Causatives: Having Someone Do Something

01

'magpa-' — Spotlighting the Arranger

Put magpa- on a root and the person who causes the action is spotlighted. When the one who actually carries it out is named at all, they follow sa.

• Nagpaluto ako ng pagkain sa kanya.

  I had her cook some food. (the cook is the one named after sa)

Very often that person is left out altogether, because the point is the service rather than who performed it.

• Magpapagupit ako bukas.

  I'm going to get a haircut tomorrow.

• Nagpatubo ako ng balbas noong Nobyembre.

  I grew a beard in November.

The haircut shows how useful this is. Filipino does not say "I will cut my hair" when a barber does it — it says "I will cause my hair to be cut", and magpa- carries the whole idea in one word.

02

'pa-...-in' — Spotlighting the One Who Does It

Wrap the root in pa- and -in instead, and the spotlight lands on the person being made or allowed to act.

• Pakainin mo ang aso.

  Feed the dog. (lit. make the dog eat)

• Pahiramin mo ako ng lapis mo.

  Lend me your pencil. (lit. let me borrow your pencil)

• Painumin mo sila ng tubig.

  Give them water to drink.

Look closely at pahiramin. English "lend" makes the lender the subject, but the Tagalog spotlights the borrower — ako is the one being allowed to borrow. This is why the sentence begins "lend me" with ako rather than ko.

03

'ipa-' — Spotlighting the Thing

When you want the object itself in the spotlight, use ipa-.

• Ipaluto mo ang isda sa kusinero.

  Have the cook prepare the fish.

• Ipahiram mo ang libro sa kanya.

  Lend the book to him.

Compare with pahiramin above: ipahiram spotlights the book, pahiramin spotlights the borrower. Same event, different centre of attention — the focus system at work one more time.

04

'ipa-' for Making Known

A small group of common verbs use ipa- with the sense of causing someone to know or remember something.

• Ipaalam mo sa akin ang balita.

  Let me know the news.

• Ipaalala mo sa akin bukas.

  Remind me tomorrow.

In both, the thing communicated takes ang, and the person told sits in a sa phrase.

05

Why This Matters Early

Causatives are not an advanced flourish in Tagalog — they are how you talk about services, favours, and requests, which come up constantly. Getting a haircut, having food delivered, asking to borrow something: all of these need pa-.