakikita mo ba yung mabilis na kotse? do you see the fast car?
> 2.kumakita mo ba ang mabalis ng kotse? Same as above
> 3.magkita mo ba and mabalis ng kotse? Same as above
> 
> 1.makikita mo yung mabilis na kotse. You will see the fast car.
> 2.kikita mo ang mabalis ng kotse. Same as above
> 3.magkikita mo ang mabalis ng kotse. Same as above
> 
> is there anyway to distinguish the three different ways of saying past , present or future if they are in fact correct. or does it come more with practice and experience speaking tagalog.




barkada is your circle of friends. kabarkada is specifically a person which belongs to your circle of friends. Kaibigan and kabarkada are almost the same and either of the two can be used in the same context.  On the other hand, kasamahan specifically refers to a companion or a member of some group that both of you belongs to. Thus,

kaibigan/kabarkada - friend
kasamahan - fellows or companion in a group


Like what I have mentioned earlier, pa- can be seen as the shortened form of the prefix paki- which means please OR can denote direction of movement.

Pa- with the root word alis
paalis denotes a direction of movement. The root verb "alis" is a motion verb. Therefore paalis means "to move/go out" in reference to something.
Ex.
Paalis na ang bagyong Ising sa bansa.
Typhoon Ising is now moving out of the country.

Pa- with the root word hingi(to ask for something) 
Pahingi ng lapis - Please give me a pencil. 
Pwede bang pahingi ng lapis? - Can you please give me a pencil?


kita(to see) is a ma- verb
nakita(past) - nakikita(progressive) - makikita(future)

kita(to gain profit) is an um verb
kumita(past) - kumikita(progressive) - kikita(future)

kita(to meet) is a mag verb
nagkita(past) - nagkikita(progressive) - magkikita(future)

How do we distinguish the past, present and future tenses? See the above conjugations for the root word "kita". Notice the reduplication of the first syllable of the root and observe when the prefix ma, infix um and the prefix mag is used. From that, you can now check why the conjugations for the examples you have given were wrong. This seems to be hard but learning is fun if you like to understand Tagalog. Don't worry coz a Filipino appreciates it if you have at least tried. And you can win the heart of a person just by trying to speak his language.


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## rockjon

nakita mo ba ang mabalis ng kotse? - did you see that fast car?
This is supposed to be:
nakita mo ba ang mabilis na kotse? did you see the fast car?

Tagalog like a lot of languages in the Philippines has a grammatical concept called a ligature.  Ligatures act as connectors between words or sometimes parts of sentences.  Ligatures are used for attaching adjectives to nouns but they have several uses in Tagalog other than attaching adjectives.  In Tagalog, the ligature used if the word ends in consonant is na, if it ends in vowel it is an ng, and you can add -g to words ending in the consonant n.  This is the reason why it is mabilis na kotse instead of mabilis ng kotse. 

However, Tagalog has a strange language feature when it comes to using adjectives.  In English, the adjective always proceeds the noun aka fast car .  In Spanish, the adjective proceeds after the noun aka coche rapido (or fast car).  In Tagalog, the adjective can occur before or after the noun.

Ex:
mabilis na kotse = fast car
kotseng mabilis  = fast car (in this case, since kotse ends in vowel you add -ng)
malakas na ulan = strong/hard/intense rain
ulang malakas = strong/hard/intense rain (ulan ends with consonant -n so you can add a -g to the end)

While you can reverse the order of the noun and adjective, I've noticed from listening to Tagalog speakers the majority prefer leading with the adjective before noun just like in English eg. malakas na ulan instead of ulang malakas.  I know it sounds confusing but its one of the features of the language.  If you omit the ligature like you say maganda umaga (good morning) instead magandang umaga, Tagalog speakers will still probably know what you mean but to them it will sound either wrong or weird.


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## Ajura

rockjon said:


> nakita mo ba ang mabalis ng kotse? - did you see that fast car?
> This is supposed to be:
> nakita mo ba ang mabilis na kotse? did you see the fast car?
> 
> Tagalog like a lot of languages in the Philippines has a grammatical concept called a ligature.  Ligatures act as connectors between words or sometimes parts of sentences.  Ligatures are used for attaching adjectives to nouns but they have several uses in Tagalog other than attaching adjectives.  In Tagalog, the ligature used if the word ends in consonant is na, if it ends in vowel it is an ng, and you can add -g to words ending in the consonant n.  This is the reason why it is mabilis na kotse instead of mabilis ng kotse.
> 
> However, Tagalog has a strange language feature when it comes to using adjectives.  In English, the adjective always proceeds the noun aka fast car .  In Spanish, the adjective proceeds after the noun aka coche rapido (or fast car).  In Tagalog, the adjective can occur before or after the noun.
> 
> Ex:
> mabilis na kotse = fast car
> kotseng mabilis  = fast car (in this case, since kotse ends in vowel you add -ng)
> malakas na ulan = strong/hard/intense rain
> ulang malakas = strong/hard/intense rain (ulan ends with consonant -n so you can add a -g to the end)
> 
> While you can reverse the order of the noun and adjective, I've noticed from listening to Tagalog speakers the majority prefer leading with the adjective before noun just like in English eg. malakas na ulan instead of ulang malakas.  I know it sounds confusing but its one of the features of the language.  If you omit the ligature like you say maganda umaga (good morning) instead magandang umaga, Tagalog speakers will still probably know what you mean but to them it will sound either wrong or weird.


Yes,there are grammatical sounds that are like that in philippine languages including Gorontalo but the philippine languages have some grammatic rules that tend to be abandoned when the speakers increase....


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## rockjon

-pa affix
The pa- affix also has another meaning other than the constant motion form that niernier mentioned.  It also refers to a way or manner of doing something.  

Ex:
*Patawa *siyang sumagot. He answered *laughingly*.
*Pasayaw* akong nag-linis ng kwarto ko.  I cleaned my room *in a dancing manner*.
*Palihim* kong ibinulong ang sekreto ni beth sa kanya.  I *secretly *whispered Beth's secret to him.  

The form can also be double to intensify it.  In this form, it either means that something is constantly happening or intermittently happening depending on context.

Ex:
Sinuntok ko yung magandang lalaki* paulit-ulit*.  I punched the beautiful man *repeatedly* *(or again and again)*.
Bakit *papalit-palit* ang panahon dito? Why does the weather here *keep changing*?
*Patawa-tawa* siyang sumagot. She *laughed as* she gave her answer. 
*Pasayaw-sayaw* siyang nag-lakad papunta sa bahay ng kasintahan niya.  He *was dancing* as he walked to the house of his girlfriend.
Nag-lakad siya *paikot-ikot* kasi marami siyang iniisip. She walked *around and around* because she was thinking of a lot of things.  

The pa- prefix works beautifully when relating to motion stuff niernier mentioned. It's also what you're going to hear the most in Tagalog compared to the information I wrote above.  However, I think it's still used especially for the words that seem like adverbs in english like paulit-ulit for repeatedly or again and again.


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