Tagalog Fluency: reading, writing and idiom

Object-focus verbs: -in, i- and -an

In simple words

In course 6.3.2 the doer was the star of the sentence: "Kumain ako ng mangga." Now we learn to make the thing the star: "Kinain ko ang mangga." It is like a camera: you can point it at the cook or at the food.

Before this course: Tagalog Conversation: everyday and family talk (course 6.3.2). You should already know the markers ang, ng and sa, the three pronoun sets, um- and mag- verbs in three stages, time words, the linker (na, -ng) and small words like na, pa and lang. We do not repeat them. We build on them.

Key facts

Actor focus (what you know): the doer takes ang or an ako-set pronoun. Kumain ako ng mangga. (I ate a mango.)
Object focus (new): the thing takes ang, and the doer takes the ng-set: ko, mo, niya, namin, natin, ninyo, nila, ni + a name, or ng + a noun. Kinain ko ang mangga. (I ate the mango.)
A useful guide: the thing marked with ang is usually a specific one ("the mango"); a thing marked with ng is often "a" or "some". When you talk about something already known, Tagalog speakers usually choose object focus.
-in verbs: the thing that is acted on directly (eaten, read, made, written).

Root	Completed	Ongoing	Not yet	Base (for commands)	Meaning
kain	kinain	kinakain	kakainin	kainin	eat (it)
basa	binasa	binabasa	babasahin	basahin	read (it)
sulat	sinulat	sinusulat	susulatin	sulatin	write (it)
inom	ininom	iniinom	iinumin	inumin	drink (it)
gawa	ginawa	ginagawa	gagawin	gawin	do, make (it)

Pattern for -in verbs: completed = -in- after the first consonant (k-in-ain), or in- at the start if the root starts with a vowel (in-inom). Ongoing = completed + repeat the first syllable (kinakain). Not yet = repeat the first syllable + -in or -hin (kakainin, babasahin). Some roots change a little (inom → inumin, gawa → gawin), so learn each verb with its forms.
i- verbs: the thing that is moved, given, put or thrown.

Root	Completed	Ongoing	Not yet	Base	Meaning
bigay	ibinigay	ibinibigay	ibibigay	ibigay	give (the thing)
lagay	inilagay	inilalagay	ilalagay	ilagay	put (the thing)
tapon	itinapon	itinatapon	itatapon	itapon	throw away (the thing)

-an verbs: the person or place that receives the action.

Root	Completed	Ongoing	Not yet	Base	Meaning
tulong	tinulungan	tinutulungan	tutulungan	tulungan	help (someone)
tawag	tinawagan	tinatawagan	tatawagan	tawagan	call (someone) on the phone
bigay	binigyan	binibigyan	bibigyan	bigyan	give to (someone)

One event, two focuses: Ibinigay ko ang regalo kay Ana. (I gave the gift to Ana: the gift is the star.) Binigyan ko si Ana ng regalo. (I gave Ana a gift: Ana is the star.)
Questions: Ano ang ginawa mo? (What did you do?) Sino ang tinawagan mo? (Who did you call?) Ano ang binabasa mo? (What are you reading?)
Commands use the base: Basahin mo ito. (Read this.) Tawagan mo ako. (Call me.) Ibigay mo sa kanya. (Give it to him or her.)
Negative: hindi comes first and the short pronoun follows it: Hindi ko kinain ang mangga. (I did not eat the mango.)

Example (dialogue)

A: "Ano ang ginagawa mo?" (What are you doing?)
B: "Binabasa ko ang balita. Tinawagan mo na ba si Lola?" (I'm reading the news. Have you called Grandma yet?)
A: "Hindi pa. Tatawagan ko siya mamaya." (Not yet. I will call her later.)
B: "Sige. Ibigay mo rin sa kanya ang mensahe ni Tito." (Okay. Give her Uncle's message too.)

Step by step

Write "Kumain ako ng mangga." Then rewrite it with the mango as the star: "Kinain ko ang mangga."
Copy the -in table. Say the four forms of kain, basa and sulat out loud.
Write three -in sentences about today with ko and ang: "Binasa ko ang ___." "Ininom ko ang ___." "Ginawa ko ang ___."
Write two i- sentences: "Ibinigay ko ang ___ kay ___." "Inilagay ko ang ___ sa ___."
Write two -an sentences: "Tinawagan ko si ___." "Tutulungan ko ang ___ bukas."
Turn one sentence into a question with ano or sino: "Sino ang tinawagan mo?"
Make one negative: "Hindi ko pa binabasa ang ___."
Check: in every object-focus sentence the thing or person has ang (or si), and the doer has ko, mo, niya, ni or ng.

Watch on YouTube

IN, HIN, NIN verbs in Tagalog: rules and examplesTalk to Me in Tagalog · YouTube · youtube.com

Filipino grammar: object-focused verbs, getting startedFilipinoLang · YouTube · youtube.com

Videos by other creators on YouTube, for reference. They are not made by or affiliated with The Future Market.

LESSON 01Object-focus verbs: -in, i- and -an

LESSON 01 / ANIMATED LESSON / AI VOICE00:00 / 01:00

Voice

Read the video script

[Host] "In Tagalog you choose who is the star of the sentence."
[Text on screen: Kumain ako ng mangga. / Kinain ko ang mangga.] "Kumain ako ng mangga: I ate a mango. Kinain ko ang mangga: I ate the mango."
[Text on screen: -in = the thing, i- = the thing moved, -an = the receiver] "Use -in for the thing, i- for something you give or put, and -an for the person who receives."
[Text on screen: Ibinigay ko ang regalo kay Ana. / Binigyan ko si Ana ng regalo.] "Same event, two stars: the gift, or Ana."
[Host] "Tell me one thing you read today, with binasa ko."

Try it now

Write ten sentences about your week: four with -in verbs, three with i- verbs and three with -an verbs. Underline the word with ang in each one and say it aloud.

ClaudeStuck? Copy a ready-made prompt for Claude

Copy this, open Claude, paste it, and Claude will walk you through the lesson step by step.

For a grown-up: Claude is for adults (18+). Copy this, paste it into Claude, and use the answer to explain the lesson to your child.

I'm learning "Tagalog Fluency: reading, writing and idiom" on The Future Market. Lesson 1: "Object-focus verbs: -in, i- and -an".

What the lesson teaches:
- Actor focus (what you know): the doer takes ang or an ako-set pronoun. Kumain ako ng mangga. (I ate a mango.)
- Object focus (new): the thing takes ang, and the doer takes the ng-set: ko, mo, niya, namin, natin, ninyo, nila, ni + a name, or ng + a noun. Kinain ko ang mangga. (I ate the mango.)
- A useful guide: the thing marked with ang is usually a specific one ("the mango"); a thing marked with ng is often "a" or "some". When you talk about something already known, Tagalog speakers usually choose object focus.
- -in verbs: the thing that is acted on directly (eaten, read, made, written).
- Root - Completed - Ongoing - Not yet - Base (for commands) - Meaning
- kain - kinain - kinakain - kakainin - kainin - eat (it)
- basa - binasa - binabasa - babasahin - basahin - read (it)

The exercise I'm working on:
Write ten sentences about your week: four with -in verbs, three with i- verbs and three with -an verbs. Underline the word with ang in each one and say it aloud.

I'm stuck. Please:
1. Explain the main idea in plain, simple words with one everyday example.
2. Walk me through the exercise one small step at a time. Ask me what I've done so far before giving the next step.
3. Don't just give me the final answer. Help me do it myself, and check my work when I share it.

I'm a parent helping my child (about 8 years old) with a lesson called "Object-focus verbs: -in, i- and -an" from the course "Tagalog Fluency: reading, writing and idiom".

Here's what the lesson says:
In course 6.3.2 the doer was the star of the sentence: "Kumain ako ng mangga." Now we learn to make the thing the star: "Kinain ko ang mangga." It is like a camera: you can point it at the cook or at the food.

The activity:
Write ten sentences about your week: four with -in verbs, three with i- verbs and three with -an verbs. Underline the word with ang in each one and say it aloud.

Please explain this so an 8-year-old understands: short sentences, a fun everyday example, and no hard words.
Then give me 3 simple questions I can ask my child to check they understood, and a way to do the activity together, one tiny step at a time.

Open Claude

Sources

Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (the national body for the language, standard spelling and grammar guidance): kwf.gov.ph/
Verb patterns checked against the video lessons above and the standard reference grammar by Schachter and Otanes, Tagalog Reference Grammar (University of California Press, 1972), chapters on verb focus.

My notes

I learned this