Pokus ng Pandiwa Worksheets

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The two pdf worksheets below are about the focus of Filipino verbs (pokus ng
pandiwa). The student is asked to identify the focus of the underlined verb in the
sentence. Each worksheet has fifteen items.
The key to identifying the focus of the verb is to first identify the subject (simuno/paksa)
of the sentence and seeing how the subject is related to the verb or how the verb relates to
the subject.
There are six categories or types of focus of verbs. The focus of verbs can change by
changing the affix or affixes attached to the verb. Look at the examples below (in blue).
1. Pokus sa Tagaganap o Aktor (Actor Focus): The subject is the one doing the action
expressed by the verb.
Si Ate Flor ay nagluto ng adobong manok.
The subject is Ate Flor and she is the one who performed the action expressed by the
verbnagluto. Ate Flor is the one doing the cooking. The focus of the verb nagluto is
actor focus (pokus sa tagaganap o aktor).
2. Pokus sa Layon o Gol (Goal Focus): The subject is the receiver of the action
expressed by the verb. The subject is the direct object of the verb. The action is being
done on the subject.
Ang adobong manok ay niluto ni Ate Flor.
The subject is the adobong manok and the action niluto was done on the adobong
manok. The focus of the verb niluto is goal focus (pokus sa layon o gol).
3. Pokus sa Ganapan o Lokatib (Locative Focus): The subject is the place or location
where the action expressed by the verb takes place. The location can be as large as a
park, auditorium, country, or continent, or as small as a table, container, bucket, or plate.
Ang kawali ay pinaglutuan ni Ate Flor ng adobong manok.
The subject is the kawali and the action pinaglutuan was done in the kawali. The
adobong manok was cooked in the kawali. The focus of the verb pinaglutuan is locative
focus (pokus sa ganapan o lokatib).

4. Pokus sa Tagatanggap o Benepaktib (Benefactive Focus): The subject benefits

from the action expressed by the verb.
Si Nanay ay ipinagluto ni Ate Flor ng adobong manok.
The subject is Nanay and the action ipinagluto benefits her. Ipinagluto means cooked
for. Ate Flor cooked the adobong manok for Nanay. The focus of the
verb ipinagluto is benefactive focus (pokus sa tagatanggap o benepaktib).
5. Pokus sa Gamit o Instrumental (Instrumental Focus): The subject is used as the
instrument to do the action expressed by the verb.
Ang sandok ay ipinangkuha ni Ate Flor ng adobong manok sa kawali.
The subject is the sandok (ladle) and the action ipinangkuha means that the subject was
used to perform the action of getting the adobong manok. Ginamit ang sandok para
makuha ang adobong manok. The focus of the verb ipinangkuha is instrumental focus
(pokus sa gamit o instrumental).
6. Pokus sa Sanhi o Kusatib (Causative Focus): The subject is the cause of the action
expressed by the verb.
Ang pagluto ni Ate Flor ay ikinasaya ni Nanay.
The subject is pagluto (the act of cooking) and the action ikinasaya means that the
subject was the cause of Nanay becoming happy or masaya. Ikinasaya means caused
to become happy. Nanay became happy because Ate Floor cooked (for her). The
focus of the verbikinasaya is causative focus (pokus sa sanhi o kusatib).
Note that in all the sample sentences above the subject was mentioned first before the
predicate (di-karaniwang ayos ng pangungusap). In Filipino, the predicate usually
comes first before the subject (karaniwang ayos ng pangungusap). So, correctly
identifying the subject is important in determining the focus of the verb.
You may print and distribute these worksheets to your children or students, but you may
not do so for profit. These worksheets are appropriate for sixth grade students. The
second page of each file is the answer key.
Pokus ng Pandiwa_1
Pokus ng Pandiwa_2

PAHABOL: There is another type of verb focus that I did not mention here. It is
thedirectional focus. For more information about the focus of verbs, you may go to the
website of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies of the Northern Illinois University.
Click the link http://www.seasite.niu.edu/tagalog/grammar%20activities/Grammar
%202/Verbal%20Focus/Verbalfocus-fs.htm. Click on the square-shaped links on the left
pane of that website to view the other pages.