Getting the needed words without consulting the dictionary

Sometimes you know the English of a Filipino noun and you would like to have it in verb form, but you don’t know how or what. For example, you are aware that ‘pagsisikap’ is effort, but that’s not your problem. What you want is put the verb ‘magsikap’ in English.

I bet your tendency is to look up in the dictionary a ONE-WORD English equivalent for magsikap. You do the same for most of the verbs that you have.

 

And yet, many times, finding or grasping for a one-word counterpart is difficult especially if you have no dictionary. Now don’t go into that trouble!

 

Sometimes, the best thing for you to do is forget the one-word way; rather, make your own verb frames by prefacing your available nouns with—

  1. get
  2. take and
  3. make
  • More are preferred to be discussed in the next subtopic.

 

Among the busiest molders, it is observed that the trio is the top three deficiency of and solution for the Filipino lay users in opening and connecting sentences for expressing their Filipino thoughts in English (verb category).

 

─ and then presto, you’ll have your verbs.

 

 

 

 

Read the preliminary article

Cloth — damit (noun form) / Get clothed/get yourself clothed — magdamit ka (verb form)

Beautiful — maganda (noun) / Get beautiful — magpaganda ka (verb)

Sa pagdiriwang mo ng kaarawan mo, magpaganda ka. — On your birthday celebration, get yourself beautiful.

Ready — handa (noun) / Get (it) ready — ihanda mo

Ihanda mo ang mesa. — Get the table ready.

 

lhanda mo ito. — Get it ready.

Effort — pagsisikap (noun) / Make an effort — magsikap ka (verb)

Way — daan / Make way — magpadaan

Habit — gawi/ugali / Make it a habit — isagawi/isaugali/ maging gawi o ugali

Simula ngayon isagawi mo na ang paggising ng maaga. — From now on make it a habit to wake up early.

 

Isasaugali ko na ang mag-ehersisyo tuwing umaga. — Now, I will make it my habit to have an exercise every morning.

Sign — senyas / Make a sign — sumenyas

Choice — pili / Make (one’s) choice — piliin

Piliin mo ito. — Make it your choice.

Compromise — kasunduan / Make a compromise — makipagkasunduan

Enemy — kaaway / Make enemy (with) — makipag-away

Huwag kang makipag-away kaninuman. — Don’t make enemy with anyone.

Greeting — bati / Make a greeting — bumati

May babatiin ka? Okey, bumati— Do you have someone to greet? Okay, make your greeting.

or

Do you have someone to greet? Okay, make a greeting.

 

  • Never choose to just say, “Okay, greet.” It seems cheap in such a way. Say “Make your greeting” instead, and you would sound polished.

Request — hiling / Make request — humiling

Humiling ka. — Make your request.

or

Make a request.

 

  • Do not simply say “Request.”

Selection — pili / Make a selection — pumili

Pumili ka. — (You) make a selection.

or

(You) make your selection.

 

  • For formal statement do not prefer to just say “You select.”

Aim — asinta / Take aim — umasinta

Ahead — una (adverb, adjective) / Take ahead — unahin

Unahin mo ito. — Take this one ahead.

Bus — bus / Take the bus — mag-bus

Interest — interes / Take interest — magkainteres

Look — tingin / Take a look — tumingin

Breath — hinga / Take a breath — huminga

Cover — tago/takip/kober / Take cover — kumober/

Delight — tuwa/saya/kasiyahan / Take delight — masiyahan

Ang mga sadista ay nasisiyahan sa paghihirap ng ibang tao. — Sadists take delight in the agony of other people.

 

Natutuwa ang Diyos sa mga pagsisikap natin para sa Kaniya. — God takes delight in our efforts for Him.

Offense — insulto / Take offense — mainsulto

Huwag mong sabihin iyan sa di-kilalang tao na baka mainsulto. — Don’t say that to a stranger who might take offense.

More on ‘take’

You may perhaps admit that the underlined phrases in sentences below are expressions that usually throw you fumbling when required to put them to English. Indeed, I have observed that such cases, among others discussed here, place the users in problematic and tricky position finding ways to translate them:

 

  1. Dalawa ang daanan dito. Alin dapat ang dadaanan ko?
  2. May tatlong kuwarto diyan. Ano/alin ang sa iyo.
  3. Akin ito. Sa iyo iyan.
  4. Mabigat na obligasyon ang malapit nang mapasaakin.
  5. Mahihirapan   ako kung   iyan ang pagkakaabalahan ko.
  6. Dito ka.

 

Take these solutions:

 

  1. There are two of these paths. Which one should I take?
  2. There are three rooms there. Which one would you take?
  3. I’ll take this. Take that one.*
  4. It is a heavy responsibility that I am about to take.
  5. I will find it hard if that is the preoccupation that I would take.
  6. Take this place.

 

*Note: Akin ito. Sa iyo iyan may also mean This is mine. That is yours. But as I translated it I’ll take this. Take that one, I am using the other sense. I believe you’re not going to debate me insisting on the other translation. In semantics or logical linguistics, a term may bear different senses or applications depending on the setting. In this book, some expressions scattered in the pages may be understood in different senses. I’m not underestimating your intelligence. You can analyze them!

 

So in case you find it tough to convey your Filipino expressions into English in the following thoughts, apply take:

 

to decide to have or be in the process of having

to allow oneself to adopt

to select

to make use of

to derive

to assume

to require

to proceed along

                                                    =  take