The root ayos centers on order, proper condition, and making something orderly or functional. It supports a noun (ayos “order/arrangement”), an adjective (maayos “orderly, proper”), ordinary repair verbs, and a causative meaning “have something fixed.” English “fix” hides these differences, so a useful reference must show the entire root network.
The core family
These forms are (neutral) in contemporary Filipino. Completed, incompleted, and contemplated are aspect labels, not direct substitutes for English past, present, and future.
| Family and function | Basic | Completed | Incompleted | Contemplated | Typical frame |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Actor voice: arrange, prepare, or repair | mag-ayos | nag-ayos | nag-aayos | mag-aayos | ang actor + ng item |
| Patient voice: fix or arrange a selected item | ayusin | inayos | inaayos | aayusin | ng/ni actor + ang item |
| Causative actor voice: arrange to have something fixed | magpaayos | nagpaayos | nagpapaayos | magpapaayos | ang causer + ng item + optional sa/kay service provider |
| Causative patient voice: have a selected item fixed | ipaayos | ipinaayos | ipinapaayos | ipapaayos | ng/ni causer + ang item + optional sa/kay service provider |
| State, result, or possibility | maayos | naayos | naaayos | maaayos | ang entity in or returning to proper condition |
Because ayos begins with a vowel, write visible hyphens in mag-ayos, nag-ayos, nag-aayos, mag-aayos. Patient forms follow a different pattern: inayos, inaayos, aayusin have no hyphen.
Arranging or repairing: context chooses the sense
Ayos does not lexicalize one narrow kind of repair. The affected noun and situation distinguish arranging files from repairing an appliance or settling a schedule.
Nag-aayos si Celso ng mga dokumento ayon sa petsa.
Celso is arranging documents by date. (incompleted actor voice; neutral)
Nag-ayos ang kapitbahay namin ng sirang radyo kahapon.
Our neighbor repaired a broken radio yesterday. (completed actor voice; neutral)
The form does not change with the English distinction between “arrange” and “repair.” Both clauses select the actor; the affected item follows ng.
Controlled voice comparison
Nag-ayos si Belen ng iskedyul bago ang pagpupulong.
Belen arranged a schedule before the meeting. (actor voice; neutral)
Inayos ni Belen ang iskedyul bago ang pagpupulong.
Belen arranged the schedule before the meeting. (patient voice; neutral)
The event can be essentially the same. Nag-ayos selects si Belen, while inayos selects ang iskedyul and marks Belen with ni. The patient-voice version also fits naturally when the schedule is already established in the discourse. This is the same alignment logic explained in the patient-voice overview, not an English passive.
Maayos as adjective, result, and potential
Predicate maayos means that something is orderly, proper, acceptable, or in good condition. It does not necessarily describe a repair event.
Maayos ang mga rekord, pero may dalawang resibong nawawala.
The records are in order, but two receipts are missing. (stative predicate; neutral)
Result naayos says that proper condition was achieved. Maaayos can project that result or express that repair is possible.
Naayos na ang problema sa bentilasyon bago dumating ang mga bisita.
The ventilation problem was fixed before the guests arrived. (completed result; neutral)
Maaayos pa ang mesa; maluwag lang ang dalawang turnilyo.
The table can still be fixed; only two screws are loose. (possibility; neutral)
English “is fixed” can describe either a state or a completed intervention. Filipino can choose maayos for the state, naayos for an achieved result, or inayos when a deliberate actor's repair is being profiled.
Magpaayos and ipaayos: arrange for someone else to do the work
Magpaayos and ipaayos add a causer and imply a causee or service provider. The causer initiates the repair but need not perform it personally. Actor-voice magpaayos selects that causer; patient-voice ipaayos selects the item being serviced.
Nagpaayos si Nora ng punit na bag sa sapatero.
Nora arranged to have a torn bag repaired by the shoe repairer. (completed causative actor voice; neutral)
Ipinaayos ni Nora sa sapatero ang punit na bag.
Nora had the torn bag repaired by the shoe repairer. (completed causative patient voice; neutral)
Ipapaayos namin ang sistemang pampalamig bago magsimula ang tag-init.
We will have the cooling system repaired before summer begins. (contemplated causative patient voice; neutral)
The service provider can be omitted when irrelevant or obvious. Nagpaayos si Nora ng bag and Ipinaayos ni Nora ang bag both imply that Nora arranged the repair; neither asserts that she repaired it herself. The marker contrast follows the selected pivot. The patient-voice construction is analyzed more fully under ipa- causative patient voice.
Manner, fixed expressions, and register
Use nang maayos for “properly” as a manner expression, but maayos na + noun for an adjective linked to a noun.
Pakiayos nang maayos ang mga kable para walang matisod.
Please arrange the cables properly so that no one trips. (polite everyday request; neutral)
Ayos na means “It is settled/ready now,” while Ayos lang can mean “It's fine” or “I'm okay.” Both are common (informal) responses. Bare Ayos! expresses approval, roughly “Great!” (informal). In formal reports, prefer an explicit predicate such as maayos, wasto, or nalutas, according to the intended meaning.
—Ayos na ba ang reserbasyon? —Oo, kinumpirma na ng hotel kaninang umaga.
—Is the reservation settled? —Yes, the hotel confirmed it this morning. (informal conversation)
The reply uses a different root because real discourse does not repeat ayos mechanically. Ayos na asks about the resulting state, not who performed every step.
Questions and negation
Bakit hindi pa inaayos ng tagapangasiwa ang sirang ilaw sa hagdan?
Why is the supervisor not yet having the broken stairway light fixed? / Why is the supervisor not yet fixing it? (neutral; context determines direct versus arranged repair)
Simple inaayos profiles repair but does not by itself guarantee whether the supervisor is using their own hands. If outsourcing or delegation is important, ipinapaayos makes causation explicit.
Common Mistakes
Mixing actor-voice morphology with patient-voice markers
❌ Nag-aayos ni Pilar ang mga mesa.
Incorrect — nag-aayos is actor voice, so Pilar must be pivot and the tables take ng.
✅ Nag-aayos si Pilar ng mga mesa.
Pilar is arranging some tables. (actor voice; neutral)
Saying the causer personally repaired something when a service was arranged
❌ Inayos ko sa mekaniko ang motorsiklo.
Unnatural for the intended causative meaning — inayos presents me as the repair actor, while sa mekaniko conflicts with that intended role.
✅ Ipinaayos ko sa mekaniko ang motorsiklo.
I had the motorcycle repaired by the mechanic. (causative patient voice; neutral)
Confusing ng and nang in a manner phrase
❌ Inayos niya ng maayos ang mga dokumento.
Incorrect — maayos describes how the action was done, so the adverbial marker is nang.
✅ Inayos niya nang maayos ang mga dokumento.
He/She arranged the documents properly. (patient voice with manner phrase; neutral)
Omitting the hyphen in the mag- family
❌ Magaayos kami ng bulwagan mamayang hapon.
Incorrect standard spelling — vowel-initial ayos requires a hyphen after mag-.
✅ Mag-aayos kami ng bulwagan mamayang hapon.
We will arrange the hall this afternoon. (contemplated actor voice; neutral)
Key Takeaways
- Treat ayos as a network of action, causation, and state—not one verb with interchangeable prefixes.
- Match voice to markers: nag-aayos si ... ng ... versus inaayos ni ... ang ....
- Use magpaayos when the causer is pivot and ipaayos when the serviced item is pivot; both can describe arranging for another person to do the work.
- Distinguish adjective maayos na from manner nang maayos, and preserve hyphens before vowel-initial ayos.
Now practice Filipino
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Filipino →Related Topics
- Verb Reference: abotA2 — Learn the abot family for reaching limits, reaching objects, handing things over, and expressing attainability.
- Actor VoiceB1 — Use actor voice to select an actor, experiencer, or moving participant as pivot while marking patients and obliques appropriately.
- Patient VoiceB1 — Use patient voice to select an affected or delimited participant as pivot while retaining the actor as a core ng-series phrase.
- The ipa- causative patient voice: Function and DistributionB1 — Use ipa- to select the theme of a caused action while distinguishing the causer, causee, and affected patient.
- Affixation with Vowel-Initial RootsC1 — Build verb families from vowel-initial roots while preserving glottal boundaries, reduplicated vowels, and standard hyphenation.