Mga Pandiwang Sanhi — Causative Verbs (magpa- / ipa-)
Not doing it yourself — having someone else do it for you
So far every verb has had you doing the action. But real life is full of actions you arrange rather than perform: you get a haircut, you have the house repaired, you have someone summoned. In Tagalog this "have it done" idea has its own affixes — the causative prefixes magpa- and ipa-.
Causatives add a new character to the scene: the causer (the one who wants it done) and the causee (the one who actually does it). And because Tagalog is a focus language, there are two ways to build it depending on who's in the spotlight — the causer (magpa-) or the thing being done (ipa-).
1. The Cast: Causer, Causee, Action
Every causative sentence has up to three players. Keep them straight and the affixes fall into place:
Causer — the one who wants the action done (often "I").
Causee — the one who actually does it (the cook, the barber, the worker). Marked with sa or ng.
Patient / thing — what the action is done to (the food, the hair, the house).
graph LR
CAUSER["CAUSER (nagpaluto ako) wants it done"]
CAUSEE["CAUSEE (sa kusinero) actually does it"]
ACTION["ACTION on the THING (luto → adobo) gets done"]
CAUSER -- "asks / has" --> CAUSEE
CAUSEE -- "performs" --> ACTION
style CAUSER fill:#d63031,color:#fff
style CAUSEE fill:#e17055,color:#fff
style ACTION fill:#6c5ce7,color:#fff
The prefix pa- is the causative core — it means "cause/let to be done." magpa- and ipa- are just pa- wrapped for two different focuses.
2. magpa- : the Causer in Focus
magpa- is an actor-focus causative — but the "actor" it spotlights is the causer, the one who had it done. So the causer wears ang (or is an ang-pronoun like ako):
Nagpalutoakong adobosa kusinero. — I had the cook make adobo. causer-focus
Nagpagupitsi Bensa barbero. — Ben got a haircut (had the barber cut it).
The causer (ako, si Ben) is in focus; the causee takes sa; the thing takes ng. Literally: "I had-cook adobo at/with the cook."
Aspect works with the usual mag- pattern — the m becomes n for started aspects, and the syllable after pa… actually reduplicates pa itself:
Aspect
Prefix
Example (luto)
Infinitive / command
magpa-
magpaluto
Completed (past)
nagpa-
nagpaluto
Incompleted (present)
nagpapa-
nagpapaluto
Contemplated (future)
magpapa-
magpapaluto
3. ipa- : the Thing Done in Focus
ipa- is the object/patient-focus causative: it puts ang on the thing that gets done. Now the causer drops to ng (or a ng-pronoun like ko), and the causee still takes sa:
Ipinalutokoang manokkay Ana. — I had the chicken cooked by Ana. patient-focus
Ipinagawanaminang bahay. — We had the house built/repaired.
Here the thing (ang manok, ang bahay) is in the spotlight — natural when the thing is specific and it's what you're talking about. Compare with magpa-, where you the causer were the news.
Aspect uses the object-focus -in- machinery, landing right after the i:
Aspect
Prefix
Example (luto)
Infinitive / command
ipa-
ipaluto
Completed (past)
ipina-
ipinaluto
Incompleted (present)
ipinapa-
ipinapaluto
Contemplated (future)
ipapa-
ipapaluto
4. magpa- vs. ipa-: Same Event, Which Spotlight?
It's the focus system again — one causative event, framed by whichever role is the news. Pick magpa- when the person who arranged it is the topic; pick ipa- when the thing done is the topic:
Causative
Spotlight (ang)
Example
magpa-
the causer
Nagpalutoako ng manok sa kusinero.
ipa-
the thing done
Ipinaluto ko ang manok sa kusinero.
How to remember which.magpa- starts like mag- (actor focus) — so it spotlights the doer-of-the-arranging, the causer. ipa- starts like the object-marking i- family — so it spotlights the thing. Match your choice to the answer you'd give: "Sino ang nagpaluto?" (Who had it cooked?) → magpa-; "Ano ang ipinaluto?" (What was had-cooked?) → ipa-.
5. Marking the Causee: sa / ng
The causee — whoever actually performs the action — is normally marked with sa (or kay before a personal name). You can often leave the causee out entirely when it's obvious or unimportant:
Nagpagupit ako sa barbero. — I got a haircut from the barber. (causee named)
Nagpagupit ako. — I got a haircut. (causee dropped — a barber is implied)
Ipinaayos ko ang kotse sa mekaniko. — I had the car fixed by the mechanic.
Everyday causatives you'll hear constantly. Filipinos use causatives for all the services of daily life:
Which causative matches the spotlight — answer magpa or ipa:
_____ ako ng adobo sa kusinero. (causer "ako" in focus) → (Answer: magpa|nagpa)
_____ ko ang manok sa kusinero. (thing "ang manok" in focus) → (Answer: ipa|ipina)
_____ kami ng bahay sa karpintero. (causer "kami" in focus) → (Answer: magpa|nagpa)
Exercise 3: Mark the causee
Fill in the marker for the causee (the one who does the work). Use sa or kay:
Nagpaluto ako ng pansit _____ kusinero. → (Answer: sa)
Ipinaayos niya ang relo _____ Mang Tonyo. (a person's name) → (Answer: kay)
Nagpagupit si Ana _____ bagong barbero. → (Answer: sa)
Exercise 4: Spot the causer's marker
In each sentence, is the causer in focus (ang-word) or non-focus (ng-word)? Answer ang or ng:
Nagpaluto ako ng manok. → _____ (Answer: ang)
Ipinaluto ko ang manok. → _____ (Answer: ng)
Nagpapagawa si Nanay ng damit. → _____ (Answer: ang)
Exercise 5: Say it with a causative
Give the everyday causative verb (completed aspect) for each:
You got a haircut. → _____ ako. (Answer: nagpagupit)
The boss sent for Ana. → _____ ng boss si Ana. (Answer: ipinatawag)
We had a new house built. → _____ kami ng bagong bahay. (Answer: nagpagawa)
Where This Takes You
Causatives let you talk about the huge slice of life you arrange rather than do yourself. Two spotlights, one idea: magpa- keeps the causer in focus ("I had it done"); ipa- keeps the thing done in focus ("the chicken was had-cooked"), with the causee tucked into a sa-phrase. That's four B1 verb lessons of the focus system now under your belt. Next up: ability and the accidental (maka-/ma-) — can, managed to, and things that happened by accident.