Genitive Actor In Non-Actor Focus

When using verbs with affixes like gi- (for completed or past actions, and sometimes progressive, though 'gina-' is the standard prefix for progressive actions in formal Cebuano and Mindanao dialects), -on, -an, or i- (which also covers conveyance or theme focus for things being moved, transferred, or given, such as ihatag or ibutang), the sentence structure shifts:

• The Subject: The thing being eaten, bought, or given becomes the focus. It uses ang, si, or absolutive pronouns (like ako, ikaw, siya).
• The Actor: The person doing the action is no longer the subject. They are expressed using the Genitive Case.

Markers for the Actor:
1. Pronouns: Use the nako/ko set (e.g., nako, nimo, niya, nato, namo, ninyo, nila). Note: While 'ko', 'mo', and 'ta' are short for 'nako', 'nimo', and 'nato' in the genitive, they are also used as absolutive subjects. As absolutive subjects, 'ko' is short for 'ako', 'ta' is short for 'kita', and 'mo' is short for 'kamo'. Be especially careful with 'mo': as a genitive actor, it means singular 'by you' (short for nimo), but as an absolutive subject, it means plural 'you all' (short for kamo).
2. Proper Names: Use the marker ni (e.g., ni Juan) or nila ni for plural (e.g., nila ni Juan).
3. Common Nouns: Use the marker sa (e.g., sa bata) or 'sa mga' for plural (e.g., sa mga bata).

Special Case (I -> You): When the genitive actor is 'I' (nako) and the absolutive subject is 'you' (ka), Cebuano uses the combined form tika or ta ka instead of 'nako ka' (e.g., 'Gihigugma tika' - I love you). For the plural 'you all' (kamo), the combined form is tamo or ta kamo (e.g., 'Gihigugma tamo' - I love you all).

Word Order & Negation: Pronouns in Cebuano follow a strict 'shortest word first' rule (second-position words). If both the actor and the subject are pronouns, the shorter pronoun comes first, regardless of its role. For example, if the subject is a 1-syllable pronoun (like 'ko') and the actor is a 2-syllable pronoun (like 'niya'), the subject will jump in front of the actor right after the verb (e.g., 'Gihigugma ko niya' - He/She loves me). When both pronouns have the same number of syllables (like the 1-syllable 'mo' and 'ko'), the actor usually precedes the subject (e.g., 'Gihigugma mo ko' - You love me). If the sentence is negated, the negative marker becomes the first word, and pronoun clitics jump to the second position, attaching to the negator instead of the verb, still following the shortest-word-first rule (e.g., 'Wala ko nimo nakita' - You did not see me). Unlike pronouns, noun actors (proper names with ni or common nouns with sa) do not jump to the second position and remain after the verb (e.g., 'Wala gikaon sa bata').

Note that wala and dili are not interchangeable:
- Use wala to negate past or progressive actions (verbs with gi- or gina-). In formal Cebuano, when negating a gi- verb with wala, the gi- prefix is dropped and replaced with a specific affix depending on the focus: the -a suffix for patient focus (e.g., 'Wala nako kaona' - I did not eat it), the -i suffix for locative focus (e.g., 'Wala nako paliti' - I did not buy from it), or the i- prefix for conveyance, instrumental, or benefactive focus (e.g., 'Wala nako ihatag' - I did not give it). In colloquial speech, keeping the gi- is common (e.g., 'Wala nako gikaon').
- Use dili to negate future or contemplated actions (verbs with -on, -an, i-). Example: 'Dili nako kaonon' (I will not eat it).

Alternatively, you can use preposed possessive pronouns (akong, imong, iyang, etc.) which come before the verb (e.g., 'Akong gikaon ang mansanas').