Verb Reference: tulak | Filipino Grammar

The root tulak centers on applying force so that a person or object moves away from the source of that force. Tumulak selects the pusher, tulakin selects an affected person or thing, itulak selects something conveyed along a path or toward a destination, and matulak presents an unintended or possible pushed result. Manulak commonly presents repeated or forceful pushing, while reciprocal magtulakan describes people pushing one another or a group engaged in jostling. Tumulak also has a lexicalized intransitive sense, “depart” or “set out.”

English often translates both tulakin and itulak as push. Their overlap is real, so the distinction cannot be reduced to two different English verbs. Filipino speakers choose among a root-centered network according to pivot, event construal, path, and established usage.

Core forms and functions

All unmarked forms below are (neutral). The columns express aspect rather than English tense.

Family	Basic	Completed	Incompleted	Contemplated	Typical pivot
actor voice	tumulak	tumulak	tumutulak	tutulak	person applying force; pushed entity commonly takes ng
patient/undergoer voice	tulakin	tinulak	tinutulak	tutulakin	selected person or thing directly affected by the push
conveyance i- voice	itulak	itinulak	itinutulak	itutulak	selected entity propelled along a path or toward a destination
stative/potential	matulak	natulak	natutulak	matutulak	entity accidentally, possibly, or successfully moved by pushing
repeated/intensive actor voice	manulak	nanulak	nanunulak	manunulak	person repeatedly or forcefully pushing, often in a crowd
reciprocal/collective	magtulakan	nagtulakan	nagtutulakan	magtutulakan	participants pushing one another or jostling as a group

Completed tumulak happens to have the same surface form as its basic actor-voice form. Contemplated tutulak repeats the first syllable; it does not mean future time in isolation, although plans and predictions commonly create that interpretation.

Tumulak and tulakin: pusher versus affected entity

Actor-voice tumulak selects the pusher with ang/si. A movable object normally takes ng. Patient-voice tulakin selects the affected person or thing with ang/si, while a named pusher takes ni.

Tumulak si Dario ng karitong puno ng mga lumang aklat.

Dario pushed a cart full of old books. (completed actor voice; neutral)

Tinulak ni Dario ang karitong puno ng mga lumang aklat.

Dario pushed the cart full of old books. (completed patient voice; neutral)

The clauses can describe one event. The first follows si Dario and introduces the cart as a non-pivot; the second follows the identifiable cart. English word order stays almost the same in translation, but Filipino changes morphology and markers: si ... ng becomes ni ... ang.

Tumutulak ng mga sirang sasakyan ang pangkat kapag bumabaha sa kalsada.

The team pushes stalled vehicles when the road floods. (habitual incompleted actor voice; neutral)

Huwag mong tulakin ang pinto; hilahin mo ang hawakan.

Do not push the door; pull the handle. (negative patient-voice command; neutral)

Tulakin is also natural with people, but it describes a forceful physical act and can imply aggression. A request like “move over a little” should be umusog ka nang kaunti, not tulakin kita, unless actual pushing is meant.

💡

Choose tumulak ... ng bagay when the pusher is pivot and tulakin ... ang bagay when the directly affected person or object is pivot. Do not retain English subject–object markers unchanged.

Itulak: profile caused motion and its path

Itulak also selects the moved entity, but its i- family readily profiles conveyance: the object is propelled away, forward, aside, into a space, or toward a goal. A path phrase often makes this reading especially clear.

Itinulak ng bantay ang mabigat na harang papunta sa bukana.

The guard pushed the heavy barrier toward the entrance. (completed conveyance voice; neutral)

Itulak mo nang kaunti ang mesa palayo sa bintana.

Push the table a little away from the window. (conveyance-voice command; neutral)

Tinulak ang mesa palayo sa bintana is also possible. The difference is a tendency, not an absolute physical law: tulakin/tinulak foregrounds the affected patient, while itulak/itinulak often packages the object as something moved along a path. Particular phrases and speakers may prefer one. That overlap is genuine and must be learned through usage rather than “corrected” into a false one-form rule. The choice relates to the broader i- versus -in decision.

Itutulak ba natin ang aparador sa kabilang dingding, o iiwan natin dito?

Shall we push the wardrobe to the opposite wall, or leave it here? (interrogative contemplated conveyance voice; neutral)

Matulak and magtulakan: reduced control and reciprocity

Matulak selects the entity that can be, happens to be, or ends up pushed. Completed natulak often describes accidental contact or an uncontrolled result; it does not identify a deliberate actor as tinulak does.

Natulak ang bisikleta nang biglang sumikip ang pila.

The bicycle was accidentally pushed when the line suddenly became crowded. (completed unintended result; neutral)

Baka matulak ka kapag sabay-sabay silang lumabas.

You might get pushed when they all come out at once. (possible result; neutral)

Reciprocal/collective magtulakan selects plural participants who push one another or jostle. It can describe deliberate rough play, competition for space, or an uncontrolled crowd. A grammatically singular phrase is possible only if it denotes a group, such as ang madla.

Nagtulakan ang mga manonood nang buksan ang tarangkahan.

The spectators jostled one another when the gate was opened. (completed reciprocal/collective; neutral)

💡

Compare Tinulak niya ako “They pushed me” with Natulak niya ako “They accidentally ended up pushing me.” Patient voice profiles a deliberate affected patient more readily; ma- reduces control and highlights the result.

Collocations, figurative uses, and limits

Physical collocations include tumulak ng kariton, tulakin ang pinto, itulak sa gilid, and matulak sa hagdan. In (formal/public-affairs) language, itulak ang panukala or itulak ang reporma can mean to advance a proposal or reform. Isulong is often more idiomatic when sustained advocacy, rather than forceful forward movement, is the central idea.

With mang-, the initial t of the root is replaced by the prefix nasal: mang- + tulak → manulak. This family is natural for repeated, forceful, or indiscriminate pushing rather than one bounded push.

Huwag kang manulak habang nakapila; makakarating din tayo sa pinto.

Do not keep pushing while we are in line; we will reach the door too. (negative repeated/intensive actor voice; neutral)

In travel and news contexts, intransitive tumulak can mean “depart” or “set out,” with a traveler or vehicle as pivot and no pushed entity. This lexicalized sense must be distinguished from physical pushing by context.

Tumulak ang unang tren patungong Calamba nang alas-sais ng umaga.

The first train departed for Calamba at six in the morning. (completed lexicalized departure sense; neutral)

Do not translate every English push with tulak. “Push the button” is normally pindutin ang pindutan, because the conventional action is pressing. “Push someone to study” may be hikayatin if it means encourage or piliting mag-aral if it means compel. “Push back a deadline” requires a scheduling expression such as ipagpaliban ang takdang petsa.

Bare tulak can denote a push. It is also (slang) for a street-level seller of illegal drugs. That noun is socially marked and context-specific; it is not the neutral agent noun for everyone who pushes an object.

—Bakit hindi gumagalaw ang kabinet? —May nakaharang sa ilalim; iangat muna natin bago itulak.

—Why isn't the cabinet moving? —Something is blocking it underneath; let's lift it first before pushing it. (neutral exchange)

The reply omits the cabinet after itulak because it is recoverable from the question. Filipino commonly omits accessible arguments; the voice form still signals the role of the understood item.

Common Mistakes

Giving an actor-voice object ang marking

❌ Tumulak si Dario ang karitong puno ng aklat.

Incorrect — tumulak selects Dario as pivot, so the cart takes ng.

✅ Tumulak si Dario ng karitong puno ng aklat.

Dario pushed a cart full of books. (actor voice; neutral)

Keeping the pusher as si with tinulak

❌ Tinulak si Dario ang kariton palapit sa pinto.

Incorrect — tinulak selects the cart, so the personal-name pusher takes ni.

✅ Tinulak ni Dario ang kariton palapit sa pinto.

Dario pushed the cart closer to the door. (patient voice; neutral)

Using deliberate tinulak for an accidental result

❌ Tinulak ko siya nang may bumangga sa likod ko.

Incorrect for the intended accidental meaning — tinulak presents me as a deliberate pusher.

✅ Natulak ko siya nang may bumangga sa likod ko.

I accidentally pushed them when someone bumped into my back. (completed unintended result; neutral)

Translating push a button word for word

❌ Itulak mo ang pulang pindutan para buksan ang pinto.

Incorrect in the ordinary button-pressing sense — itulak describes moving something by pushing, not the conventional act of pressing a control.

✅ Pindutin mo ang pulang pindutan para buksan ang pinto.

Press the red button to open the door. (neutral)

💡

The useful network separates pusher tumulak, affected patient tulakin, conveyed object itulak, uncontrolled result matulak, and mutual action magtulakan. The two object-selecting families overlap, so preserve their attested collocations.

Key Takeaways

Tumulak ... ng selects the pusher; tulakin ... ang selects the directly affected person or thing.
Itulak often foregrounds the moved object's path or destination, although it overlaps with tulakin.
Matulak/natulak commonly expresses possibility, accident, or reduced control; manulak often presents repeated or forceful pushing.
Magtulakan requires reciprocal or collective participants and describes mutual pushing or jostling.
Intransitive tumulak can lexically mean “depart” or “set out,” especially in travel and news contexts.
English idioms with push frequently require pindutin, isulong, hikayatin, or another Filipino root.

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