The -in- patient voice: Contemplated-Aspect Formation | Filipino Grammar

The contemplated form of an -in patient-voice family repeats initial root material and retains the family's suffixal shape: sulatin → susulatin, basahin → babasahin, lutuin → lulutuin, and ayusin → aayusin. It selects the patient as pivot and presents the event as not yet begun from the relevant viewpoint. See basic and contemplated forms for why these related forms must still be kept distinct.

Future plans and predictions are common contexts, but contemplated aspect is not a mechanical translation of English will. It can also describe an intention that was unbegun at a past reference point or an event projected within a condition.

Reduplication plus the suffixal form

For a consonant-initial root, repeat the first consonant-vowel sequence before the root. For a vowel-initial root, repeat the initial vowel. Then use the established -in/-hin surface form, including any lexical alternation.

Root	Basic	Structure	Contemplated	Surface point
sulat	sulatin	su + sulat + in	susulatin	regular consonant-final root
basa	basahin	ba + basa + hin	babasahin	retain -hin
luto	lutuin	lu + luto + in	lulutuin	final o surfaces as u before suffix
ayos	ayusin	a + ayos + in	aayusin	repeat initial vowel
bili	bilhin	bi + shortened suffixal stem	bibilhin	retain lexical contraction
kuha	kunin	ku + shortened suffixal stem	kukunin	retain lexical contraction

Babasahin ni Mila ang buong kasunduan mamayang gabi.

Mila will read the entire agreement tonight.

Aayusin ng tubero ang gripo sa Lunes.

The plumber will repair the faucet on Monday.

The doubled initial vowels in aayusin are standard morphology, not an accidental spelling repetition. No hyphen or accent mark is added.

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For regular roots, contemplated patient voice looks like “reduplication + basic form.” For irregular bilhin and kunin, memorize bibilhin and kukunin rather than reconstructing a nonexistent regular suffixal form.

Unbegun relative to a viewpoint

With a future-time expression, the contemplated form usually describes a plan or prediction:

Gagawin namin ang mga karatula bago magbukas ang palengke.

We will make the signs before the market opens.

The exclusive actor namin does not include the addressee. Ang mga karatula is the created-result pivot.

The relevant viewpoint can instead be in the past:

Akala ni Rosa ay kukunin ng drayber ang mga kahon kinabukasan.

Rosa thought that the driver would collect the boxes the next day.

Kukunin describes collection that was still unbegun within Rosa's earlier expectation. It does not assert that the driver ultimately collected anything.

Conditional framing also matters:

Kung sapat ang pondo, bibilhin ng samahan ang bakanteng lote.

If the funding is sufficient, the association will buy the vacant lot.

Contemplated bibilhin identifies an unbegun purchase, while kung makes its realization conditional. Aspect says nothing by itself about certainty.

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Contemplated aspect locates an event before its beginning, not on a grammatical future timeline. Plans can be canceled, predictions can fail, and past intentions can remain unrealized.

Basic form versus contemplated form

The basic patient-voice form commonly occurs in commands and as a complement. The contemplated form normally predicates an unbegun event.

Ayusin mo ang bisikleta bago gamitin bukas.

Fix the bicycle before using it tomorrow.

Aayusin mo ang bisikleta bukas, hindi ba?

You'll fix the bicycle tomorrow, won't you?

Both clauses select ang bisikleta as patient pivot and use actor mo. Basic ayusin makes a directive; contemplated aayusin makes a prediction or confirmation request. Reduplication changes aspect and clause function, not voice.

Likewise, a desiderative construction selects the basic form:

Gusto ni Dina na basahin ni Omar ang unang kabanata.

Dina wants Omar to read the first chapter.

The embedded actor is ni Omar, and ang unang kabanata is the embedded patient pivot. Basic basahin does not mean that the reading is completed or currently underway.

Negation, prohibition, and questions

Use hindi with the contemplated form to deny a projected event. A short actor pronoun follows hindi and precedes the verb.

Hindi ko susulatin ang pangalan niya sa pampublikong talaan.

I will not write her name in the public register.

A negative command instead uses huwag plus a basic form:

Huwag mong inumin ang tubig mula sa sirang gripo.

Do not drink the water from the broken faucet.

Mong is actor mo plus linker -ng in the construction after huwag. It must not be replaced by pivot form ka when another pivot, ang tubig, is selected.

—Pipiliin ba ninyo ang mas maikling ruta? —Oo, pipiliin namin iyon kung maayos ang daan.

—Will you choose the shorter route? —Yes, we will choose it if the road is in good condition.

The exchange keeps patient voice and contemplated aspect in both turns. Respectful or plural ninyo contrasts with exclusive namin.

Voice and lexical choice still matter

Compare the same root across aspect:

Pinili ng hurado ang disenyo kahapon.

The panel chose the design yesterday.

Pipiliin ng hurado ang disenyo pagkatapos ng presentasyon.

The panel will choose the design after the presentation.

Completed pinili presents a bounded choice; contemplated pipiliin presents an unbegun one. Ang disenyo remains pivot and ng hurado actor.

A root is a family of constructions, and one citation form hides the derivational system. Sulat has contemplated patient susulatin, actor susulat/magsusulat, content-selecting isusulat, and endpoint-selecting susulatan. English “will write” does not identify which Filipino form is appropriate.

Nor does every root accept -in. Standard Filipino uses bubuksan “will open the selected thing,” huhugasan “will wash the selected thing,” and ibibigay “will give the selected thing.” Forms such as bubuksin, huhugasin, and bibigayin mechanically force the wrong family.

The accepted pair dakpin/dakipin yields contemplated dadakpin and traditional darakipin; contemporary dadakipin is also widespread. These root-specific variants and the d/r alternation cannot be generalized to bilhin, kunin, or other irregular verbs.

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Choose the lexical family first, then form contemplated aspect inside it. English “will + verb” supplies neither voice nor the correct Filipino affix.

Common Mistakes

Repeating the wrong material

❌ Basasahin ni Eric ang mga aplikasyon bukas.

Incorrect — the root basa repeats ba, then retains basahin.

✅ Babasahin ni Eric ang mga aplikasyon bukas.

Eric will read the applications tomorrow.

The correct structure is ba + basahin, yielding babasahin.

Adding the suffix twice

❌ Susulatin-in ko ang paliwanag pagkatapos ng klase.

Incorrect — contemplated susulatin already contains the patient-voice suffix.

✅ Susulatin ko ang paliwanag pagkatapos ng klase.

I will write the explanation after class.

English speakers should not treat -in like a detachable tense ending that can be stacked.

Using the basic form as a prediction

❌ Tapusin ng pangkat ang pagsubok mamayang hapon.

Wrong for the intended neutral prediction — tapusin is basic and sounds directive-like here.

✅ Tatapusin ng pangkat ang pagsubok mamayang hapon.

The group will finish the test this afternoon.

Reduplicated ta marks the event as contemplated.

Using an ang-form actor pronoun

❌ Lulutuin ako ang isda para sa hapunan.

Incorrect patient-voice alignment — ako cannot be actor while ang isda is pivot.

✅ Lulutuin ko ang isda para sa hapunan.

I will cook the fish for dinner.

The actor requires ko, the ng-form first-person pronoun.

Key Takeaways

Contemplated -in forms combine initial root reduplication with the established suffixal basic shape.
Root alternations remain visible: babasahin, lulutuin, bibilhin, kukunin.
The aspect means unbegun relative to a viewpoint, not automatically future or certain.
Basic forms serve commands and many complements; contemplated forms predicate projected events.
Patient voice and participant markers remain stable, while lexical family membership must be learned root by root.

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