The root putol covers separation, cutting, interruption, and disconnection. Pumutol or magputol selects the cutter, putulin selects what is deliberately cut, maputol presents something becoming severed or interrupted, and putulan selects a person, household, or place deprived of a service. This is a clear case of multiple possible verbs from one root.
English cut can express all of these with one verb shape. Filipino instead makes the event structure and discourse pivot visible. The useful unit is therefore the complete root network, not a one-word translation.
Core forms and functions
| Family | Basic | Completed | Incompleted | Contemplated | Typical pivot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| actor voice | pumutol | pumutol | pumuputol | puputol | person or force cutting |
| activity actor voice | magputol | nagputol | nagpuputol | magpuputol | person engaged in cutting |
| patient/undergoer voice | putulin | pinutol | pinuputol | puputulin | thing cut, ended, or disconnected |
| potential/result patient/undergoer voice | maputol | naputol | napuputol | mapuputol | thing that becomes severed or interrupted |
| locative voice (affected recipient) | putulan | pinutulan | pinuputulan | puputulan | customer, household, or site deprived of service |
| potential/result locative voice | maputulan | naputulan | napuputulan | mapuputulan | affected customer or site that loses or may lose service |
Pumutol and magputol overlap. Pumutol readily presents a bounded cutting act, while magputol often presents a deliberate activity, repeated cutting, or cutting several pieces. Contemporary speakers vary by collocation; do not invent an absolute intentional-versus-accidental rule.
Pumutol and magputol: select the cutter
Both actor-voice families mark the cutter with ang/si and a non-pivot cut object with ng. Tools commonly occur in a gamit ang or sa pamamagitan ng phrase.
Pumutol si Lando ng tuyong sanga para hindi ito mahulog sa bubong.
Lando cut off a dry branch so it would not fall on the roof.
Pumuputol ng mga kawayan ang pangkat sa gilid ng daan.
The team is cutting bamboo along the roadside.
Nagputol kami ng karton para sa mga karatula.
We cut pieces of cardboard for the signs.
The actor need not be human. A machine or natural force can occupy the actor role when it functions as the cutting cause.
Pinuputol ng makina ang tela sa magkakaparehong sukat.
The machine cuts the fabric into equal sizes.
This sentence uses patient/undergoer voice because the fabric is pivot; Pumuputol ang makina ng tela would instead select the machine.
Putulin: select what is deliberately separated
Patient/undergoer-voice putulin selects the rope, branch, supply, conversation, or other affected theme. The actor takes an ng-series form.
Pinutol ni Mara ang lubid na nakaharang sa pasukan.
Mara cut the rope blocking the entrance.
Pinuputol ng kompanya ang suplay tuwing may kailangang kumpunihin.
The company cuts the supply whenever repairs are needed.
Puputulin ng patnugot ang bahaging inuulit lamang ang naunang paliwanag.
The editor will cut the section that merely repeats the earlier explanation.
The figurative extensions preserve a boundary: putulin ang usapan ends a conversation deliberately, while putulin ang ugnayan breaks off a relationship or connection.
Maputol: become severed or interrupted
The ma- family foregrounds the resulting loss of continuity. An external cause may appear in a dahil sa, sa, or nang clause, but no deliberate cutter must be named.
Naputol ang tawag nang pumasok ang tren sa lagusan.
The call was cut off when the train entered the tunnel.
Napuputol ang tunog kapag mahina ang koneksiyon.
The sound keeps cutting out when the connection is weak.
Mapuputol ang tali kung hihilahin pa natin ito.
The cord will snap if we pull it any more.
Completed naputol reports the achieved result. It does not identify whether a person cut the item, the item snapped, or a system failed; context supplies the cause.
Putulan: select who loses a service
Putulan is conventional with electricity, water, telephone, and similar services. The affected customer, household, or property is pivot; the removed service takes ng.
Pinutulan ng kuryente ang paupahang gusali dahil hindi nabayaran ang singil.
The rental building had its electricity disconnected because the bill was not paid.
Hindi kami puputulan ng tubig habang sinusuri ang reklamo.
Our water will not be disconnected while the complaint is being reviewed.
This construction cannot be predicted from English word order. In pinutulan kami ng tubig, kami is the affected pivot and ng tubig names the service removed.
The corresponding ma-...-an family foregrounds the affected customer's loss or risk rather than an identified service provider's action. It is especially common after baka and maaaring.
Baka maputulan kami ng kuryente kung hindi namin mabayaran ang singil.
We might have our electricity cut off if we cannot pay the bill.
Naputulan ng internet ang opisina sa gitna ng pagpupulong.
The office lost its internet connection in the middle of the meeting.
Controlled comparison: cutter, cut theme, and result
Pumutol ang hardinero ng makapal na baging.
The gardener cut a thick vine. (The gardener is pivot.)
Pinutol ng hardinero ang makapal na baging.
The gardener cut the thick vine. (The vine is pivot.)
Naputol ang makapal na baging sa lakas ng hangin.
The thick vine snapped because of the strong wind. (The result is foregrounded.)
The first two can describe the same deliberate event with different pivots. The third changes the construal: it presents an attained state without a deliberate cutter.
Bare putol and connected use
Bare putol is a property predicate: Putol ang kable “The cable is severed.” Reduplicated putol-putol means discontinuous, fragmentary, or intermittent.
Putol-putol ang paliwanag niya dahil paulit-ulit na nawawala ang tunog.
His or her explanation is fragmented because the audio keeps disappearing.
—Bakit naputol ang usapan ninyo? —Nawalan ng kuryente si Aya habang kausap ko siya.
—Why was your conversation interrupted? —Aya lost power while I was speaking with her.
Common Mistakes
Keeping the cutter as pivot with pinutol
❌ Pinutol si Ruel ang lubid sa pantalan.
Incorrect — pinutol selects the rope, so Ruel takes ni.
✅ Pinutol ni Ruel ang lubid sa pantalan.
Ruel cut the rope at the harbor.
Using an actor marker for an unintended break
❌ Pumutol ang tali habang hinihila namin.
Wrong for an unplanned snap — pumutol presents a cutting actor.
✅ Naputol ang tali habang hinihila namin.
The cord snapped while we were pulling it.
Treating the disconnected service as pivot with putulan
❌ Pinutulan ang tubig ng bahay kahapon.
Wrong for the affected-site frame — the house is pivot and the removed service takes ng.
✅ Pinutulan ng tubig ang bahay kahapon.
The house had its water disconnected yesterday.
Confusing ng with manner nang
❌ Pinutol nang karpintero ang tabla nang maingat.
Incorrect actor marker — the carpenter requires ng, while manner requires nang.
✅ Pinutol ng karpintero ang tabla nang maingat.
The carpenter cut the board carefully.
Key Takeaways
- Pumutol/magputol select the cutter; their distributions overlap but are lexically conditioned.
- Putulin selects what is deliberately cut, ended, or disconnected.
- Maputol/naputol foregrounds a severing or interruption as a result.
- Putulan selects a customer or place deprived of a service; the service takes ng.
- Maputulan/naputulan foregrounds the affected customer's loss or risk of losing that service.
- Bare putol describes a severed state, while putol-putol describes discontinuity.
Related Topics
- Multiple Possible Verbs from One RootA2 — Explore how one Filipino root can support several established verbs with different voices, participant frames, aspect paradigms, and lexical meanings.
- The -um- actor voice: Function and DistributionB1 — Learn where -um- appears, how it marks actor voice, and why its distribution must be learned with each Filipino root.
- The -in- patient voice: Function and DistributionB1 — Understand how the -in patient-voice family selects a patient pivot and why its forms and meanings must be learned as a lexical paradigm.
- The ma- stative and ability: Function and DistributionB1 — Distinguish aspect-bearing ma- stative verbs from ma- potential and ability constructions, including their different participant alignments.
- Marker Choice with Locative-Voice VerbsA1 — Learn how locative voice promotes a place, surface, goal, or addressee to ang/si pivot while other participants take ng forms.