pag- (sugo)
Pag- Command
Pag- forms actor-oriented commands, alongside established bare-root, pang- and ka- command forms.
How It Works
Pagluto, pagtuon and pag-andam tell someone to act. The person addressed is often understood, so a pronoun is optional. Add mo when explicitly addressing several people, and use palihug for a request.
Do not make the rule depend only on whether a dictionary example uses mag- or mo-. Pag- has broad command uses, especially under ayaw, while bare-root commands such as Kaon! and Adto! are also standard. The choice depends on the verb and construction; a root-only command is not automatically an incorrect omission.
An ordinary object of an actor-oriented command can take og: Pagluto og isda. To make the fish the focused participant, use the appropriate patient-oriented imperative: Lutoa ang isda. These forms organize the participants differently; they are not interchangeable prefixes on the same structure.
Other command patterns include pang- in pangaon and ka- in katulog. A negative instruction can use Ayaw paglakaw or the conversational Ayaw og lakaw. In Ayaw mo pag-away, the pronoun follows the negator. Keep the hyphen in a spelling such as pag-andam.
Examples (5)
- Pagluto na mo.
Cook now, you all.
Word by Word: Cook now you.
The prefix 'pag-' is attached to the root 'luto' (cook) to form a prototypical command. The short enclitic pronoun 'mo' is used for the plural 'you', and 'na' makes it sound more natural.
- Pag-andam og pagkaon para sa mga bisita.
Prepare some food for the guests.
Word by Word: Prepare food for the guests.
Note the hyphen in 'pag-andam' because 'andam' starts with a vowel. 'Og' is used here for an indefinite object.
- Panghilom na mo diha!
Be quiet [you all] there!
Word by Word: Be-quiet now you there.
A common command for a group to stop making noise. Because 'manghilom' is a 'mang-' verb denoting a group action, its imperative form changes to 'panghilom'.
- Pagtuon og maayo para sa pasulit.
Study well for the exam.
Word by Word: Study well for the exam.
Used for giving advice or instructions to one person. 'Tuon' is the root for study.
- Paghulat lang kadiyot.
Just wait a moment.
Word by Word: Wait just a-moment.
The particle 'lang' (just) softens the command into a request. Note that no hyphen is used because 'h' is a consonant.
Common Mistakes
Omitting the hyphen for vowel-initial roots.
Pagandam og kape.Pag-andam og kape.In Cebuano orthography, a hyphen is required after a consonant-final prefix (like pag-) when the root starts with a vowel to indicate the glottal stop.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To use the pag- command, you first need to understand how basic commands work in Cebuano. Since pag- is the imperative form of mag- verbs, familiarity with the mag- actor focus class is essential. Additionally, knowing the particle 'na' is helpful as it commonly accompanies these commands to signify 'do it now'.
Related Patterns
- -aPatient-Focus Command
The command form used when the focus is on a specific object, which is often more natural than pag- in those contexts.
Level 2 - palihugPlease
The word used to soften pag- commands into polite requests.
Level 1 - ayaw + og + VerbDo Not Do
The negative imperative; 'ayaw' can be followed by either 'pag-' or the marker 'og' in spoken Cebuano.
Level 2 - pang- (sugo)Pang- Command
The plural or distributive command form often used instead of pag- when addressing a group.
Level 4
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Sources
Practice pag- (sugo) in Bubblegum
Poppy, your AI tutor, writes Cebuano lessons at your level. Tap any grammar point in a lesson to see its full explanation.
