Actor-Focus Verbs

There are three affixes that are used to indicate that the focus of the sentence is doing the action (actor) of the verb. The three affixes are -UM-, MAG-, and MA-. These affixes all have the same function. You can think of them as different ways of saying the same thing. Adding either -UM-, MAG-, or MA- onto a verb will indicate that the focus of the sentence is doing the action.
The -UM- Verb
This verb is formed by attaching the infix -UM- to the verb root. The -UM- affix always comes right before the first vowel of the root word. Here are some commonly used -UM- verbs, followed by sample sentences, all of which are in the perfective aspect ("past") form.

Root Word	Actor Focus Verb	Sentence
takbo	tumakbo to run	Tumakbo ang bata. The child ran.
bili	bumili to buy	Bumili ng mangga ang babae. The woman bought (some) mangoes.
tawag	tumawag to call	Tumawag si Ana kahapon. Ana called yesterday.
punta	pumunta to go	Pumunta si Pedro sa Maynila. Pedro went to Manila.
alis	umalis to leave	Umalis ako nang maaga. I left early.

Let's look at the second sentence:
Bumili ng mangga ang babae.
bought     mango          woman
The -UM- affix tells you that the focus of the sentence did the buying. The focus of the sentence is babae (woman). You can tell this because babae has ang in front. This is how you know that it was the woman who bought the mangoes (and not the mangoes that bought the woman!).

The MAG- Verb
This verb is formed by attaching the prefix MAG- to the verb root. Because MAG- is a prefix, it is always attached to the front of the word. When MAG- is attached to a root/stem that starts with a vowel, a hyphen ( - ) is used. Here are some commonly used MAG- verbs, followed by sample sentences, all of which are in the perfect aspect ("past") form.

Root Word	Actor Focus Verb	Sentence
luto	maglutoto cook	Nagluto ng pansit ang nanay niya.Her mom cooked noodles.
kuwento	magkuwentoto tell a story	Nagkwento ang lolo tungkol sa multo.Grandpa told a story about ghosts.
linis	maglinisto clean something	Naglinis ng bahay si Rene.Rene cleaned the house.
laro	maglaroto play	Naglaro sina Paul ng basketball.Paul (and friends) played basketball.
aral	mag-aralto study	Nag-aral kami sa laybrari kagabi.We studied in the library last night.

The MA- Verb
MA- verbs do not occur as frequently as the other two actor affixes. There are very few verb roots/stems that take the MA- prefix to mark actor focus. Here are some of the more common MA-verbs followed by sample sentences, all of which are in the perfect aspect ("past") form.

Root Word	Actor Focus Verb	Sentence
tulog	matulogto sleep	Natulog ang lalaki. The man slept.
ligo	maligoto take a shower/bath	Naligo ang mga bata sa ilog. The children bathed in the river.
nood*	manoodto watch something	Nanood ng sine si Mila. Mila watched a movie.
kinig*	makinigto listen	Nakinig siya sa guro. He listened to the teacher.

*These are not simple roots.