Completed maka- verbs replace maka- with naka- and do not reduplicate the root: makakita → nakakita, makatulog → nakatulog, makaalis → nakaalis. The form reports a realized perception, attained result, or successfully used opportunity while retaining an actor pivot.
Compact formation map
| Root | Basic | Completed | Typical completed meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| kita | makakita | nakakita | saw / managed to see |
| rinig | makarinig | nakarinig | heard |
| tulog | makatulog | nakatulog | managed to sleep |
| alis | makaalis | nakaalis | managed to leave |
| pasok | makapasok | nakapasok | managed to enter or attend |
The m → n alternation is the aspect marker. Do not add na- before the whole basic form: namakakita and namakatulog are not the standard completed forms.
Nakarinig si Bea ng mahinang katok sa likod.
Bea heard a faint knock at the back.
Nakaalis ang huling bus bago lumakas ang ulan.
The last bus managed to leave before the rain intensified.
Achievement and past time are different
Nakatulog ako nang dalawang oras kahapon.
I managed to sleep for two hours yesterday.
Kahapon supplies past time; nakatulog presents sleep as achieved. A current result is also possible:
Nakahanap na kami ng tahimik na silid, kaya makapagsisimula na tayo.
We have found a quiet room, so we can begin now.
Here nakahanap is an established maka- attainment form, and na connects the successful finding to the current situation.
Completed aspect can be interpreted inside a future condition:
Kapag nakapasok na kayo sa gusali, tumawag agad sa akin.
Once you have entered the building, call me immediately.
The entering is completed relative to the future call. See completed aspect for this event-based analysis.
Completed versus incompleted
Nakita ni Mara ang buwan sa pagitan ng mga ulap.
Mara saw the moon between the clouds.
Nakakita si Mara ng tatlong bulalakaw kagabi.
Mara saw three meteors last night.
This first comparison holds completion constant but changes voice: patient-oriented nakita selects the moon; actor nakakita selects Mara.
Now keep actor voice and change aspect:
Nakarinig si Tomas ng sigaw mula sa ilog.
Tomas heard a shout from the river.
Nakakarinig si Tomas ng kakaibang ugong tuwing gabi.
Tomas hears a strange hum every night.
Nakarinig reports one achieved perception; nakakarinig describes recurring perception. The marker frame remains actor pivot plus ng perceived stimulus.
Negation and questions
Hindi nakatulog ang mga pasahero dahil maalog ang biyahe.
The passengers did not manage to sleep because the trip was bumpy.
The negative denies successful sleep; it does not mean the passengers lacked the general skill of sleeping.
—Nakaabot ba kayo sa pulong? —Oo, nakaabot kami bago magsimula ang talakayan.
—Did you manage to make it to the meeting? —Yes, we arrived before the discussion began.
Ba follows completed predicate nakaabot. The reply's exclusive kami excludes the questioner.
Lexical restrictions
A root is a family of constructions. Kita yields nakakita with perceiver pivot, nakita with perceived-entity pivot, and nagkita for a reciprocal meeting. English see cannot select among them.
Completed forms in larger clauses
Completed aspect can support a conclusion about a present situation. The form still presents the enabling event as bounded; words such as na, mukhang, and dahil connect that event to what matters now.
Mukhang nakapasok na ang pusa sa bodega; bukas ang maliit na bintana.
It looks as though the cat has managed to get into the storeroom; the small window is open.
Dahil nakaalis na ang doktor, bukas na lamang tayo babalik.
Because the doctor has already left, we will just return tomorrow.
Neither example turns naka- into an English present perfect. Na marks a change or already-state, while the discourse context supplies the current relevance. Without na, a completed form can simply narrate one event. This separation helps explain why the same morphology also appears in future-oriented kapag nakapasok na... clauses.
Completed naka- also appears in non-ability words with other analyses, including adjectival or positional expressions. Surface naka- alone therefore does not guarantee this paradigm. Identify the root, aspect row, and clause frame.
For some eventive activities, nakapag- is the conventional completed ability form: nakapagluto, nakapagtrabaho. Do not shorten every nakapag- form to naka-.
Nakapagsumite si Inez ng aplikasyon bago ang takdang oras.
Inez managed to submit an application before the deadline.
That form belongs to the neighboring makapag- family, not the simple maka- row.
Common Mistakes
❌ Namakakita si Ruel ng balyena mula sa bangka.
Incorrect — completed maka- replaces m with n; it does not prefix na- to makakita.
✅ Nakakita si Ruel ng balyena mula sa bangka.
Ruel saw a whale from the boat.
❌ Nakakita si Ruel ang balyena mula sa bangka.
Incorrect actor-voice alignment — the perceived entity takes ng.
✅ Nakakita si Ruel ng balyenang lumangoy malapit sa bangka.
Ruel saw a whale swimming near the boat.
❌ Nakaalis-ed ang tren bago mag-alas sais.
Incorrect — English -ed cannot attach to completed nakaalis.
✅ Nakaalis ang tren bago mag-alas sais.
The train managed to leave before six o'clock.
❌ Makapasok siya sa opisina kahapon kahit sarado ang pinto.
Wrong for achieved entry — makapasok is basic, not completed.
✅ Nakapasok siya sa opisina kahapon kahit sarado ang pinto.
He managed to enter the office yesterday even though the door was closed.
Key Takeaways
- Completed maka- uses naka- + root without aspectual reduplication.
- It presents perception or ability as achieved, not merely available.
- Time comes from context; completion is not identical to past tense.
- Actor voice keeps the experiencer or achiever as pivot.
- Distinguish lexical naka- families from patient ma- and eventive nakapag- forms.
Related Topics
- The maka- ability: Function and DistributionB1 — Understand how maka- expresses actor-oriented ability, opportunity, attainment, and lexicalized perception without reducing it to English can.
- The maka- ability: Incompleted-Aspect FormationB1 — Build common contemporary incompleted maka- forms with nakaka- for recurring perception and continuing access to an ability or opportunity.
- The maka- ability: Contemplated-Aspect FormationB1 — Form contemplated maka- verbs with makaka- to express an ability, opportunity, or successful result that has not yet begun.
- Completed AspectA2 — Use completed or perfective verb forms to present an event as a bounded whole while keeping aspect distinct from past tense and voice.
- Ability with maka- and ma-B2 — Choose actor-oriented maka- or patient-oriented ma- ability constructions by viewpoint, pivot, aspect, and the kind of possibility being expressed.