7.0 Classification of roots according to their system of affixation
With the rich system of derivational and inflectional affixations to which Cebuano roots are subject, there are literally hundreds of different affixed forms for any given root. Since it is manifestly impossible to list exhaustively all affixations for any given root, we follow the principle here that PRODUCTIVE FORMATIONS are generally not listed unless there is s.t. especial about their meanings or morphophonemics. By PRODUCTIVE FORMATIONS we mean affixes which are added to all, or almost all, members of a certain group of roots. For example, the affix ka-an2 is added to any root which refers to a plant to form a collective noun referring to a place where a group of that type of plant is found. The formation, ka-[plant]-an, is not listed except in cases where there is s.t. special about the affixation, as for example kalubinhan ‘coconut grove’ (from lubi) which undergoes special morphophonemics or kabaknitan ‘thicket’ (from baknit ‘k.o. vine’), where the meaning of the affixed form is not predictable from the meaning of the base and the affixes. The following productive affixes are listed only occasionally. For their meanings and a description of the type of roots to which they are added, see the entries: pa-1,2; paN-1a,c, panggi-, hi-/ha-; hiN-1; -ay/-anay; paka-2, doubling or Culu-; -in-1, -in2, ka-an2, -in-an1, -in-an2, ma-2.
The inflectional affixes which may be added to a given verb base in a given meaning are indicated by means of a formula which is explained in the following subsections. The derivational affixes paN-1a,c, pakig-, and ka- are also indicated with these formulas.
Our classification of verbs consists of two parts separated by a semicolon: the active and the passive. The active classes are indicated by capital letters A, B, C and numbers indicating subclasses; and the passive classes are indicated by minuscules a, b, and c followed by numbers indicating subclasses. E.g. palit ‘buy’, which is in class A; a, takes the active affixes listed for A (Section 7.11) and the passive affixes listed for a (Section 7.21). In the following subsections the verbs mentioned as examples of each conjugation class are listed with examples for all the relevant affixations.
7.1 Active verb classes
7.11 Class A conjugation, the action verbs
Verbs of class A refer to an action. If they are the predicate of the sentence, the subject is the agent of the action. If they are in attribute construction, the head is the agent of the action. They occur with mu-, meanings 1 and 2[25] (and thus also with mi-, ni-, etc.), mag-, meanings 1 and 2 (and thus also with nag-, naga-, maga-, etc.), maka- in all meanings (and thus also with naka-, ka-, etc.). (See the entries under these affixes for further illustration and explanation.) The entry for palit ‘buy’ illustrates this class; the entry for bisiklíta ‘bicycle’ indicates this class with verbs derived from noun roots, and the entry for hapit,2 ‘drop in s.w.’ illustrates this class referring to verbs of motion.
7.111 Subclasses of the class A conjugation
The numbers which follow the letter A indicate nonoccurrence of affixes. The symbol A1 indicates verbs of the A conjugation which do not occur with the punctual-active set, mu- (mi-, etc.). An example of a verb of this type is ikspidisiyun ‘go on an expedition’. The symbol A2 indicates that the base does not occur with the durative-active set, mag- (nag-, etc.). A verb of this class is sángit ‘catch, snag s.t.’. The symbol A3 indicates that the base does not occur with the potential-active set, maka- (naka-, etc.), e.g. habhab,3 ‘eat away a portion of s.t.’. Two numbers following the letter A indicate the absence of two of the three active affixes. E.g. A12 indicates a base which occurs only with maka- (naka-, etc.) but not with mu- and mag-, e.g. salà.
The symbol A13 indicates lack of mu- and maka- but occurrence of mag-, e.g. dahum ‘expect’.