Bisayan grammar and notes on Bisayan rhetoric and poetics and Filipino dialectology

Chapter III: Appendix: Notes on Bisayan Rhetoric and Poetics 117 (2)

Text size

where the a of the penult really bears two accents, angular and grave, the angular not being employed for the reason that is it not necessary, as the last two aa are pronounced separately [62], and because it is not proper, as the angular accent is only used at the endings of the words. [63]

In the derivatives formed with taga, or tag, or maqui the accent of the root is not changed. As

from bódo, (salted fish), tagabódo
baláy (house), tagbaláy
calámay (dark sugar) maquicalámay

The comparatives formed with, the interfix ro, have always the accent on the last syllable no matter where it was in the primitive. As

from halábà (long), harohalabâ
uguis (white), urouguís.

The superlatives formed with the prefix gui and the affix i always have the accent on the penult, without regarding where it was in the primitive. As

from halárum (deep), guihahalarúmi
matahúm (beautiful), guimamatahúmi

The collectives follow the way in which their primitives are accented, so, if their, primitives have the accent on the penult, they have it on the penult, and when the primitives have the accent on the last syllable they also have it on their last syllables. As

from bátà (child), cabatáan
baláy (house), cabalayán.

It must be observed also that there are nouns which, thru phonetical variations, have more than one forms. Of such words are the following:

báchò, bíchò (groaning)
bándoc, búndac (kick)
guipic, guipác (broken)
guisî, gusî, quisî, cusî (sagged)
Panalaron, Palanaron, Planaron (one of the suburbs of
the town of Tacloban), [64]
piló, lopí (fold)
quíróg, coróg (trembling)
quirógpos, corógpos (surtout)
sitsit, sutsut (whistle)
taclap, taplac (blanket), etc.

There are also words composed of the same letters but sounding differently and having different meanings thereby, on account of the separation with which some of their syllables are pronounced. As

bágo (a tree), bag-o (new)
lauay (saliva), lau-ay (repugnance)
tagóc (resin), tág-oc (inarticulate voice).
bágang (an insect), bág-ang (grinder)
bútol (bulky), bút-ol (throat)
bulánon (moony), bul’ánon (from Bohol), etc.

PRONOUNS

There are four classes: personal, demonstrative, possessive, and relative.

PERSONAL.

They are the following:

SINGULAR PLURAL

Acó (I) Quitá, camí (we) [65]
Icáo, ca, [66] (thou, you) Camó (you)
Hiyá, or siyá [67] (he or she) Hirá, or sirá (they)

DECLENSION

The cases are four; nominative, genitive, objective, and vocative.

First person.—Singular.

Nominative.— Acó (I) Genitive.— Nácon, [68] ácon, co (of, by me) Objective.— Ha ácon, dácon [69] (to, for, in, at, on, upon, over, under, etc. me)

Plural.

Nominative,— Camí—quitá. [70] (we)
Genitive.— Nímon, ámon—aaton, aton, ta (of, by us)
Objective.— Ha ámon, dámon—ha áton, dáton (to, for, etc. us)

Second person.—Singular.

Nominative.— Icáo, ca (thou, you)
Genitive.— Nimo, imo, mo (of, by thee, or you)
Objective.— Ha imo, dimo (to, for, etc. thee, or you)
Vocative.— Icao (thou, or you)

Plural.

Nominative.— Camó (you)
Genitive.— Niyo, iyo (of, by you)
Objective.— Ha iyo, díyo (to, for, etc. you)
Vocative.— Camó (you)

Third person—Singular.

Nominative.— Hiyá (he, or she)
Genitive.— Niya, iya (of, by him, or her)
Objective.— Ha iya, díya (to, for, etc. him or her)
Vocative— Hiyá (He, or she).

Plural.

Nominative— Hirá (They)
Genitive— Nira, ira (of, by them)
Objective— Ha ira, dira (to, for etc., them)
Vocative— Hirá (they).

DEMONSTRATIVE.

They have the same forms both for the singular and plural, as follows:

adí (this, these, nearer to the speaker than to the listener)
ini (this, these)
itó (that, those, nearer to the speaker than to the listener,
corresponding to the Spanish “ese, esa, eso, esos, esas”)
adto (that, those, far from both the speaker and the listener, and
corresponding to the Spanish “aquel, aquella, aquellos,
aquellas”).

When used before the nouns, they have the particle nga after them; said particle being frequently contracted with the pronun. As

adí ng̃a, contracted adín,
iní ng̃a, contracted inín,
itó ng̃a, contracted itón,
ádto ng̃a, contracted ádton.

The form itón sometimes takes again the particle ng̃a. So it is said itón ng̃a batâ (that boy or girl).

Adí, adto in some places have their variants yadi, yadto.

In plural, the particle mga is placed after the preceding combinations;

They have two cases: subjective and objective.

DECLENSION.

Adí.—Singular

Subjective— Adí, adí ng̃a, adín (this) Objective— Hadí, hadí ng̃a, hadín, or hadin mg̃a (of, etc. this)

Plural.

Subjective— Adí, adi ng̃a mg̃a, adín mg̃a (these)
Objective— Hadí, hadi ng̃a mg̃a, hadín, or (of, etc., these).
hadin mg̃a

Iní.—Singular

Subjective— Iní, iní ng̃a, inín (this)
Objective— Hiní, hiní ng̃a, hinín (of, etc., this)

Plural.

Subjective— Iní, ini ng̃a mg̃a, inín mg̃a (these)
Objective,— Hiní, hini ng̃a mg̃a, hinin mg̃a (of, etc., these).

Itó.—Singular.

Subjective.— Itó, itó ng̃a, itón, itón ng̃a (that)
Objective— Hitó, hitó ng̃a, hitón, hitón, ng̃a (of, etc. that)

Plural.

Subjective.— Itó, itó ng̃a mg̃a, itón mg̃a, itón (those)
ng̃a mg̃a
Objective.— Hitó, hitó ng̃a mg̃a, hitón mg̃a, (of, etc., those)
hitón ng̃a mg̃a

Adto.—Singular.

Subjective.— Adto, adto ng̃a, adton (that)
Objective.— Hadto, hadto ng̃a, hadton (of, etc., that)

Plural.

Subjective.— Adto, adto ng̃a mg̃a, adton mg̃a (those) Objective.— Hadto, hadto ng̃a mg̃a, hadton mg̃a (of, etc., those)

The forms adton and hadton are frequently used instead of itón, hitón when the object referred to is very close to the listener. Itón is sometimes replaced by the forms hadto and haton. Examples:

mopáy adtón hiní (that one is better than this)
condî darodacô iní hadton (but this is larger than that)
say co hatón (I prefer that one).

POSSESSIVE.

They are the following:

SINGULAR PLURAL acon, co (my, mine) aton, ta, amon (our, ours) imo, mo (thy, thine, your, yours) iyo (your, yours) iya (his or her) ira (their)

The forms co, mo, ta are used only after the nouns.

The same distinction exists between aton and amon, as between quitá and camí. [71]

They have also two cases: subjective, and objective.

DECLENSION.

Acon.—Singular.

Subjective.— Acon, co (my, mine)
Objective.— Ha acon, han acon (of, etc., my)

Plural.

Subjective.— Aton, ta, amon (our, ours) Objective.— Ha aton, han aton, ha amon, han amon (of, etc., our)

Imo.—Singular.

Subjective.— Imo, mo (thy, thine, your, yours)
Objective.— Ha imo, han imo (of, etc., your, thy)

Plural.

Subjective.— Iyo (your, yours)
Objective.— Ha iyo, han iyo (of, etc., your)

Iya—Singular.

Subjective— Iya (his, her, hers)
Objective.— Ha iya, han iya (of, etc., his, her)

Plural.

Subjective.— Ira (their)
Objective.— Ha ira, han ira (of, etc., their)

These plurals refer to the subjects possessing. The plural referring to the objects possessed, is formed in each case by using the particle mg̃a, as

Acon mg̃a cabogtóan (my brothers or sisters)
Iyo mg̃a láuas (your bodies)
Ira mg̃a cabalayán (their houses)

RELATIVE

They are as follows:

Ng̃a (that, which)
anó (what)
bisan anó (whatever)
hín’o or sin’o [72] (who)
bisan hin’o or bisan sin’o (whoever)
háin (which)
bisan háin (whichever)

These pronouns, except hin’o and bisan hin’o have no inflection for cases.

NG̃A.

This relative always refers to the subject of the verb. It never relates to the complement. So the sentence:

“the house that Peter builds is big”,

cannot be translated literally into Bisayan. It is expressed by passive voice. Thus:

“an baláy ng̃a guintitindog ni Pedro, dacô”;

literally “the house that is being built by Peter is big”, And this:

“the book which you gave me yesterday”

is translated:

“an basahón ng̃a ihinátag mo ha acon cacolóp”;

literally “the book which was given by you to me yesterday”

This pronoun is indispensable when a substantive is qualified by an adjective, as

maópay ng̃a táuo (good man,) not maúpay táuo,
bucad ng̃a mahamót (fragrant flower) not bucád mahamot [73]

It differs from the conjunction ng̃a (that) in that the pronoun always refers to a noun, never to a verb.

NOTE.—This particle ng̃a expresses in some instances the idea of “saying,” “question,” “answer,” etc., as when we say:

Ng̃a ni Pedro: “tágui acó hin salapí.” Dáyon batón ni Juan, ng̃a
niya: “uaray co salapí.”

Peter said: “give me money.” John immediately replied by saying: “I have no money.”

Pacanhía hi Guillermo. Ng̃a natón [74] “guinquiquína hang̃lan ca
didto.”

Make Guillermo come. Tell him: “you are needed there.”

When applied to the third person it is frequently combined with the particle laóng̃ as:

Násiring̃ hi Pedro, ng̃alaóng̃: “magtotoón aco.”

Peter said: “I shall study”.

This special idea conveyed by the word ng̃a seems to show in other instances in the Bisayan tongue, as when it is said depreciatively:

¡Ca damò hin im ng̃ang̃a!

How many things you ask or talk!

where the doubled ng̃a means request or talking.

ANÓ.

This pronoun has the same use as the English what, except when the latter is used as an objective relative, in which case the said English pronoun is translated by the article an. As when it is said:

“What you need is patience, not science,” which is translated:

An guinquiquinahang̃lan mo an pag-ílob, dirì hibaró.

BISAN ANÓ.

Bisan ano means “anything” or “whatever.” Examples:

Whatever you do I’ll know it.

Bisan ano in buháton mo, hisasabotán co.

Give me anything eatable.

Tágui aco hin bisan anó ng̃a hacaraón.

It is frequently replaced by ano lâ, or anoano lâ. Ex.:

Anything you may desire, I’ll give you.

Ano lâ ng̃a caruyágon mo, ihahatag co ha imo.

You wish to see everything.

Anoano lâ buót mo hiquit’an.

When it is preceded by an article, it means “which,” as

Which horse do you like?

¿An anó ng̃a cabayo in buót mo?

HIN’O

This relative is only used in the interrogative phrases. It is not employed as the English “who” when this relative serves as “that”. So this phrase

“that person who talks is my brother” is translated: “itón tauo ng̃a
nagyayácan, acon bugto,” not “itón tauo hin’o nagyayácan, etc.”

It has two cases: subjective and objective.

DECLENSION

SINGULAR PLURAL

Subjective— Hin’o (who) Hirá hin’o (who)
Objective— Canáy, can (of, etc. Canda canáy (of, etc.,
canáy whom whose) whom, whose)

BISAN HIN’O

Bisan hin’o means “whoever” or “anyone”. Example:

Whoever is there, let him come.

Bisan hin’o in adâ, pacanhía.

Anyone knows him.

Bisan hin’o náquilála ha iya.

It also has two cases: subjective and objective.

DECLENSION.

SINGULAR PLURAL
Subjective.— Bisan hin’o (whoever) Bisan hirá (whoever)
hin’o
Objective.— Bisan canáy (of, etc., Bisan canda (of etc.,
whomever) canáy whoever)

HAIN.

Hain means “which.” Examples:

Which of these hats is yours?
¿Háin hiní ng̃a mg̃a calò in imo?

Similarly to “ano,” the pronoun “háin” is only used in the interrogative forms, never as ng̃a (that). So the phrase

“the book which you saw”

is translated

“an basahón ng̃a imo quinità”

(literally: the book that was seen by you), and not

“an basahon háin icao quinmità.”

BISAN HÁIN.

It is equivalent to the English “whichever,” Examples:

Whichever of those books satisfies me.

Didâ hitó ng̃a mga basahón bisan háin maopay co.

NOTE.—These relatives hain and bisan háin must not be confounded with the adverbs of the same form, háin (where) and bisan háin (wherever). The former refer only to nouns, the latter to verbs.

CONTRACTIONS.

The pronouns are frequently contracted as follows:

acó, ácon, to ac
nácon ,, nac
dácon ,, dac
camí ,, cam
quitá ,, quit
námon ,, nam
ámon ,, am
náton ,, nat
áton ,, at
dámon ,, dam
dáton ,, dat
icáo ,, ic
nímo ,, nim
imo ,, im
dimo ,, dim
camó ,, cam
adi ,, ad
iní ,, in
itó ,, it
adín ,, ad
itón ,, it
hadí ,, had
hadín ,, had
hiní ,, hin
hinín ,, hin
hitó ,, hit
hitón ,, hit
hatón ,, hat
ácon ,, ac
áton ,, at
ámon ,, am
imo ,, ini
bisan anó ,, bis ano
bisan háin ,, bis hain

VERBS

The verbs may be grouped in the following classes:

As to their conjugation: active, passive, negative, interrogative, suppletory, impersonal, defective.

As to their inflections: primitive, and progressive.

The Active verb represents the subject as acting, as:

acó násugò (I order).

The Passive verb represents the subject as being acted upon, as:

acó sinúsugò (I am ordered).

The Negative verb involves a negation, as:

ayáo catúrog (do not sleep).

The Interrogative verb involves a question, as:

¿diín ca cadto? (where did you go?)

The Suppletory verb supplies the lack of all auxiliary and a few other verbs as from ini (this), we have:

íiní acó (I am here), to express the verb “to be,” in Bisayan.

The Impersonal verb has not a definite subject, as:

náurán (it rains).

The Defective verb lacks one or more of its principal parts as,

iyá (receive it).

The Primitive verb is used in its original and simplest form as:

acó násurát (I write).

The Progressive verb denotes continuance of the action, as:

acó nagusurát (I am writing).

CONJUGATION

VOICES

They are active and passive. The passive voice has three classes: direct, indirect, and instrumental.

The direct passive is where the subject is the direct object in active voice, as:

suratá an acon ng̃aran (write my name; literally: let my name be
written by you).

The indirect passive is where the subject is an indirect object of the verb in its active voice, as:

suratí an imo amáy (write to your father; literally: let a letter
be written by you to your father),

The instrumental passive is where the subject is the instrument or real object of the action, as:

igsurát iní ng̃a pluma (write with this pen; literally: let this pen
be used by you in writing.)

MOODS AND TENSES

There are four moods: infinitive, indicative, imperative, and subjunctive,

The infinitive has two tenses: present, and gerund; three in passive voice: present, gerund, and past participle.

The indicative has three. The ordinary forms have present, past and future. The irregular forms have present, imperfect past, and past.

The imperative and subjunctive, have each one tense: present.

Infinitive: The present is frequently used as a noun, as:

an pagcáon (the meal).

The gerund is frequently used in compound sentences for past tenses, as:

han pag-abot co (when I arrived: literally: upon my arriving).

The past participle is employed as an adjective as:

hinigugma co ng̃a iróy. (my dear mother; literally: mother loved by
me).

NOTE.—There are in Bisayan forms resembling and equivalent in many instances to the Latin infinitive future ending in rus, in active, and in dus, in passive, as amaturus and amandus. Such Bisayan forms are those formed by the particle um combined with the interfix r or its substitutes (See page 20), as:

cumaráon (one who is to eat)

caraonón (a thing to be eaten).

Indicative. Ordinary forms. The present corresponds to the same tense, in English, and also to the Spanish and Latin imperfect past. As:

nácaon acó (I eat)

nácaon acó han pag-abot mo (I was eating when you arrived)

The past tense represents the English present perfect, and past, indicative mood. As:

nagsurát acó (I have written, I wrote)

The future corresponds to the English future tense, as:

másurat acó (I shall write)

Suppletory forms. The present represents the English present and future tenses, indicative. As:

He is here: hiyá háhani.

He will be here tomorrow: hiyá hahaní buás.

The imperfect past and past tense corresponds to the same tense of the Latin and Spanish languages: as

didinhi [75] hi Juan han pag-abót co (John was here, when I
arrived)

Imperative and Subjunctive. The single tense (present) of each of these moods corresponds to the same tense in English, as:

cadto búas (go there to-morrow)

cun cumadto ca buas, tauága acó (If you go there tomorrow, call
me).

Observations. 1. The English past perfect, indicative, is supplied in Bisayan by the present tense, indicative, of the potential form which we shall see later. [76] As:

han imo pag-abót nacacatima na acó (when you arrived, I had already
finished).

2. The English future perfect tense is supplied in Bisayan by the future tense, indicative, of the potential form. As

umabút ca ng̃anì macacatima na aco (when you arrive, I shall have
finished).

3. The Latin and Spanish imperfect past tense, subjunctive mood, is supplied in Bisayan by the present, subjunctive, and future indicative. As

Cun gumican acó niyán, diri co hiya igquiquita buás (If I should go
today, I would not meet him tó-morrow).

4. The Latin and Spanish perfect past tense, subjunctive, is supplied in Bisayan by the past tense, indicative.

5. The Latin and Spanish plusquamperfect past tense, subjunctive, is supplied in Bisayan by the past and future (potential) tenses, indicative, respectively. As

Cun nagdágmit acó, hinaabután co cunta hiyá (If I had hastened, I
should have reached him).

6. The Latin and Spanish imperfect future tense, subjunctive, is supplied in Bisayan by the present subjunctive.

7. And the perfect future tense, subjunctive, of said languages, is supplied in Bisayan by the present, indicative, potential form.

NUMBER AND PERSON.

There are two numbers: singular and plural.

There are three persons: first, second, and third. Except in the imperative, the inflections of the verbs generally do not change, in each tense. However, the progressive and suppletory forms frequently undergo some changes in plural, as

acó nagsusurát (I am writing),

camí nanunurát (we are writing)

INFLECTIONS.

The inflections are determined by particles, which are shown in the following tables:

(In the tables below, the dash represents the root; the sign (d) means that the first syllable of the root is doubled; s and p mean singular and plural, respectively).

TABLE 1

PRIMITIVE ACTIVE

Infinitive
Present, and gerund: PAG—, s; PANG—, PAM—, PAN—, p

Indicative
Present: NA—
Past: INM—, or —INM—
Future: MA—

Imperative
(the root unaltered)

Subjunctive
UM—, or —UM—

OBSERVATIONS:

Infinitive. The present and gerund are formed by the prefix pag, and the root. In the plural, the g of pag undergoes the following changes:

When the root begins with a vowel o: with the consonant c, the pag is changed into pang the c then being suppressed. Examples:

from “arò” (to ask), pag-arò, pl. pang̃aro.
“catúrog” (to sleep), pagcátúrog, pl. pang̃atúrog.

If the root commences with a labial consonant, except m, pag is transformed into pam, and then the labial consonant disappears. Examples:

from “báyad” (to pay), pagbáyad, pl. pamáyad.
“pilì” (to select), pagpilì, pl. pamilì.

When the root begins with m, pag is transformed into pan, the m of the root remaining in it. Example:

from “múlay” (to teach), pagmúlay, pl. panmúlay.

If the root commences with any other consonant, pag is replaced by pan, the said consonant being then suppressed except when it is a g or h. Examples.

from “hapon” (to perch), paghápon, pl. panhápon,
,, “gúbat” (to invade), paggúbat, pl. pangúbat,
,, “búao” (to visit), pagdúao, pl. panúno,
,, “tubò” (to grow), pagtubò, pl. panubò,
,, “surát” (to write), pagsurát, pl. panurát.

Indicative.—Present. The transformative particle of this tense is the prefix na, which must always be pronounced long, in order not to confound it with the short na of the passive potential form, as it will be seen later. [77] As

(long na) nápilì acó (I select)
(short na) napílì acó (I was selected).

Past.—This tense is determined by the interfix inm placed between the first consonant and the first vowel of the root.

When the root commences with a vowel, this particle is simply prefixed to the root. As,

from “surát” (to write), “abót” (to arrive) acó sinmurát [78] (I
write), inmabót hirá (they arrived)

NOTE.—The m of imn is frequently suppressed. As,

from “múlay” (to teach), abót (to arrive)
,, minúlay, inábot.

Future.—The particle determining this tense is the prefix ma which must be always pronounced long, so as not to confound it with the short ma used among the verbal and derivative nouns. As,

(long ma) hiyá mácáon (he or she will eat)
(short ma) hiyá macaón (he or she is a glutton)
(long) máborong̃ (there will be fog)
(short) mabórong̃ (confuse)

Imperative.—It is simply the root without any transformative particle.

NOTE.—There is a form consisting in doubling the first syllable of the root. But this form is used only in the preceptive language, as when we say: “tauágon ca ng̃anì, bábatón” (whenever you are called, always answer).

Subjunctive.—The single tense of this mood is determined by the interfix um which is placed between the first consonant and the first vowel of the root. If the root begins with a vowel, the interfix is added to the beginning as from “arò” (to ask), “umarò,” from “cáon” (to eat) cumáon.

Example:

Root: surát.

Infinitive

Present, and gerund { singular: pagsurát } (to write, writing)
{ plural: panurát }

Indicative

PRESENT

SINGULAR | PLURAL acó } { I, } | camí quitá } { we } icao } násurat { they, you } write, etc. | camó } násurat { you } write hiyá } { he, she } | hirá } { they }

PAST

acó, etc. (I, etc. wrote) camí, etc. (we, etc.
inmurát sinmurát wrote)

FUTURE

acó, etc. (I shall, etc. camí, etc. (we shall, etc.
másurat write) másurat write)

Imperative

surát icao (write) sumurát [79] (let us, them
camí, hirá write)
sumurát[79] (let him or surát quitá, camó (let us, you
hiya her write) write)

Subjunctive

acó, etc. (I may, etc. camí, etc. (we may, etc.
sumurát write) sumurát write)

TABLE 2.

PROGRESSIVE ACTIVE

Infinitive.
(the same as that of the primitive active)

Indicative
Present: NAG(d)—, s; NANG(d)—, NA(d)—, or NAN(d)—, p.
Past: NAG—, s: NANG—, NA—, or NAN—, p.
Future: MAG(d)—, s; MANG(d)—, MA(d)—, or MAN(d)—, p.

Imperative.
PAG—, s; PANG—, PA—, or PAN—, p.

Subjunctive
MAG—, s; MANG—, MA—, or MAN—, p.

OBSERVATIONS.

Infinitive. Its forms are exactly the same as those of the primitive active.

Indicative. Present. Its singular is determined by doubling the first syllable [80] of the root, prefixed by nag.

Its plural is formed according to the first letter of the root. When the root commences with a vowel, or with the consonant c as

arò (to ask)
cáon (to eat)

the formation takes the following process: ng̃ is added to the beginning of the root, c being suppressed, as

ng̃aro, ng̃áon;

the first syllable is doubled,[80] as

ng̃ang̃aro, ng̃ang̃áon,

to which the particle na is prefixed, as

nang̃ang̃arò, nang̃ang̃áon,

which is the final form.

When the root commences with a labial consonant, as

báyad (to pay)
múlay, (to teach)
pili (to select),

the formation of the plural is as follows: the first consonant of the root is replaced by m, or not altered if it is an m, as

máyad, múlay, mili;

then the first syllable is doubled,[80] as

mamáyad, mumúlay, mimilí;

and the prefix nan is employed, as

nanmamáyad, nanmumúlay, nanmimili,

the final form.

The last n of nan is frequently suppressed, as

namamáyad
namimili.

When the root begins with a dental consonant as

dapò (to approach)
tábon (to cover)
surát (to write)

the formation of the plural consists in replacing the first consonant by n, as

napó, nabon, nurat,

whose first syllable is doubled [81], as

nanapo, nanabon, nunurat,

to which the particle na is prefixed as

nanánapó, nanánabon, nanúnurat,

the final form.

If the root commences with any other consonant, the plural is formed by doubling the first syllable of the root, and by prefixing the particle nan to the root so transformed. Examples:

from hugas (to wash), nanhuhugas.
lohód (to kneel down), nanlolohod.
rabot (to pull), nanrarabot.

Past. The singular is formed by adding to the root the prefix nag.

The plural is formed exactly as the plural present, except in that the first syllable of the root transformed is not doubled.

Future.—The formation of this tense is the same, both in singular and plural, as that of the present, except in that the prefixes used here are mag, ma, man, mang, instead of nag, na, nan, nang.

Imperative.—In singular, the prefixes pag and mag are employed. In plural, the prefixes, pa, pan, pang, ma, man, mang, are used in the same way and cases as the prefixes na, nan, nang, in the present indicative.

Subjunctive.—It is formed in the same way as the future indicative, except in that the first syllable of the root is not doubled here.

Root: surát (write)

Infinitive

Present, and gerund { singular: pagurát } (to be writing, being
{ plural: panurat } writing)

Indicative

PRESENT

TABLE 3

PRIMITIVE DIRECT PASSIVE

Infinitive

Present, and gerund: PAG—A, s; PANG—A, PAM—A, PAN—A, p

Past participle: IN—, or —IN—

Indicative
Present: IN(d)—, or —IN(d)—
Past: IN—, or —IN—.
Future: (d)—ON.

Imperative
—A.

Subjunctive
—ON.

Infinitive. The present and gerund are determined in singular by the prefix pag and the affix á. Pag is used as in the active voice. The affix a is accented (if the last syllable of the root is accented) and simply appended to the root prefixed by pag. This affix is sometimes ha. The use of a or ha follows the same rules established for the use of the affixes an and han (See page 15 of this book).

In plural the prefixes pang, pam, pan, are employed in combination with the affix a. The said prefixes are used in same way as their similar in the primitive active. (See page 62 of this book).

The past participle is formed by the interfix in placed between the first consonant and the first vowel of the root. If this begins with a vowel the in is prefixed to the root. As

from “cáon” (to eat), quináon (eaten)
,, “inóm” (to drink), ininóm (drunk)

Indicative.—Present. This tense is formed by doubling the first syllable of the root and by then placing in it (after doubling the said first syllable) the interfix in, in a similar way as in the past participle. (See the preceding observution). As,

from cáon, quinacáon
,, inóm, iníinóm [82]

Past.—The formation of this tense is exactly the same as that of the past participle seen above.

Future.—This tense is formed by doubling the first syllable of the root and appending to it the affix on. As

from “caón,” cácaónon
,, “inóm,” iinomón, contracted iinmon.

Imperative.—The single form of this mode, consists in the root appended by the affix “á.” It must be observed that this affix “á” in the imperative bears the idea that the order or command is always directed to the second person or first plural, If such order or command is directed to some other person, not to the second, or first (quitá) plural then the subjunctive is used. As

higugmaá an Dyos (love God; lit.: let God be loved by you)
higugmaá ta an catadúng̃an (let us love justice; lit.: let justice
be loved by us).
higugmaón nira an igcasitáuo (let them love the fellow-man: lit.:
let the fellowman be loved by them).

The last form is also frequently used for the second person, singular and plural, and for the first person, plural. As

higugmaón mo an Dyos (love God)
higugmaón niyo, etc.
higugmaón námon, etc.
higugmaón ta, etc.

Subjunctive. The single form of this mode consists in the root appended by the affix on, as it is seen in the preceding examples.

Example:

Root: surát

Infinitive

Present, and gerund { singular: pagsuratá } (to be written, being.
{ plural: panuratá } written)

Past participle: sinurát (written)

Indicative

Imperative

suratá acó, icáo, hiyá, camí, quitá, camó, hírá (let me, thee, you, him, her, us, you them he written by you)

Subjunctive

acó, etc. (I may, etc. camú, etc. (we may, etc. be
suratón written) suratón written)

TABLE 4.

PROGRESSIVE DIRECT PASSIVE.

Infinitive.

Present, and gerund: PAG—A, s; PANG—A, PAM—A, PAN—A, p. Past participle: GUIN—, s; PINA—, PINAN—, p.

Indicative
Present: GUIN(d)—, s; PIN(d)—, PINAN(d)—, p.
Past: GUIN—, s; PINA—, PINAN—, p.
Future: PAG(d)—ON, s; PA(d)—ON, PAN(d)—ON, p.

Imperative
PAG—A, s; PA—A, PAN—A, p.

Subjunctive
PAG—ON, s; PA—ON, PAN—ON, p.

OBSERVATIONS.

Infinitive. Present and gerund. The singular is formed by the root prefixed by pag and affixed by a. In plural the prefixes pa, pan, or pang are employed in the same cases as those mentioned for the use of nang nam, and na of the present tense, indicative, of the progressive form, active voice. [83]

The past participle is formed by the prefix guin added to the root.

Indicative. Present. In singular the first syllable is doubled, [84] and the prefix guin is employed.

In plural the prefix pina is used and the root is transformed exactly in the same way as the plural, present tense, indicative; of the progressive form active voice. [85]

Past. The same as the present, except in that the first syllable of the root transformed is not doubled.

Future. Its singular is formed by the prefix pag, added to the root whose first syllable is doubled, [86] and by the affix on.

Its plural is formed by the prefix pa, pang or pam and the root transformed in the same way as in the use of na nang or nam and as the trasformation of the root in the plural, present tense, indicative of the progressive form, active voice. [87]

Imperative. It consists in the root prefixed by pag and affixed by a. We reproduce here the observation made on the imperative, primitive form, direct passive. [88]

Subjunctive. Its singular is formed by the root prefixed by pag and affixed by on. Its plural consists in the use of pa pang or pam in the same way as in the plural, present tense indicative, progressive form, active voice, [89] and of the affix on.

Example:

Root: surát

Infinitive

Present, and gerund { singular: pagsurátá } (to be written, being
{ plural: panuratá } written)

Past participle: guiusurát s.; pinanunurát p. (written).

Indicative

Imperative

Pagsuratá acó, icao, hiya, camí, hira (let me, you, him or her, us, you, them be being written).

Subjunctive

acó, etc. (I may be, etc. camí, etc. (we may be, etc.
pagsuratón being written) panuratón being written)

TABLE 5

PRIMITIVE INDIRECT PASSIVE

Infinitive.
Present, and gerund: PAG—I, s; PA—I, PAN—I, PANG—I, p.
Past participle: —IN—AN, or IN—AN

Indicative.
Present: IN(d)—AN, or —IN(d)—AN
Past: —IN—AN, or IN—AN
Future: (d)—AN

Imperative.
—I

Subjunctive.
—AN

OBSERVATION:

Infinitive. Present and gerund. This form consists in the root transformed by the affix i, and by the prefix pag in singular, and pang, pan, or pa in plural, according to the rules above established for the use of these prefixes. [90]

Past participle,—This form consists in the root transformed by the interfix in and the affix an. The use of the interfix in follows the same rules as those hereinbefore established for the said interfix. [91]

Indicative.—Present. This tense is determined by doubling the first syllable of the root, and then (after the said first syllable being doubled) by placing the interfix in between the first consonant and the first vowel of the root. If the root begins with a vowel, the interfix in is prefixed to the root whose first syllable has been already doubled.

Past.—This tense has the same form as the past participle.

Future.—The form of this tense consists in doubling the first syllable of the root and by appending to it the affix an.

Imperative. Its form consists in the root appended by the affix i.

The same observation is made here, as that on the imperative of the primitive direct passive. [92]

Subjunctive. It’s form is the root appended by the affix an.

Example:

Root: surát

Infinitive

Present, and gerund { singular: pagsuratí } (to be addressed with a
{ plural: panuratí } letter, being addressed
with a letter) [93]

Past participle: sinuratán (addressed with a letter)

Indicative

Imperative

uratí acó, icáo, hiyá, camí, quita, camó, hirá (let me, thee, you, him, her, us, you, them be addressed with a letter)

Subjunctive

acó, etc. (I may be, etc. camí, etc. (we may be, etc.
suratán addressed with a suratán addressed with a
letter) letter)

TABLE 6.

PROGRESSIVE INDIRECT PASSIVE

Infinitive
Present and gerund: PAG—I, s; PAN—I, PAN—I, PANG—I, p.
Past participle: GUIN—AN.

Indicative
Present: GUIN(d)—AN, s; PINA(d)—AN,
PINAN(d)—AN, PINANG(d)—AN, p.
Past: GUIN—AN, s; PINA—AN, PINAN—AN,
PINANG—AN, p.
Future: PAG(d)—AN, s: PA(d)—AN, PAN(d)—AN,
PANG(d)—AN, p.
Imperative
PAG—I, s; PA—I, PAN—I, PANG—I, p.

Subjunctive
PAG—AN, s; PA—AN, PAN—AN, PANG—AN, p.

OBSERVATIONS.

Infinitive.—Present, and gerund. Their single form is the same as their corresponding primitive form indirect passive.

Past participle. It is distinguished by the prefix guin.

Indicative.—Present, singular. The first syllable of the root is doubled [94] and the affix guin added. Its plural is formed as its corresponding in the progressive direct passive, except in that here the affix an is added. [95]

Past.—The forms of this tense are the same as those of their corresponding form in the progressive direct passive, except in that here the affix an is added. [96]

Future.—The same as that of the progressive direct passive, except in that the affix an is used here instead of on.

Imperative.—The same as that of the progressive direct passive, except in that the affix i is used here instead of a.

Subjunctive—Also the same as that of the progressive direct passive, except in that the affix an is here used instead of on.

Example:

Root: surát

Infinitive

Present, and gerund { singular: pagsuratí }
{ plural: panuratí }

Past participle: guinsurát

Indicative

Imperative

pagsuratí acó, icáo, hiyá, camí, quitá, camó, hirá

Subjunctive

acó, etc. pagsuratán camí, etc. panuratán

TABLE 7

PRIMITIVE INSTRUMENTAL PASSIVE.

Infinitive.
Present, and gerund: PAG—AN, s; PA—AN, PAN—AN, PANG—AN, p.
Past participle: I—IN—, IIN—

Indicative
Present: I—IN(d)—, IIN(d)—
Past: I—IN—, IIN—
Future: I(d)—

Imperative
I—
—AN

Subjunctive
I—

OBSERVATIONS:

Infinitive, Present, and gerund. The same observation is made as that on the same tenses of the primitive, active, with the addition that here the affix an is appended to the root.

Past participle. It is formed by the prefix i and the interfix in. If the root commences with a vowel, the prefix and the interfix are joined, as

from “arò” (to ask), iinarò.

Indicative.—Present, past. They are the same as the present and past tenses indicative of the primitive direct passive, with the addition of the prefix i.

Future.—It is formed by doubling the first syllable of the root and by using the prefix i. As

isusurát, iaaro.

Imperative.—The first form consists in prefixing to the root the particle i. The second form consists in affixing to the root the particle an.

Subjunctive. It consists in prefixing to the root the particle i.

NOTE.—The instrumental passive is also employed to express substitution; as when we say in English:

Read this word for me: ibása acó hiní ng̃a polong̃ (literally: let me be substituted by you in reading this word).

Example:

Root: surát

Infinitive

Present and gerund { singular: pagsuratán } (to be used in writing,
{ plural: panuratán } being used in writing)

Past participle: isinurát: used in writing

Indicative

Imperative

isurát or suratán acó, icao, hiya, camí, quitá, camó hira (let me, thee, you, him, her, us, you, them be used in writing).

Subjunctive

acó, etc. (I may etc. be, | camí, etc. (we may etc. be,
isurát used in writing) | isurát used in writing)

TABLE 8.

PASSIVE PROGRESSIVE INSTRUMENTAL

Infinitive
Present and gerund: PAG—AN, s; PA—AN, PAN—AN, PANG—AN, p.
Past participle: IGUIN—

Indicative
Present: IGUIN(d)—, s; IPINA(d)—, IPINAN(d)—, IPINANG(d)—, p.
Past: IGUIN—, s; IPINA—, IPINAN—, IPINANG—, p.
Future: IG(d)—, s: IPA(d)—, IPAN(d)—, IPANG(d)—, p.

Imperative
PAG—AN, s; PA—AN, PAN—AN, PANG—AN, p.
IG—, s; IPA—, IPAN—, IPANG—, p.

Subjunctive
IG—, s; IPA—, IPAN—, IPANG—, p.

OBSERVATIONS:

The observations made on the conjugation of the progressive direct passive are applied to the above conjugation except in that the present, and gerund take the affix an, and that the past participle, the present, and past indicative, and the subjunctive, plural, take the prefix i, and in that the imperative has the affix an, and the subjunctive singular the affix on, and the future, imperative, and subjunctive have a g after the prefix i.

Example:

Root: surat

Infinitive

Present, and gerund { singular: pagsuratán }
{ plural: panuratán }

Past participle: iguinsurát.

Indicative

Imperative

Pagsaratán or igsarát acó, icáo, hiyá. Panoratán or ipaanrát camí, quitá, camó, hirá.

Subjunctive

acó, etc. igsurát. camí, etc. ipaaurát.

NEGATIVE FORMS

These forms consist in employing the adverbs “diri” before the inflections of the infinitive, present and future indicative, and subjunctive; “uaráy” before the past indicative, and “ayáo” before the imperative.

As to the inflections of the root, they are the same as those of the corresponding; affirmative except the past indicative, which always takes the inflections of the imperative.

Example:

Negative Primitive Active.

Root: surát

Indicative.

Present, and gerund { singular: diri pagsurát } (not to write,
{ plural: diri panurat } not writing)

Indicative

Imperative

ayáo surát icáo, quitá, camó (let you, us not write)

diri sumurát hiyá, camí, hirá (let him, us, them not write)

Subjunctive

diri acó, etc. (I may not, etc. | diri camí, etc. (we may, etc. sumurát write) | sumurát not write)

NOTE.—The past consists sometimes, among the primitive forms, in the root having the first syllable doubled; and among the progressive forms, it consists in the prefix pag and the root whose first syllable is doubled. In plural, the pag undergoes the same changes as in the active conjugation.

Examples:

uaráy acó susurát (I did not write)
uaráy acó pagsusurát (I did not write)

Negative Progressive Active.

Root: surát

Infinitive

Present, and gerund { singular: diri pagsurát } (not to be writing,
{ plural: diri panurát } not being writing)

Indicative

Imperative

ayao icao (do not be | ayao quitá, camo (let us, you, not
pagsurát writing) | panurát be writing)
diri hiya (let him not be | diri camí, hirá (let us, them not
magsurát writing) | manurát be writing)

Subjunctive

diri acó, etc. (I may, etc. not | diri camí, etc. (we may, etc. magsurát be writing) | manurát not be writing)

INTERROGATIVE FORMS

They are determined by the phrases “cay anó” (why), and by “diín”, “háín” (where), and by “san-o”, “cacan-o” (when, past and future respectively).

CAY ANO

The interrogative conjugation by this phrase simply consists in the regular conjugation of the verb, placing before every inflection the said phrase followed by the particle ng̃a. As

¿cay anó ng̃a nasurat ca? (why do you write?)
¿cay anó ng̃a sinmurát hiya? (why did he or she write?)
¿cay anó ng̃a macadto quita? (what shall we go there for?) etc.

DIIN, HAIN.

The interrogative primitive formed; by these adverbs, has only two inflections: one which consists in the original root, and which is the past tense indicative; and the other which consists on the same root, its first syllable being doubled; this last form is for the present and future tenses, indicative. These three tenses are the only tenses that this conjugation has. The adverb “diín” is for the present and past tenses. The adverb “háin” is for the future. Thus:

Present: ¿diin acó susurat? (where do I write?)
Past: ¿diin ca surát? (where did you write?)
Future: ¿háin camí susurát? (where shall we write?)

The interrogative progressive only differs from the preceding one in that the particle pag precedes all of the inflections. In plural this pag becomes pa, pan, or pang, according to the same rules laid on the progressive active form. [97] Thus:

¿diín ca pagsusurát? (where are you writing?)
¿háin camó panunurát? (where will you be writing?)

In passive voices, these same forms are followed except in that the root takes the affix a in the direct passive and the affix i in the indirect passive, and the prefix i for the primitive form, or the prefix ig for the progressive form, in the instrumental passive. Thus:

¿diín suratá?
¿diín suratí?, etc.

NOTE.—Instead of the prefix ig or i, in the instrumental passive, the affix an is frequently employed. As

¿diín susuratán? for ¿diín isusurát? etc.

CACAN-O SAN-O

“Cacan-o” is placed before the past indicative; “san-o” is used before the future, indicative. They are the only two tenses of this kind of conjugation. As to the inflections in the primitive form, the past is simply the root, and the future is the root, whose first two letters are doubled. As

¿cacan-o camo surat? (when did you write?)
¿san-o ca cácanhi? (when will you come?)

In the progressive form the root takes the prefixes pag for the singular and pa, pan, pang in plural.

In the passive, the affix a is used in the direct passive; the affix i, in the indirect passive; and the prefix i or ig in the instrumental. These prefixes are frequently replaced by the affix an. Examples:

¿cacan-o surata?
¿Ban-o susuratí? etc

IMPORTANT OBSERVATION. The verb referred to by any adverb of time takes the same form, as to the indicative, as the adverbs cacan-o and san-o. As

buás acó cacanhi (tomorrow I shall come)
canina han ága acó pagsurát (this morning I have written) [98]

SUPPLETORY VERBS

Irregular conjugation

The suppletory verbs in Bisayan are those formed by the pronouns “iní”, “adí”, “itó”, “itón”, “adtó”, “adtón”; to supply the English “to be”, and those formed by the adverbs “dinhi”, “didi”, “dida”, “dídton”, “díthon”, “dídto”, to supply the same verb “to be” and also the verbs “to come”, and “to go.” Of these verbs we call pronominal those derived from pronouns, and adverbial those derived form adverbs.

PRONOMINAL FORM.

This is a defective form, as it has only one inflection which consists in doubling the first vowel it being for the present tense, indicative mood. Ex.:

iini acó (I am here)
aadí camí (we are here)
iito hiya (he or she is there)
iiton hira (they are there)
aadto ca (you are there)
aadton camo (you are there)

NOTE. In same places of Leyte, as Dulag, these forms are not used but instead of them, the pronouns are doubled as: iniini, adiadi, itoito, etc.

In using these forms it is preferable to have the pronouns follow them.

ADVERBIAL FORM.

This conjugation is common to the adverbs dínhi, didí, didto, dithon, didto.

Root: dinhi (here)

Infinitive

Present, and gerund { singular: pagdinhi } (to be here, being here)
{ plural: paninhi }

Indicative

PRESENT, AND FUTURE SINGULAR | PLURAL acó, etc. aanhi or (I am, etc. | camí, etc. (we are, etc. hahaní shall be, etc. | aanhi or shall be, etc. here) | hahani here)

Imperfect past, and past.

acó, etc. didinhi or (I was, etc. | camí etc. (we were, etc. nacanhi here) | didinhi or here) | nacanhi

Imperative

dinhi icao, etc. (be here, etc).

Subjunctive

acó, etc. maanhi (I may etc. be | camí, etc. maanhi (we may, etc. or mahani here) | or mahani be here)

OBSERVATIONS.

Infinitive.—Present and gerund. Here the particles pag and pan are employed in the same way as among the primitive active voice [99]. As

SINGULAR PLURAL
pagdinhi paninhi
pagdidí panidí
pagdidâ panidâ
pagdidton panidton
pagdithon panithon
pagdidto panidto.

Indicative.—Present and future. It is formed by replacing the first two letters of the root with the prefix a doubled. As

from dinhi aanhi,
,, didí aadí
,, didâ aadâ
,, didton aadton
,, dithon aathon
,, didto aadto

NOTE.—The form hahani is the transformation of aanhi, where the h is doubled and transposed by placing each h before each a. The other pronouns have not such a form.

Imperfect past and past. Their single form consists in doubling the first two letters of the root, as

from dinhi dídinhi
,, didi dídidi
,, didâ dididâ
,, didton dídidton
,, dithon dídíthon
,, didto dídidto [100]

Imperative.—It simply consists in the root.

Subjunctive.—It has two forms. The first consists in in prefixing to the root the particle ma; the second form consists in replacing the first two letters of the root with the prefix maa. As

from dinhi, madínhi, maánhi
,, didí. madidí, maadí
,, didâ, madidâ maadâ
,, didton, madidton, mandton
,, dithon, madithon, maathon
,, didto, madidto, maadto.

NOTE—The form mahani is a transformation of maanhi like hahani of aanhi.

The verbs that supply the English “to come” and “to go” are conjugated as ordinarily. But they have a basis for conjugation, derived from the original root, and which we call conjugational root. So from the original roots

dinhi, didí, didá, didton, dithon, didto,

we have the corresponding conjugational roots:

cánhi, cadi, cadá, cadton, cathon, cádto.

The form followed in this conjugation is that of a primitive. Thus from the root “canhi”, we have:

Infinitive, present and present participle: pagcanhi (to come, coming)

NOTE.—But the plural of this tense is irregular. It is

pagpacánhi (to come, coming, plural).

Indicative present: acó, etc., nácanhi.
,, past: acó, etc., quinmánhi.
,, future: acó, etc., mácanhi.

Imperative: cánhi, etc.

Subjunctive: acó, etc. cumánhi.

NOTE. The past, indicative, and the present, subjunctive, have the irregular forms, nacanhi and macanhi respectively, which must not be confounded with the present and future, indicative, as the accent of the former in past and subjunctive is on the penult and not on the first syllable as in the present and future indicative.

OBSERVATION.

We have seen that when the verb “to be” refers to a place it is frequently expressed in Bisayan either, by the pronominal form or by the adverbial form.

But when the verb “to be” is equivalent to the Spanish “estar”, i.e., when it represents state, situation, or contingent condition, it is then expressed by the particles pag, nag, ma, na added to the words which are predicate of “to be” in English. As

I shall be sorry: magmamabidò acó.

In cases where the verb “to be” needs to be represented by an independent word, the expressions “amo”, “asya”, “asáy”, “say” (which express identity, rather than a mere essence, substance or existence) are frequently employed. As

{ Hi Pedro ámo an tag-iya hiní ng̃a
{ baláy
Peter is the owner of this house { hi Pedro asya an tag-iya, etc.
{ hi Pedro asáy tag-iya, etc.
{ hi Pedro say tag-iya, etc.

In other cases, the verb “to be” is not translated into Bisayan. As

God is omnipotent: an Dyos macagagáhum.

IMPERSONAL VERBS

The impersonal verbs follow the two forms: primitive, and progressive.

Owing to the fact that the Bisayan tongue has indirect and instrumental passive, all of the verbs, no matter to what class they belong, have passive voice. So the intransitive verbs of other languages have passive voice in Bisayan, The same thing happens to the impersonal verbs. They have indirect and instrumental passives which are complete in their conjugation.

Thus, in passive, there is no impersonal verb in Bisayan. The forms of conjugation of this kind of verbs are the same as those of the regular verbs.

Examples:

nagdadalogdog (it thunders) nagiinuran (it rains persistently) inuuranán hirá (the rain falls on them; literally: they are rained) etc.

DEFECTIVE VERBS

The following belong to such class: may (to have) which has only, one form.

á (no, I do not wish)
iyá (receive it)
ohò (look at it)

May is also used as impersonal and then it means “there, is, there was, etc.”; conó (he or she says or said; they say or said;—it is said, it was said)

ambót (I do not know)

The English “to have” is also expressed in Bisayan by the root may-adà, whose irregular conjugation as follows:

Infinitive

Present, and gerund: pagcaada or pagcamay-adà (to have)

Imperative
pacaadá

Subjunctive
magcaadá

NOTE 1. The strict meaning of the form may-ada is “to acquire”, rather than “to have”, for which the defective may is used.

2. The impersonal and defective may is very frequently joined to verbs in passive voice, it keeping its impersonal character. As

May naquita co nga bucad (I saw a flower; literally: There is a
flower seen by me),

its regular order being:

may bucad nga naquíta co.

May tinagan co hin salapi (I gave money to someone; literally:
there is some one given by me with money);—where the words “tauo
nga” are tacit, the regular form being:

May tauo nga tinagan co hin salapi.

OTHER CLASSES OF VERBS

There are other kinds of verbs whose distinguishing character consists in their conjugational roots. They are always derived from the ordinary verbs, but bear different meaning, although conjugated as ordinarily.

The conjugational roots in active voice are different from those in passive.

From the original root SURAT we have the following classes:

ACTIVE VOICE

Conjugational root Indicative Present Classes

sinurat nagsisinurat CONTINUATIVE
casurat nacacasurát ABSOLUTE POTENTIAL
cagsurat nacacagsurát RELATIVE POTENTIAL
isusúrat náisusurat ABSOLUTE APTATIVE
ipagsusúrat náipagsusurat RELATIVE APTATIVE
pagpasurát nápasurát ABSOLUTE PERMISSIVE
papagsúrat napapagsurát RELATIVE PERMISSIVE
papágsurat pinasusurát ABSOLUTE IMPERATIVE
papagsurát pinapagsurát RELATIVE IMPERATIVE
susúrat nasusúrat IMPREMEDITATIVE
suratsúrat nasuratsúrat ABSOLUTE DIMINUTIVE
suratsurát nágsusuratsúrat RELATIVE DIMINUTIVE
suratsurát násuratsurát ABSOLUTE REPETITIVE
suratsurát nagsusuratsurát RELATIVE REPETITIVE
pasuratsúrat nagpapasuratsurat RECIPROCATE

From the original root “hadì,” we have

pacahádi napacaháhì IMITATIVE

From the original root “buság,” we have

pagticabusag náticabusag ABSOLUTE GRADUAL
pagticabusag nagtiticabusag RELATIVE GRADUAL

From the original root “sayáo,” we have

sayáo nagsasayáo FIGURATIVE

As it may be observed above, one original root may give a great number of different classes of verbs, as the nature of the root and use may permit. The subdivision absolute and relative of these classes corresponds exactly to the primitive and progressive forms already explained.

The continuative is distinguished, in its conjugational root, by the interfix in and it expresses persistence of the action. As

nagtitinóoc an batà (the child is crying persistently)

The potential is determined, in its conjugational roots, by the prefix paca or pacag (absolute and relative) and it means ability on the part of the subject to execute the action expressed by the original root. As

dirì hiyá nacacasurát, cay dirí (he cannot write, because does not maaram know how to) dirì hiyá nacacagsurát, cay damò (he cannot write, because he is in buhat busy)

The optative has, in its conjugational root the prefix i or ipag (absolute and relative), and it represents the idea of desire. The absolute means a desire about to be executed; the relative signifies a mere intention; As

náilalacat na hiyá han ac (he was about to depart when I met
pag-abotá him)
naipagsusurat acó ha imo (I was intending to write you)

When the absolute optative bears the particle ca, it expresses then proximate passivity, as

naicahorológ an bung̃a (the fruit is about to fall)

Previous Next

Comments

Bisayan grammar and notes on Bisayan rhetoric and poetics and Filipino dialectologyChapter III: Appendix: Notes on Bisayan Rhetoric and Poetics 117 (2)

0%34 min left in chapter