Sentence Format: Some Variations
Although many basic sentences start with Verb + Actor, there are instances when that varies. Here are a few of them.
(While Hiligaynon can be quite flexible with word order, you'll notice that when the actor is a pronoun, it tends to stay near the verb.)
Actor Focus
Actor and Action focus are very similar. The difference between the two is sentence order. When you focus on the actor, you put the actor first, before the verb. Other than that, they're the same. They both use the same verb conjugations, and the actor is the ang in both types.
Actor Focus Example: "The goat is standing on the hill." — "Ang kanding nagatindog sa bungyod." (goat = kanding; stand = tindog; hill = bungyod)
Action Focus Example: "The goat is standing on the hill." — "Nagatindog ang kanding sa bungyod."
If there isn't any particular reason to focus on the actor you can use Action Focus instead.
Example: "He's eating rice." — "Nagakaon siya sang kan-on." (eat = kaon; rice = kan-on)
Action Focus: Prioritizing the Details
In order to put more focus or clarity on the verb, sometimes the details of the sentence can move before the actor.
Example: "The family left for the plaza." (family = pamilya, leave = lakat)
Standard Format: - "Naglakat ang pamilya sa plaza."
Variation: - "Naglakat sa plaza ang pamilya."
In the standard format, the sentence is explaining that the family left, but it's not very important that they were going to the plaza. In the variation, the sentence really stressed that they were going to the plaza, so "sa plaza" was placed before the actor.
Another Example: "The friends were riding a motorcycle." (friend = abyan, ride = sakay, motorcycle = motorsiklo)
Standard Format - "Nagsakay ang mga abyan sa motorsiklo."
Variation - "Nagsakay sa motorsiklo ang mga abyan."
The variation sentence is stressing that the friends were on a motorcycle, because for some reason that is important to the conversation. It's also important to note that if the actor had simply been "they" instead of "the friends," the sentence would probably stay in standard format. Pronoun actors like to stay close to the verb, unlike ang phrases, like "the friends" or proper nouns, like "si Kelly," which are a little more flexible.
Object / Recipient Focus: Prioritizing the Focus
In sentences with an Object or Recipient focus, sometimes the object/recipient will move forward, right after the verb. Here are a couple reasons that could happen:
Object/Recipient Length - If the object/recipient is shorter than the actor, it may move in front of the actor. This happens often with pronouns, because they're short.
Standard Format: "You taught me." — "Gintudloan mo ako." (teach = tudlo)
Variation: "The teacher taught me." — "Gintudloan ako sang manunudlo." (teacher = manunudlo)
In the first sentence, the recipient (ako) is longer than the actor (mo), so everything stays in the normal order. In the second sentence the recipient (ako) is shorter than the actor (sang manunudlo), so the recipient moves up in the sentence.
More Examples:
"The community gave Jon a reward." — "Ginhatagan si Jon sang community sang padya." (give = hatag, reward = padya)
"We taught you." — "Gintudloan ka namon."
Why does it work this way? There are various explanations about preferred pronoun position, but the easiest explanation is that it's about how the sentence flows. As you listen to spoken Hiligaynon over time, you'll notice that some things might sound awkward in the standard order, but rearranging the sentence can smooth it out.
Passive Voice - When a sentence is in passive voice, the object/recipient can move up in the sentence, similar to English.
Active Voice: (standard format) "The monkey screamed at the tourists." — "Ginsinggitan sang amô and mga tourist." (scream = singgit; monkey = amô)
Passive Voice: (variation) "The tourists were screamed at by the monkey." — "Ginsinggitan ang mga tourist sang amô."
Object / Recipient Focus: "Fronting" the Focus
In some Object / Recipient Focus sentences, you need to place extra emphasis on the person/thing that's receiving the verb. This is done when you are trying to be very clear who you are talking about. To do this, you would move the focus in front of the verb.
Example: "The mayor was visited by police." (visit = bisita, police = pulis)
Standard Format: "Ginbisitahan sang pulis ang mayor."
Variation: "Ang mayor ginbisitahan sang pulis."
When would you use this? In this example, you might have been talking about other people, and now you want to be specific that it was the mayor—not the other people you've mentioned—that was visited. Whenever you're trying to be clear about who you're talking about, you can use this method.
This is used similarly to Actor Focus, but Actor Focus focuses on who is performing the verb, while this sentence type focuses on who is receiving the verb.
You might front the object/recipient when you're correcting someone. Person 1: "Suzie was chosen." Person 2: "No, Janie was chosen." You could front Janie to emphasize her, as opposed to Suzie.
Similarly, comparing different objects/recipients would be a good time to use this. "Kate was given a ride. Peter was left behind." Fronting the people helps make it clear what happened to whom.
If there's not a particular reason to place extra emphasis on the person/thing receiving the verb, you can just use the standard Object / Recipient format.
Complex Sentences
When you work with longer, more complex sentences, you'll see word order change around quite often.