Gi- For Patient And Instrument

The prefix gi- is the started aspect marker for most non-actor focuses. The 'ambiguity' arises because distinct focus types which use different markers in the 'not started' aspect collapse into the single prefix gi- once the action has begun. Note that gi- is strictly for non-actor focuses. If the ang phrase is the active doer of the action, you must use Actor Focus markers like mi- or ni- or nag- instead. You will also see gi- used for certain physical or emotional states, such as gigutom (became hungry). While English treats 'I' as the actor in 'I am hungry', Cebuano treats the person as the receiver or experiencer of the hunger, which aligns perfectly with non-actor focus.

• Patient Focus: Verbs that would use -on (like paliton - will buy) change to gi- (gipalit - bought) to show the ang phrase is the receiver.
• Instrumental Focus: Verbs that would use i- (like isulat - will use to write) change to gi- (gisulat - used to write) to show the ang phrase is the tool.
• Theme/Conveyance Focus: Verbs that use i- for items being moved or given (like ihatag - will give) also change to gi- (gihatag - gave) to show the ang phrase is the conveyed item.

There is an important exception for Locative Focus: if the ang phrase is a location, the verb requires the circumfix gi-...-an rather than the bare gi- prefix. Benefactive Focus verbs can use either gi-...-an or the bare gi- prefix, depending on whether their unstarted form uses -an or i-.

Furthermore, when negating these started actions with wala, the formal rule is that the gi- prefix is dropped and the negation maps to the verb's imperative or dependent affix. Verbs that use -on take the suffix -a (like wala palita - did not buy), verbs that use -an take the suffix -i (like wala bayari - did not pay), and verbs that use i- restore the i- prefix (like wala ihatag - did not give). For verbs ending in a vowel, these suffixes change to -ha and -hi (like basa becoming wala basaha - did not read). Crucially, when using wala, enclitic pronouns (like niya or nako) must move to the position immediately following wala and before the verb (e.g., wala niya palita, not wala palita niya). However, be aware that in everyday conversational Cebuano, native speakers frequently bypass this formal rule and simply retain the gi- prefix (e.g., wala niya gipalit).

To become proficient in identifying the role, look at the verb's meaning and the context of the ang phrase. The actor remains in the genitive case, usually as a genitive pronoun (like nako, nimo, niya) or using ni or sa.