The maka- or makapag- affix indicates that the actor has the ability to do the action named by the verb base. Ma- is the goal-focus counterpart of both maka- and makapag- affixes. The following sets give examples of the maka- and makapag- sets.
[He can/is able to lift a car.]
| Focus | Verb | Actor | Object/Goal |
|---|---|---|---|
| actor | Makabubuhat | siya | ng kotse. |
| goal | Mabubuhat | niya | ang kotse. |
The aspect forms of the maka-/ma- verbs are as follows, illustrated for the root basa (to read).
| Aspect | Actor Focus | Object/Goal Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | makabasa | mabasa |
| Completed | nakabasa | nabasa |
| Contemplated |
makababasa
makakabasa |
mababasa |
| Incompleted |
nakababasa
nakakabasa |
nababasa |
[He was able to bring food.]
| Focus | Verb | Actor | Object/Goal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Actor | Makapagdala kaya | kayo | ng pagkain. |
| Goal | Madala | mo kaya | ang pagkain. |
The aspect forms of makapag- and ma- -an verbs are as follows.
| Aspect | Actor Focus | Object/Goal Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Root | handa (to prepare) | |
| Infinitive | makapaghanda | mahandaan |
| Completed | nakapaghanda | nahandaan |
| Contemplated |
makapaghahanda
makakapaghanda |
mahahandaan |
| Incompleted |
nakapaghahanda
nakakapaghanda |
nahahandaan |
Note that verbs having an -an goal focus affix (e.g. laban) get a ma- ...-an compound affix instead of just ma-. Note, too, that the -ka- of the affix maka- or makapag- may be reduplicated instead of the first syllable of the word base or root.
Maka- usually occurs with verb roots that take the -um- and ma- affixes, whereas makapag- usually occurs with verb roots that take the mag- affix.
Maki- is the actor-focus counterpart of the prefix paki- which makes the verb base a request form. Unlike paki-, however, maki- can also be used to ask permission to use or partake of something owned by someone. Where no one is addressed in a paki- request, the object may take a ng marker.
| Actor | Object | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pakiabot | mo | nga | ang asin. |
| Pakiabot | nga | ng asin. |
Note the differences in the use of maki- in the following examples.
The various aspects may also be expressed with the maki- and paki- affixes. The following chart illustrates the occurrence of the different aspect forms with both affixes.
| Aspect | Maki- + Verb Base | Paki- + Verb Base |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | makibili | pakibili |
| Completed | nakibili | pinakibili |
| Contemplated | makikibili | pakikibili |
| Incompleted | nakikibili | pinakikibili |
In both the maki- and paki- forms, the last syllable of the affix instead of the first (consonant-)vowel of the base is reduplicated for the contemplated and incompleted aspects.