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🕒 How do you Express the Past in Tagalog?

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vincent profile picture vincentMay 2023

The most common affixes for the past tense are "nag-", "-um-", and "-in". The choice of the affix depends on the verb root, its focus, and the grammatical structure of the sentence.

  1. "nag-" prefix: This is used for verbs with an actor focus, where the doer of the action is emphasized. It usually comes with root words that don't have any repeated syllables.

Example: Nagluto (cooked) - Nag (past tense marker) + luto (cook)

  1. "-um-" infix: This is also used for verbs with an actor focus, but it is usually inserted after the first consonant of the root verb. Like "nag-", it also comes with root words that don't have any repeated syllables.

Example: Kumain (ate) - K (first consonant) + um (past tense marker) + ain (the rest of the root word "kain" which means "eat")

  1. "-in" suffix: This is used for verbs with an object focus, which emphasizes the object of the action. It is often added to the root words that have repeated syllables.

Example: Kinain (was eaten) - Kain (eat) + in (past tense marker)