ENGLISH 206

Contrastive Analysis of
Tagalog & Malay Verbs

Submitted by:
Louise Anne P. Porciuncula
1997-39181 / MA English Studies

Submitted to:
Dr. Frank Flores

Date Submitted:
23rd March 2011
Louise Anne P. Porciuncula / ENG 206 / Contrastive Analysis of Tagalog & Malay Verbs 2

CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF TAGALOG & MALAY VERBS

I. INTRODUCTION

My inspiration for this paper was based on a talk I had with Elina, an Indonesian
friend of mine. Some years ago, we were in a church event, teaching each other how to
sing “This is the day that the Lord has made” in our own languages. I sang, “Ito ang
araw na gawa ng Diyos,” and she sang, “Hari ini, harinya Tuhan.” Later, she remarked:
“Louise, Tagalog seems so much more complicated than Indonesian.” I agreed!

Elina’s remark led me to thinking about comparing Tagalog and Malay. I chose
Malay, and not Indonesian, because I am more familiar with it. Bahasa Indonesia and
Bahasa Melayu are almost the same, but since I was more exposed to the latter (having
lived in Brunei for a few years) – I decided to go with Malay.

And so, in this paper, I basically aim to:

1. Provide a brief overview about the Tagalog and Malay languages;
2. Present basic information and examples of Tagalog and Malay verbs;
3. Compare and contrast Tagalog and Malay verbs; and
4. Cite possible implications of my analysis on learning Tagalog and Malay.

II. DATA PRESENTATION

My sources for this paper include both printed and online sources. I will be
presenting a brief overview of the Tagalog and Malay languages first. Later, I will
feature basic information and examples of verbs in both languages.

Notably, I decided to focus my paper on verbs because I think they are an

extremely vital part of any language. Aside from being “carriers of action,” verbs may
indicate tense, mood and other aspects. Moreover, I am simply very interested to see
how verbs are formed in Tagalog and Malay – at least the most commonly used ones.

Furthermore, I would like to mention that my data presentation and analysis will
focus more on the morphological aspects of Tagalog and Malay verbs. However, some
phonological and syntactic will also be mentioned to explain things more fully.
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A. Tagalog & Malay: An Overview

In 1937, Tagalog was chosen as the basis of the national language of the
Philippines (Rubino, 1998). It was later renamed “Pilipino” to convey a more “national”
meaning, and later still to “Filipino” to express a “universal” approach. This was
because aside from Tagalog, there are many other languages being used in the
country. Today, its standardized form, or Filipino -- is one of two official languages of
the Philippines. At present, there are over 90 million users of Tagalog.

Meanwhile, after Malaysia became independent in 1957, Malay served as the

basis of the national language (Sulaiman, 1990). It is one of Malaysia’s official
languages, known there as “Bahasa Malaysia.” Meanwhile, standard varieties of Malay
are also being used in Brunei and Singapore, where it is called “Bahasa Melayu,” as
well as in Indonesia, where it is known as “Bahasa Indonesia.” In all, there are about
180 million users of the language today.

Both Tagalog and Malay are part of the Malayo-Polynesian languages, which is
a subgroup of the larger Austronesian family of languages. In my opinion, I think they
have almost the same sounds, and share a lot words. To an outsider, they might seem
almost intelligible with each other. However, a closer inspection would show otherwise.

B. Tagalog Verbs

1. Basic Verb Conjugations

In his Salita Blog webpage, Christopher Sundita (2007), a Filipino based in the
United States, presented a table on Tagalog verb conjugations (see Table 1). Dashes
indicate the position of the affix (in bold letters) in relation to the root, while “CV” stands
for the first consonant and first vowel of the root, signifying reduplication. In addition, I
also learned that Tagalog verbs are based on a trigger system, also known as focus.
In this system, the verb encodes the thematic role of the noun marked by the direct-
case particle. Two of the most common themes are the object focus and the actor
focus (eNotes.com, 2011). Notably, it’s a rather complex morphological system.
Louise Anne P. Porciuncula / ENG 206 / Contrastive Analysis of Tagalog & Malay Verbs 4

Table 1. Tagalog Verb Conjugations

Progressive
Contemplative Completed
Root Infinitive (past & present
(future actions) (past actions)
actions)
kain -in CV-...-in CinV- -in-
Object Focus 1
(eat) (kainin) (kakainin) (kinakain) (kinain)
sulat i- iCV- iCinV- i- -in-
Object Focus 2
(write) (isulat) (isusulat) (isinusulat) (isinulat)
tawag -an CV-...-an CinV- ... –an -in- ... -an
Object Focus 3
(call) (tawagan) (tatawagan) (tinatawagan) (tinawagan)
gawa -um- CV- CumV- -um-
Actor Focus 1
(do) (gumawa) (gagawa) (gumagawa) (gumawa)
bigay mag- magCV- nagCV- nag-
Actor Focus 2
(give) (magbigay) (magbibigay) (nagbibigay) (nagbigay)

a. Object Focus
This the most common form, where the verb “triggers” an understanding of the direct
noun as the object of the sentence. There are three main affixes: -in, i-, and –an.
i) The –in suffix is used for objects that are moved towards the actor:
e.g. kainin (to eat something) bilhin (to buy something)

ii) The i- prefix is used for objects that undergo a change of state, like being
moved away from the actor:
e.g. isulat (to write something) ibigay (to give something)

iii) The –an suffix is used for objects that undergo a “surface” change:
e.g. hugasan (to wash something) walisan (to sweep something off)

b. Actor Focus
This is the second most common form, which triggers an actor focus. Two main affixes
are -um- and mag-.
i) The -um- infix generally refers to internally-directed actions:
e.g. bumili (to buy) gumawa (to do or make)

ii) The mag- affix generally refers to externally-directed actions:

e.g. magbili (to sell) magbigay (to give)
Louise Anne P. Porciuncula / ENG 206 / Contrastive Analysis of Tagalog & Malay Verbs 5

2. Other Focuses (or Triggers)

Other “triggers” of Tagalog verbs include the locative, benefactive, instrument,

reason, direction and reciprocal focuses (eNotes.com, 2011). These are indicated by
other words in a sentence; context plays an important role here. The examples below
show how these “triggers” affect verb conjugation in Tagalog. They involve some
affixations, indicated in bold letters. The focus in each sentence is underlined:

a. Locative Focus (Ganapan) refers to location of an action, or area affected by the

action. Infix -um- is inserted between the first and second letter of the root verb.
e.g. Bumili si Ashley ng kendi sa tindahan.
Ashley bought some candy at the store.

b. Benefactive Focus (Tagatanggap) refers to the beneficiary of an action. Prefix i- is

attached to the root verb. Infix n (+ first vowel of root) is placed after first syllable.
e.g. Ibinili ni Ashley ng kendi si Matthew.
Ashley bought some candy for Matthew.

c. Instrument Focus (Gamit) refers to the medium through which an action is done.
Prefix ipinam- is attached to root verbs starting with b or p; while prefix ipinang- is
attached to root verbs staring with g, h, l or s.
e.g. Ipinambili ni Ashley ng kendi ang baon niya.
Ashley bought some candy with her pocket money.

d. Reason Focus (Sanhi) refers to the reason why an action is done. Prefix ikina- is
attached to the root verb.
e.g. Ikinagulat ni Ashley ang biglang pagdating ni Matthew.
Ashley got surprised because of Matthew’s sudden arrival.

e. Directional Focus (Direksyunal) refers to the direction of the action. Infix -in- is
inserted between first and second letter of the root verb. Suffix –han is added, too.
e.g. Pinuntahan ni Matthew ang bahay nina Ashley.
Matthew went to Ashley’s house.
Louise Anne P. Porciuncula / ENG 206 / Contrastive Analysis of Tagalog & Malay Verbs 6

f. Reciprocal Focus (Resiprokal) refers to action being done by subjects at the same
time. Prefix nag- and suffix –an is added to the root verb.
e.g. Nagbigayan ng kendi sina Ashley at Matthew.
Ashley and Matthew gave each other some candy.

3. Aspect

Another important feature of Tagalog verbs is aspect. Instead of tense, they are
conjugated based on aspect. The four main aspects are: infinitive (inc. imperative),
contemplative, progressive, and completed (eNotes.com, 2011). Here are some
examples of Tagalog verb conjugation in terms of aspect. Affixes are indicated in bold
letters; conjugated verbs are underlined:

a. Infinitive (including Imperative). Affixes -an, -in or i- are attached, depending on

context and phonetic environments. In imperatives, sometimes only the root is used.
e.g. Plano kong tawagan ang kaibigan ko sa Japan.
I plan to call my friend in Japan.

Imperative: Tawagan mo si Yukihiro bukas. Call Yukihiro tomorrow.

Root only: Tawag na! Call now!

b. Contemplative (future actions). The first syllable of the root verb is reduplicated,
and the suffix -an is attached.
e.g. Tatawagan ko siya mamayang gabi! I will call him later tonight!

c. Progressive (past and present actions). The first syllable of the root verb is
reduplicated. Then, the infix -in- is inserted between the first and second letter of
the resulting word, while the suffix -an is also added.
e.g. Tinatawagan ko ang phone niya. I am calling on his phone.

d. Completed (past actions). The infix -in- is inserted between the first and second
letter of the word, and the suffix -an is attached.
e.g. Tinawagan ko siya sa cellphone niya. I called him on his phone.
Louise Anne P. Porciuncula / ENG 206 / Contrastive Analysis of Tagalog & Malay Verbs 7

C. Malay Verbs

Just like in Tagalog, Malay verbs also play an important role in the language. In
his book, Malay for Everyone, Othman Sulaiman (1990) discussed eight major classes
of Malay verbs, and also how “tense” is indicated in Malay. Here is what I learned:

1. Verb Classes

a. Class I
Class I verbs are those that do not need a prefix or suffix. The root alone can be used:
e.g. Ibu saya balik ke rumah pada pukul empat.
My mother returns home at four o’clock.
Orang Malaysia minum teh pagi dan petang.
Malaysian people drink tea in the morning and in the afternoon.

b. Class II
Class II verbs are formed by adding the prefix me- to certain nouns. These nouns are
usually a kind of “tool” or instrument. Moreover, the prefix may undergo assimilation,
depending on the phonetic environments:
Noun Verb Morphophonetic Rule
rokok (cigarette) merokok (to smoke) me- used if root starts with l, m, n or r
paku (nail) memaku (to nail) mem- used if root starts with b, p or f
jala (net) menjala (to cast net) men- used if root starts with c, d, j or t
tulis (write) menulis (to write) “t” is dropped in the prefixed word
gergaji (saw) menggergaci (to saw) meng- if root starts with a, g, h, i, k, u
senduk (ladle) menyenduk (to ladle) meny- if root starts with s; s is dropped

c. Class III
Class III verbs are those that take the prefix ber-. It is divided into two categories:
i) Reflexive Verbs – an action done by the doer to himself or herself
e.g. berjalan (to walk) berlari (to run) bermain (to play)
ii) Reciprocal Verbs – an action done by two or more persons
e.g. berkahwin (marry one another) berkumpul (assemble with others)
Louise Anne P. Porciuncula / ENG 206 / Contrastive Analysis of Tagalog & Malay Verbs 8

d. Class IV
Class IV verbs take the prefix ter-. They are formed from some Class I and II verbs:
Class I Class IV Class II Class IV
bangun (wake up) terbangun tulis (write) tertulis
tidur (sleep) tertidur tolak (push) tertolak

Class IV verbs are used to indicate one of the following purposes: (i) the action was
done accidentally; (ii) capability in the act; or (iii) a completed action, for example:
Saya tertidur di dalam sekolah. I fell asleep in school. (accidental)
Saya tidak tertolak kereta ini. I cannot push this car. (capability)
Namanya tertulis pada buku itu. His name is written on the book. (completed action)

e. Class V
Class V verbs take the prefix me- and the suffix –kan. They are transitive, and can be
formed from certain verbs, nouns, adjectives and adverbs. Prefix me- becomes men-,
meng-, mem- or meny- based on the phonetic environments discussed in Class II.
Root Type Class V
balik (to return) verb membalikkan (to return something)
payung (umbrella) noun memayungkan (to an hold umbrella over someone)
besar (big) adjective membesarkan (to enlarge something)
dahulu (before) adverb mendahulukan (to put before something)

f. Class VI
Class VI verbs take the prefix me- and the suffix –i. They are also transitive like Class
V verbs, but there is a slight difference in meaning. In Class V verbs, the object
experiences a “movement.” In class VI verbs, they are “static.” For example:
Class V: Moira menaikkan tangga. Moira is putting up the ladder.
Class VI: Moira menaikki tangga. Moira is going up the ladder.

g. Class VII
Class VII verbs contain the prefixes men- and per- and the suffix –kan. They are also
transitive -- formed from some Class I, II and III verbs; some nouns and adjectives.
Louise Anne P. Porciuncula / ENG 206 / Contrastive Analysis of Tagalog & Malay Verbs 9

Root Type Class VII

hidup (to live) Class I Verb memperhidupkan (to renew)
(men)jamu (to feed) Class II Verb memperjamukan (to feed sumptuously)
(ber)cakap (to talk) Class III Verb mempercakapkan (to talk about)
suami (husband) Noun mempersuamikan (to take as husband)

h. Class VIII
Class VIII verbs take the prefix ber- and the suffix -an. There are two categories:
i) The first category indicates a sense of “continuity” and sometimes “plurality”:
e.g. Adalah diharapkan persabahatan kita akan berpanjangan.
It is hoped that our friendship will last.
ii) The second category has the root reduplicated, and indicates reciprocal
action, plus a sense of “repetition”:
e.g. Pekerja ladang itu berpukul-pukulan kerana seekor lembu.
The estate workers hit each other because of a cow.

2. Tense (based on context)

Similar to Tagalog, the Malay language is not based on tense. Instead, it is

understood from context. In fact, the same form can be used for the present, future,
past and continuous tense. For example, the sentence “Saya makan ayam” can mean:
I eat chicken. (simple present tense) OR
I ate chicken. (simple past tense) OR
I am eating chicken.

However, if a Malay user would like to be specific about the time, he or she can
add certain words to indicate it, as follows:
Saya pergi ke Makati tiap-tiap hari. I go to Makati everyday. (present)
Saya pergi ke Makati esok. I will go to Makati tomorrow. (future)
Dia menulis surat. He writes a letter. (present)
Dia menulis surat malam tadi. He wrote a letter last night. (past)
Louise Anne P. Porciuncula / ENG 206 / Contrastive Analysis of Tagalog & Malay Verbs 10

III. ANALYSIS & DISCUSSION

A. Analysis of Tagalog & Malay Verbs

Based on the data that I have presented, Tagalog and Malay verbs share some
similarities and differences, in varying degrees. With this, here is my comparison and
contrast analysis, based from a point-by-point perspective:

1. Structure
In terms of structure, both Tagalog and Malay verbs undergo morphological
processes of affixation. This can be illustrated as follows:
Affix used Tagalog Malay
Prefix isulat (to write) meninggalkan (to leave)
Suffix sulatan (to write to someone) tinggalkan (to leave, imperative)
Infix sinulatan (wrote to someone) NONE
Circumfixes nagsulatan (wrote to teach other) meninggalkan (to leave)

Based on the table, it can be observed that both Tagalog and Malay verbs take
prefixes, suffixes and sometimes both (circumfixes). However, infixation occurs in
Tagalog , but not in Malay. At this point I think it can be said that affixation is slightly
more complicated in Tagalog than it is in Malay.

Meanwhile, reduplication can be observed in both languages, but in different

ways. In Tagalog, contemplative (future) actions involve the repetition or reduplication
of the first syllable of the root verb, e.g. tatawagan (will call). In Malay, Class VIII verbs
reduplicate the root word, e.g. berpukul-pukulan (to hit each other). Notably, in
Tagalog only the first syllable is reduplicated, but in Malay it involves the entire root.

It may also be noted that even though they both involve similar morphological
processes, the morphemes used are still different (i.e. Tagalog prefixes are i- and mag-;
Malay prefixes are me-, ber- and ter-) – involving dissimilar sounds and meanings.

2. Function
With regards to function, I noticed two distinct similarities between Tagalog and
Malay verbs. The first is reflexivity. In Tagalog, the actor focus includes a category for
Louise Anne P. Porciuncula / ENG 206 / Contrastive Analysis of Tagalog & Malay Verbs 11

“internally-directed” actions, e.g. bumili (to buy), gumawa (to do or make). In Malay,
one classification of Class III verbs is the reflexive type, e.g. berlari (to run), bermain (to
play). In both cases, the verbs refer to actions that are done by the doer to himself.

The second similarity I noticed is that both languages have categories for
reciprocal verbs. The reciprocal focus is present in Tagalog, e.g. nagbigayan (gave
each other). Likewise, it occurs in Malay Class III verbs, e.g. berkahwin (marry one
another). In both languages, the actions are being done by two or more persons.

3. Tense
Both Tagalog and Malay verbs are not conjugated based on tense. Instead, they
are based on focus or purpose, and usually rely on context. In order to indicate time,
specific time phrases are added to the sentence. This can be seen in the following
translations of the statement, “Ashley and Matthew will go to Laguna tomorrow”:

Pupunta sina Ashley at Matthew sa Laguna bukas. (Tagalog)

Ashley dan Matthew pergi ke Laguna esok. (Malay)

4. Vocabulary
One interesting discovery I made is the similarity between many words in
Tagalog and Malay. This could be attributed to the many years (or centuries) of shared
history between the people who use them. This may have involved a lot of language
borrowing, resulting in words with the same (or almost the same) sounds and meaning:
Tagalog Malay Meaning in English
balik balik return
bangon bangun wake up
bili beli buy
buka buka open
kumpol kumpul assemble
pasok masuk enter
inom minum drink
tanim tanam plant
tangis tangis weep
tulak tolak push
Louise Anne P. Porciuncula / ENG 206 / Contrastive Analysis of Tagalog & Malay Verbs 12

B. Conclusion & Implications

Based on my analysis, I have come to this conclusion: Tagalog and Malay

verbs have more similarities than differences. There may be some differences in
terms of structure, function and tense – but these differences are not that big.
Moreover, they share plenty of words that have the same (or almost the same) sound
and meaning, and this only intensifies the “closeness” of the two languages. As for the
possible implications of my paper, I can think of a few:

Education. The close affinity between Tagalog and Malay makes it easy for
their users to learn each other’s languages. Because they share some similar sounds,
words, structural processes, and writing system – learning Malay will be quite easy for
the Tagalog speaker, and vice versa.

Work & Travel. These days, more and more people go abroad to work, study,
or simply travel. In any case, having basic knowledge of the language used in a
community is definitely useful, if one wants to survive! What’s more, with the
Philippines being geographically close to Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia
(i.e. countries where Tagalog and Malay are spoken), it is highly likely that people in
these countries will continue to travel and work in the region. Hence, the more
languages they know, the more advantageous it will be for them.

Research. When it comes to research, you can never have too many studies.
Learning about language is an ongoing process. This paper may not be that detailed or
exhaustive, but I think it is something that can be built upon for further research.

IV. REFLECTION

I truly enjoyed doing this paper. First, I came to look at Tagalog and Malay in a
deeper way, something which I never really thought I would do. But now that I have
done so, I think it’s really interesting! Second, it made me appreciate language learning
more. When I was younger, I didn’t really enjoy – I wasn’t motivated -- to study Malay
seriously. But now that I have read more about it, perhaps this time I could give it
another try. After all, Tagalog and Malay are really not that different at all.
Louise Anne P. Porciuncula / ENG 206 / Contrastive Analysis of Tagalog & Malay Verbs 13

V. REFERENCES

Rubino, Carl. (1998). Tagalog: A Brief Look at a National Language. Carl Rubino’s
Webpage. Retrieved March 19, 2011 from http://iloko.tripod.com/tagamida.html

Sulaiman, Othman. (1990). Malay for Everyone: Mastering Malay through English.
Malaysia: Pelanduk Publications (M) Sdn. Bhd.

Sundita, Christopher. (2007). Tagalog Verbs. Salita Blog. Retrieved March 19, 2011
from http://salitablog.blogspot.com/2007/03/tagalog-verbs.html

(author not indicated). (2011). Tagalog Grammar. eNotes.com. Retrieved March 18,
2011 from http://www.enotes.com/topic/Tagalog_grammar

(author & date not indicated). The peN, meN and ber- prefixes. Retrieved March 19,
2011 from http://malay.pgoh13.com/appendix.php