Sumagot ka sa telepono.

Answer the phone.

Breakdown of Sumagot ka sa telepono.

• sa: on
• ka: you
• telepono: the phone
• sumagot: to answer

Questions & Answers about Sumagot ka sa telepono.

Is this a command? Why does the verb sumagot look like a past/perfective form?

Yes, it’s a command. In Tagalog, the actor-focus perfective form often serves as an imperative. Sumagot ka sa telepono is the natural way to say “Answer the phone.” Even though sumagot is the perfective form, it functions as an instruction in this pattern.

What is the verb breakdown of sumagot?

• Root: sagot (answer, reply)
• Actor-focus infix: -um- placed after the first consonant
• Perfective (completed/imperative): s-um-agot → sumagot
• Imperfective (ongoing/habitual): sumasagot (reduplication of the first syllable)
• Contemplated/future: sasagot (reduplication without -um-)

What’s the difference between sumagot and sagutin?

• sumagot = actor-focus (UM-voice): highlights the doer; the thing answered is usually marked by sa. Example: Sumagot ka sa tanong.
• sagutin = object-focus (-IN voice): highlights the thing being answered; that thing is marked by ang. Example: Sagutin mo ang tanong. For the phone, both are natural:
• Sumagot ka sa telepono. (actor-focused command)
• Sagutin mo ang telepono. (object-focused command; often sounds a bit more direct about that specific phone)

Why is it sa telepono and not ng telepono?

With sumagot (actor-focus), the entity you respond to is typically marked by sa (think “answer to …”). So you say sumagot sa tanong, sumagot sa tawag, sumagot sa telepono. Using ng telepono here would be ungrammatical for this meaning.
If you switch to object-focus, the phone becomes the ang-marked object: Sagutin mo ang telepono.

What exactly does sa telepono mean here—“on the phone” or “the (ringing) phone”?

In this sentence, it means “the (ringing) phone” as the thing you’re responding to. But sa telepono can also mean “by telephone/on the phone” as a communication channel in other contexts (e.g., Nag-usap kami sa telepono = we talked on the phone). Context disambiguates. If you want to be explicit about a call, you can also say sumagot sa tawag (“answer the call”).

Can I instead say Sagutin mo ang telepono? Is there a nuance difference?

Yes, that’s perfectly natural. Nuance:

• Sumagot ka sa telepono (actor-focus): puts light on “you, do the responding.”
• Sagutin mo ang telepono (object-focus): puts light on “the phone, answer it.” Both are common; object-focus can feel a bit more direct about that specific phone/call.

How do ka, ikaw, and mo differ here?

• ka = short nominative “you,” used after the verb in actor-focus clauses: Sumagot ka…
• ikaw = full nominative “you,” typically used in topic/emphasis positions or before the verb: Ikaw ang sumagot sa telepono.
• mo = genitive “you” (your/you-as-actor in object-focus), used when the verb is object-focused: Sagutin mo ang telepono. For plural/polite “you,” use kayo: Sumagot po kayo sa telepono.

Can I change the word order?

• Default is verb-initial: Sumagot ka sa telepono.
• For emphasis, you can front other parts:
  • Sa telepono ka sumagot. (emphasis on the channel/location)
  • Ikaw ang sumagot sa telepono. (emphasis on you specifically) Avoid Ka sumagot sa telepono or Sumagot sa telepono ka; those are ungrammatical.

How do I make this more polite or softer?

• Add po/ho (politeness): Sumagot po kayo sa telepono.
• Use kayo for polite/plural address.
• Use paki- for a request:
  • Pakisagot po ang telepono.
  • Pakisagutin po ang telepono. (also common; object-focused)
• Softening particles:
  • Sagutin mo nga ang telepono. (soft/encouraging)
  • Sagutin mo muna ang telepono. (do this first)
  • Sagutin mo na ang telepono. (do it now/already)

How do I say “Don’t answer the phone”?

Use huwag with the appropriate voice:

• Actor-focus: Huwag kang sasagot sa telepono.
• Object-focus: Huwag mong sagutin ang telepono. Note the linker: huwag kang… (with ka) vs huwag mong… (with mo).

How do I express different aspects/tense with this verb?

• Perfective: Sumagot ka sa telepono. (you answered)
• Imperfective/habitual: Sumasagot ka sa telepono. (you are answering / you answer [habitually])
• Contemplated/future: Sasagot ka sa telepono. (you will answer) Remember: the perfective sumagot doubles as the imperative in actor-focus.

Can I refer to a call instead of the phone?

Yes:

• Actor-focus: Sumagot ka sa tawag. (answer the call)
• Object-focus: Sagutin mo ang tawag. Both are very natural when you mean the call rather than the device.

Is telepono the only word people use? What about cell phones?

Telepono is generic and widely used for phones in general. For mobile phones, you’ll also hear cellphone or the colloquial selpon:

• Sumagot ka sa cellphone/selpon.
• Sagutin mo ang cellphone/selpon. In many contexts, telepono is still fine even if the phone is a mobile.

Any pronunciation tips?

• sumagot: su-ma-GOT (stress on the last syllable; g is a hard g)
• sagutin: sa-gu-TIN (stress on the last syllable)
• telepono: te-LE-po-no (stress on LE) Keep vowels pure (no diphthongs), and pronounce every syllable clearly.