VERBS
The verbs may be grouped in the following classes:
As to their conjugation: active, passive, negative, interrogative, suppletory, impersonal, defective.
As to their inflections: primitive, and progressive.
The Active verb represents the subject as acting, as:
acó násugò (I order).
The Passive verb represents the subject as being acted upon, as:
acó sinúsugò (I am ordered).
The Negative verb involves a negation, as:
ayáo catúrog (do not sleep).
The Interrogative verb involves a question, as:
¿diín ca cadto? (where did you go?)
The Suppletory verb supplies the lack of all auxiliary and a few other verbs as from ini (this), we have:
íiní acó (I am here), to express the verb “to be,” in Bisayan.
The Impersonal verb has not a definite subject, as:
náurán (it rains).
The Defective verb lacks one or more of its principal parts as,
iyá (receive it).
The Primitive verb is used in its original and simplest form as:
acó násurát (I write).
The Progressive verb denotes continuance of the action, as:
acó nagusurát (I am writing). [[58]]
CONJUGATION
VOICES
They are active and passive. The passive voice has three classes: direct, indirect, and instrumental.
The direct passive is where the subject is the direct object in active voice, as:
suratá an acon ng̃aran (write my name; literally: let my name be written by you).
The indirect passive is where the subject is an indirect object of the verb in its active voice, as:
suratí an imo amáy (write to your father; literally: let a letter be written by you to your father),
The instrumental passive is where the subject is the instrument or real object of the action, as:
igsurát iní ng̃a pluma (write with this pen; literally: let this pen be used by you in writing.)
MOODS AND TENSES
There are four moods: infinitive, indicative, imperative, and subjunctive,
The infinitive has two tenses: present, and gerund; three in passive voice: present, gerund, and past participle.
The indicative has three. The ordinary forms have present, past and future. The irregular forms have present, imperfect past, and past.
The imperative and subjunctive, have each one tense: present.
Infinitive: The present is frequently used as a noun, as:
an pagcáon (the meal).
The gerund is frequently used in compound sentences for past tenses, as: [[59]]
han pag-abot co (when I arrived: literally: upon my arriving).
The past participle is employed as an adjective as:
hinigugma co ng̃a iróy. (my dear mother; literally: mother loved by me).
NOTE.—There are in Bisayan forms resembling and equivalent in many instances to the Latin infinitive future ending in rus, in active, and in dus, in passive, as amaturus and amandus. Such Bisayan forms are those formed by the particle um combined with the interfix r or its substitutes (See page [20]), as:
cumaráon (one who is to eat)
caraonón (a thing to be eaten).
Indicative. Ordinary forms. The present corresponds to the same tense, in English, and also to the Spanish and Latin imperfect past. As:
nácaon acó (I eat)
nácaon acó han pag-abot mo (I was eating when you arrived)
The past tense represents the English present perfect, and past, indicative mood. As:
nagsurát acó (I have written, I wrote)
The future corresponds to the English future tense, as:
másurat acó (I shall write)
Suppletory forms. The present represents the English present and future tenses, indicative. As:
He is here: hiyá háhani.
He will be here tomorrow: hiyá hahaní buás.
The imperfect past and past tense corresponds to the same tense of the Latin and Spanish languages: as
didinhi[68] hi Juan han pag-abót co (John was here, when I arrived) [[60]]
Imperative and Subjunctive. The single tense (present) of each of these moods corresponds to the same tense in English, as:
cadto búas (go there to-morrow)
cun cumadto ca buas, tauága acó (If you go there tomorrow, call me).
Observations. 1. The English past perfect, indicative, is supplied in Bisayan by the present tense, indicative, of the potential form which we shall see later.[69] As:
han imo pag-abót nacacatima na acó (when you arrived, I had already finished).
2. The English future perfect tense is supplied in Bisayan by the future tense, indicative, of the potential form. As
umabút ca ng̃anì macacatima na aco (when you arrive, I shall have finished).
3. The Latin and Spanish imperfect past tense, subjunctive mood, is supplied in Bisayan by the present, subjunctive, and future indicative. As
Cun gumican acó niyán, diri co hiya igquiquita buás (If I should go today, I would not meet him tó-morrow).
4. The Latin and Spanish perfect past tense, subjunctive, is supplied in Bisayan by the past tense, indicative.
5. The Latin and Spanish plusquamperfect past tense, subjunctive, is supplied in Bisayan by the past and future (potential) tenses, indicative, respectively. As
Cun nagdágmit acó, hinaabután co cunta hiyá (If I had hastened, I should have reached him).
6. The Latin and Spanish imperfect future tense, subjunctive, is supplied in Bisayan by the present subjunctive.
7. And the perfect future tense, subjunctive, of said languages, is supplied in Bisayan by the present, indicative, potential form. [[61]]
NUMBER AND PERSON.
There are two numbers: singular and plural.
There are three persons: first, second, and third. Except in the imperative, the inflections of the verbs generally do not change, in each tense. However, the progressive and suppletory forms frequently undergo some changes in plural, as
acó nagsusurát (I am writing),
camí nanunurát (we are writing)