Verb Reference: sagot | Filipino Grammar

The root sagot covers answers, responses, responsibility, and payment responsibility. Sumagot selects the respondent, sagutin selects a question, person, call, or expense answered, magsagot/sagutan commonly involve answering a set of items, and isagot selects the answer supplied.

English answer allows “answer a person,” “answer a question,” and “answer the phone” with one surface pattern. Filipino divides these uses across voice and lexicalized frames, so the root-centered network matters more than a one-word gloss.

Core forms and functions

Family	Basic	Completed	Incompleted	Contemplated	Typical pivot
actor voice response	sumagot	sumagot	sumasagot	sasagot	respondent
activity actor voice	magsagot	nagsagot	nagsasagot	magsasagot	person answering a set or form
patient/undergoer voice	sagutin	sinagot	sinasagot	sasagutin	question, message, person, call, or cost addressed
locative voice (set selected)	sagutan	sinagutan	sinasagutan	sasagutan	worksheet, questionnaire, or set completed
benefactive/instrumental voice (answer selected)	isagot	isinagot	isinasagot	isasagot	answer or content supplied
potential/ability actor voice	makasagot	nakasagot	nakasasagot / nakakasagot	makasasagot / makakasagot	respondent able or managing to answer
potential/result patient/undergoer voice	masagot	nasagot	nasasagot	masasagot	question or problem answerable or successfully answered

Sumagot and magsagot are not free stylistic variants. Sumagot usually means respond in an interaction; magsagot readily describes the activity of answering test, survey, or form items. Sagutin can select one question or communication, while sagutan often packages a whole set. Actual usage overlaps at the edges, as discussed in the um- valency and lexical-restrictions guide.

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Compare sumagot sa tanong “respond to a question” with sagutin ang tanong “answer the selected question.” The marker shift accompanies the voice shift.

Sumagot: the respondent is the pivot

Actor-voice sumagot marks the respondent with ang/si. The prompt, person, message, or call answered normally follows sa.

Sumagot si Nica sa tanong ng guro nang mahinahon.

Nica responded calmly to the teacher's question.

Hindi sumasagot si Ben sa mga mensahe mula kahapon.

Ben has not been responding to the messages since yesterday.

Sasagot ako sa iyo pagkatapos kong basahin ang buong ulat.

I will answer you after I read the entire report.

Manner uses nang: sumagot nang mahinahon. The spelling ng mahinahon would incorrectly treat the property word like a non-pivot nominal.

Magsagot and sagutan: work through a set

Magsagot selects the person engaged in answering, with a worksheet, questionnaire, or set normally marked by ng. Sagutan selects that set itself.

Nagsasagot ang mga aplikante ng talatanungan sa kabilang silid.

The applicants are filling out a questionnaire in the other room.

Sinagutan ni Lira ang lahat ng bahagi ng pormularyo.

Lira completed every section of the form.

Sagutan ninyo ang unang sampung tanong bago magpahinga.

Answer the first ten questions before taking a break.

This contrast is conventional rather than mathematical. A single important item readily takes sagutin; an exercise sheet with many items favors sagutan, but speakers sometimes extend one form into the other's territory.

Sagutin: select what or whom is answered

Patient/undergoer-voice sagutin selects the question, letter, telephone, accusation, or person receiving an answer. The respondent takes an ng form.

Sinagot ni Omar ang liham pagkauwi niya.

Omar answered the letter when he got home.

Sinasagot ng kawani ang telepono habang nagtatanghalian ang tagapangasiwa.

The employee answers the phone while the manager is having lunch.

Sasagutin ng abogado ang mga tanong pagkatapos ng pahayag.

The lawyer will answer the questions after the statement.

With a human pivot, sagutin ang tao can mean reply to, talk back to, or accept a challenge from that person. Tone and context matter. In warnings such as Huwag mong sagutin ang nanay mo, the meaning is usually “Do not talk back to your mother,” not simply “do not provide information.”

Isagot: select the answer supplied

Isagot makes the content of the response pivot. The question or prompt commonly takes sa.

Isinagot ni Pia sa unang tanong ang pangalan ng kaniyang barangay.

Pia gave the name of her barangay as the answer to the first question.

Ano ang isasagot mo kapag tinanong kung bakit nahuli ang ulat?

What will you answer when asked why the report was late?

This form is useful when the answer itself is already prominent. It does not select the respondent in the way sumagot does.

Makasagot and masagot: ability or successful completion

Makasagot keeps the potential or successful respondent as pivot, while masagot selects the question or problem that can be or was successfully answered. Contemporary usage permits the syllable-copy forms nakakasagot/makakasagot; the more formal variants nakasasagot/makasasagot also occur.

Nakasagot si Ella sa lahat ng tanong kahit maikli ang oras.

Ella managed to respond to every question even though time was short.

Nasagot ni Ella ang pinakamahirap na tanong bago matapos ang oras.

Ella managed to answer the hardest question before time ran out.

Controlled comparison: respondent and question

Sumagot si Leni sa huling tanong.

Leni responded to the last question. (Leni is the pivot.)

Sinagot ni Leni ang huling tanong.

Leni answered the last question. (The question is the pivot.)

The same event can support either frame. Actor voice gives si Leni + sa tanong; patient/undergoer voice gives ni Leni + ang tanong. This is not an English active/passive opposition because both are ordinary ways of presenting the event.

Sagot as answer, solution, or financial responsibility

Bare sagot is an answer or solution: sagot sa tanong, sagot sa problema. As a predicate it can also mean that someone will cover a cost.

Sagot ko ang hapunan; kayo na ang pumili ng kakainan.

Dinner is on me; you choose where we will eat.

Patient/undergoer-voice sagutin likewise extends to expenses, obligations, or damages.

Sasagutin ng kompanya ang gastos sa pagkukumpuni.

The company will cover the repair costs.

Pananagutan means responsibility or accountability, and verbal panagutan means take responsibility for or answer for a result. This is an established derived family, not simply a longer synonym for answering a question.

Pananagutan ng kontratista ang pinsalang dulot ng maling pagkakabit.

The contractor will take responsibility for the damage caused by the faulty installation.

A short exchange

—Bakit hindi mo sinagot ang tawag ko? —Nasa pagpupulong ako at hindi ako makasagot noon.

—Why didn't you answer my call? —I was in a meeting and could not answer then.

The question selects the call through ang tawag ko. In the reply, ability form makasagot selects the speaker as the potential respondent.

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Do not assume sagutin always means verbal reply. Its selected pivot may be a telephone, expense, challenge, or person; collocation and context determine the English translation.

Common Mistakes

Copying English “answer the question” into actor voice

❌ Sumagot si Mara ang tanong ng guro.

Incorrect — actor-voice sumagot requires sa before the prompt.

✅ Sumagot si Mara sa tanong ng guro.

Mara responded to the teacher's question.

Keeping the respondent as pivot with sinagot

❌ Sinagot si Mara ang tanong ng guro.

Incorrect — sinagot selects the question, so Mara takes ni.

✅ Sinagot ni Mara ang tanong ng guro.

Mara answered the teacher's question.

Using ng for a manner expression

❌ Sumagot siya ng mahinahon kahit paulit-ulit ang tanong.

Incorrect for manner — use nang before mahinahon.

✅ Sumagot siya nang mahinahon kahit paulit-ulit ang tanong.

He/She answered calmly even though the question was repeated.

Treating the supplied answer as the respondent

❌ Sumagot niya ang pangalan niya sa ikalawang tanong.

Incorrect — the supplied content requires a benefactive/instrumental-voice or patient/undergoer-voice frame, not sumagot plus niya.

✅ Isinagot niya sa ikalawang tanong ang pangalan niya.

He/She gave his or her name as the answer to the second question.

Key Takeaways

Sumagot selects the respondent and normally takes sa before the prompt.
Magsagot presents answering as an activity; sagutan often selects a form or set of items.
Sagutin selects a question, communication, person, challenge, or expense addressed.
Isagot selects the answer supplied.
Makasagot selects an able or successful respondent; masagot selects an answerable or successfully answered question.
Bare sagot also expresses a solution or who covers a cost; panagutan belongs to the responsibility family.

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