nag-

Completed Mag- Form

Level 2

The nag- prefix is the completed (perfective) form of mag- verbs. It indicates that an action has been finished. It is an actor-focus form, meaning the person doing the action is the subject (the ang phrase).

How It Works

To form the completed aspect of a mag- verb, the prefix mag- changes to nag-. A helpful mnemonic is simply replacing the m with an n.

1. Formation Rules:

Consonant-initial roots: Attach nag- directly to the root (e.g., luto → nagluto). Note that the root is not reduplicated (repeated) for the completed aspect. Be careful not to confuse this with the progressive aspect, which also uses nag- but repeats the first syllable (e.g., nagluluto).
Vowel-initial roots: You must use a hyphen between the prefix and the root to preserve the glottal stop (e.g., aral → nag-aral).
English loanwords: mag-/nag- is the default affix for borrowing foreign verbs. Use a hyphen if retaining the original English spelling (e.g., nag-drive, nag-bake). However, if using a Filipinized spelling that starts with a consonant, drop the hyphen (e.g., nagdrayb).

2. Grammatical Function:
As an actor-focus affix, the nag- verb points to the performer of the action as the most important piece of information in the sentence. The performer must be marked by ang or an ang-case pronoun (e.g., ako, ka, siya). The object being acted upon is marked by ng (pronounced "nang") and is almost always indefinite (e.g., 'a book', 'some food'). If you want to refer to a definite object (e.g., 'the book'), you typically need to use an object-focus verb instead.

3. Aspect vs. Tense:
While often translated as the English past tense, Filipino uses aspect rather than tense. The nag- form technically refers to completion. For Level 2 learners, it is most commonly used to describe things that have already happened. To provide context, it is frequently paired with past-time markers such as kahapon (yesterday), kanina (earlier), or kagabi (last night).

Examples (4)

Nagluto si Maria ng hapunan.
Maria cooked dinner.
Word by Word: Cooked Maria (focus) dinner (non-focus).
Here, 'nagluto' shows the action of cooking is finished. 'Si Maria' is the actor in focus.
Nag-aral kami sa silid-aklatan kanina.
We studied in the library earlier.
Word by Word: Studied we (exclusive, focus) in library earlier.
Note the hyphen in 'nag-aral' because the root 'aral' starts with a vowel.
Nagbasa siya ng diyaryo habang nagkakape.
He read a newspaper while having coffee.
Word by Word: Read he/she (focus) newspaper (non-focus) while having-coffee.
'Nagbasa' is the completed action, while 'nagkakape' (ongoing) provides the background context.
Naglinis ako ng bahay kahapon.
I cleaned the house yesterday.
Word by Word: Cleaned I (focus) house (non-focus) yesterday.
The actor 'ako' is the focus of the sentence.

Common Mistakes

Forgetting the hyphen for vowel-initial roots.
Nagalís siya.
Nag-alís siya.
In Filipino orthography, a hyphen is required when a prefix ending in a consonant (like nag-) meets a root starting with a vowel (like alís).
Confusing completed aspect with progressive aspect by adding reduplication.
Nagluluto ako kahapon.
Nagluto ako kahapon.
'Nagluluto' (with the repeated 'lu') means 'is cooking' or 'was cooking' (ongoing). For a simple completed action like 'cooked', use 'nagluto' without repeating the syllable.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

nag-Level 2Completed Mag- Form

Learn This First

To understand the 'nag-' completed aspect, a learner must first be familiar with the 'mag-' verb class and the concept of actor focus. Additionally, they need to grasp the fundamental Filipino grammatical concept that verbs change based on aspect (the state of the action) rather than tense (the time of the action).

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern