The root sara forms a network around closing and loss of access. Sumara presents a door or opening becoming closed, magsara can present a business ceasing operations or an actor doing the closing, isara selects the thing deliberately closed, and sarhan selects an opening, place, or access point shut against someone or something.
Bare sarado is the ordinary property word “closed.” It describes a state, while the aspectual verbs describe events or routines. English close hides this difference. Compare the parallel opening network on the bukas root reference.
Core forms and functions
| Family | Basic | Completed | Incompleted | Contemplated | Typical pivot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| change-of-state actor voice | sumara | sumara | sumasara | sasara | door, opening, or mechanism becoming closed |
| actor voice | magsara | nagsara | nagsasara | magsasara | business closing or person doing the closing |
| benefactive/instrumental i- voice (theme selected) | isara | isinara | isinasara | isasara | door, container, road, account, or institution closed |
| potential/result patient/undergoer voice | masara | nasara | nasasara | masasara | thing that can be or was successfully closed |
| locative voice (access point selected) | sarhan | sinarhan | sinasarhan | sasarhan | opening, place, or participant whose access is blocked |
| causative patient/undergoer voice | ipasara | ipinasara | ipinapasara / ipinasasara | ipapasara / ipasasara | establishment or access point ordered closed |
Pa-copy and root-copy causative variants occur in contemporary use: ipinapasara/ipapasara is widespread in speech and news, while ipinasasara/ipasasara is also accepted. Do not mix both reduplication strategies into one enlarged form.
Sumara: the changing entity is the pivot
Sumara commonly presents a door, window, gate, or mechanical opening that moves into a closed state. A cause may be expressed, but no deliberate human actor is required.
Biglang sumara ang pinto dahil sa malakas na hangin.
The door suddenly closed because of the strong wind.
Sumasara nang kusa ang tarangkahan kapag lumampas na ang sasakyan.
The gate closes automatically after the vehicle has passed.
Sasara ang takip kapag pinisil mo ang magkabilang gilid.
The lid will close when you press both sides.
With establishments, contemporary speakers often prefer magsara. Sumara ang tindahan can occur, but nagsara ang tindahan more readily describes the business ending operations for the day or permanently.
Magsara: business closure or a closing actor
With a business or office as pivot, magsara means cease operations. With a human pivot plus an ng phrase, it means perform the activity of closing something.
Maagang nagsara ang botika dahil nawalan ng kuryente.
The pharmacy closed early because the power went out.
Nagsasara ang aklatan nang alas-sais tuwing Sabado.
The library closes at six every Saturday.
Nagsara si Pilo ng mga bintana bago umalis.
Pilo closed the windows before leaving.
The same form can therefore select an establishment that stops operating or a person who closes objects. Collocation and the following markers resolve the reading.
Isara: select what is closed
Isara selects the affected door, window, container, road, account, program, or establishment. The actor takes an ng form.
Isinara ni Lani ang bintana nang magsimulang umulan.
Lani closed the window when it began to rain.
Isinasara ng guwardiya ang likod na tarangkahan tuwing gabi.
The guard closes the rear gate every night.
Isasara ng bangko ang lumang sangay sa katapusan ng buwan.
The bank will close the old branch at the end of the month.
The selected theme need not be a physical lid. Isara ang usapin ends discussion of a matter; isara ang kuwenta sa bangko closes a bank account. More specific verbs may be preferred in specialized contexts, but the extension is productive.
Masara: successful or possible closure
Potential/result masara selects the thing that can be closed or that someone manages to close. An expressed closer takes an ng-series form, but the construction often leaves the closer unexpressed.
Hindi masara ang bintana dahil baluktot ang bisagra.
The window cannot be closed because the hinge is bent.
Nasara rin ni Pilo ang takip matapos niyang ituwid ang bisagra.
Pilo also managed to close the lid after straightening the hinge.
Unlike nonagentive sumara, masara commonly contributes possibility or successful attainment. Completed nasara ang pinto can nevertheless be ambiguous between “the door ended up closed” and “the door was successfully closed”; context normally resolves the reading.
Sarhan: block an opening or access
Sarhan is the established contracted form of sarahan. It often profiles an opening, place, or person whose access is blocked. The actor takes an ng form; an object used to block the opening may take ng.
Sinarhan ni Rosa ang siwang para hindi makapasok ang ulan.
Rosa closed off the gap so rain could not get in.
Huwag mong sarhan ng mga kahon ang daanan papunta sa kusina.
Do not block the passage to the kitchen with boxes.
In many door-closing commands, isara ang pinto and sarhan ang pinto are both accepted. Isara neutrally treats the door as the thing moved closed; sarhan more readily profiles the opening or prevention of access. Speaker preference and region affect the overlap.
Controlled comparison: closing event and selected theme
Sumara ang bintana sa lakas ng hangin.
The window closed because of the strong wind. (The changing window is pivot.)
Isinara ni Teo ang bintana dahil lumakas ang hangin.
Teo closed the window because the wind intensified. (The selected window is pivot.)
Nagsara si Teo ng mga bintana bago bumagyo.
Teo closed windows before the storm. (Teo is pivot.)
The first has no deliberate closer. The second and third can describe deliberate events, but their pivots differ: ang bintana versus si Teo.
Ipasara and sarado
Ipasara selects an institution, road, or facility that an authority causes or orders someone else to close. It therefore adds a causer beyond the direct closing event.
Ipinasara ng alkalde ang tulay matapos makita ang malaking bitak.
The mayor ordered the bridge closed after the large crack was found.
Bare sarado predicates a state without an event verb or copula.
Sarado pa ang tanggapan; bumalik tayo pagkaraan ng tanghalian.
The office is still closed; let's return after lunch.
—Bukas pa ba ang palengke? —Hindi na; nagsara iyon nang maaga ngayon.
—Is the market still open? —No; it closed early today.
Common Mistakes
Keeping the closer as pivot with isinara
❌ Isinara si Mateo ang bodega nang maaga.
Incorrect — isinara selects the warehouse, so Mateo takes ni.
✅ Isinara ni Mateo ang bodega nang maaga.
Mateo closed the warehouse early.
Adding a copula before sarado
❌ Ay sarado ang klinika tuwing Linggo.
Unnatural as a neutral clause — sarado is already the predicate.
✅ Sarado ang klinika tuwing Linggo.
The clinic is closed every Sunday.
Using a deliberate closing verb for a spontaneous event
❌ Isinara ang pinto sa lakas ng hangin.
Wrong for the intended nonagentive reading — isinara implies an actor-like closer.
✅ Sumara ang pinto sa lakas ng hangin.
The door closed because of the strong wind.
Treating magsara as patient/undergoer voice
❌ Nagsara ni Lita ang lahat ng bintana.
Incorrect — actor-voice nagsara selects Lita and marks the windows with ng.
✅ Nagsara si Lita ng lahat ng bintana.
Lita closed all the windows.
Key Takeaways
- Sumara presents a door or opening becoming closed, often without a deliberate closer.
- Magsara commonly describes a business ceasing operations or a person doing the closing.
- Isara selects the thing closed; sarhan profiles an opening or blocked access.
- Masara/nasara presents possible or successfully attained closure with the closed thing as pivot.
- Ipasara adds an authority or causer who orders closure.
- Sarado is a state predicate and needs no English-style copula.
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
- 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.
- Verb Reference: bukasA2 — Distinguish spontaneous opening, deliberate opening, an affected openable object, and the state expressed by the bukas root family.
- The i- conveyance voice: Function and DistributionB1 — Learn how i- benefactive/instrumental voice selects a conveyed, placed, applied, or lexically specified participant as the pivot.
- 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.
- Patient VoiceB1 — Use patient voice to select an affected or delimited participant as pivot while retaining the actor as a core ng-series phrase.