Building the Aspects: Object-Focus Verbs

01

'-in' Verbs

Watch carefully: the suffix -in disappears once the action has started, and an infix -in- appears at the front instead.

• Infinitive: kainin, basahin, gawin
• Completed: kinain, binasa, ginawa
• Progressive: kinakain, binabasa, ginagawa
• Contemplated: kakainin, babasahin, gagawin

• Ano ang ginagawa niyo ngayon?

  What are you doing now?

• Anong ginawa mo kahapon?

  What did you do yesterday?

• Magandang ideya. Gawin natin yan.

  Good idea. Let's do that.

• Tataba ka kung puro hindi masustansyang pagkain ang kinakain mo.

  You will get fat if you only eat unhealthy food.

The infix slots in before the first vowel, exactly like -um-. If the root begins with a vowel, in- simply goes in front: inom → ininom, alis → inalis.

02

The 'ni-' Rule

When the root starts with l, r, w, or y, the infix does not slide inside — it becomes the prefix ni- instead. The sound sequence would otherwise be awkward.

• luto → niluto (not linuto)
• linis → nilinis
• regalo → niregaluhan
• yaya → niyaya

• Niluto ko ang isda.

  I cooked the fish.

03

'-an' Verbs

The suffix -an stays in every form — unlike -in, which drops. Everything else works the same way.

• hugasan → hinugasan → hinuhugasan → huhugasan
• bigyan → binigyan → binibigyan → bibigyan
• buksan → binuksan → binubuksan → bubuksan

• Binigyan ko ng regalo ang tatay ko.

  I gave a present to my father.

• Bibigyan kita ng aspirin.

  I will give you an aspirin.

04

'i-' Verbs

The i- prefix also stays, and -in- lands inside the root behind it.

• isulat → isinulat → isinusulat → isusulat
• isara → isinara → isinasara → isasara

• Isinulat ko ang liham na ito sa pamamagitan ng kamay.

  I wrote this letter by hand.

05

The Pattern Underneath

Strip away the surface and one system runs through all of it: -in- (or ni-) says started, reduplication says unfinished. Completed has the first only; progressive has both; contemplated has reduplication only; the infinitive has neither.