basa | Let's talk in Bisaya with loved ones

Part of speech:
- Verb (root): basa – “to read”
- Common noun: basa – “reading” (the act)
Typical position in a clause:
The conjugated verb begins the predicate, followed immediately by any actor clitic pronoun: Mo-basa ko og libro karon. – “I will read a book now.”

Mo-basa ko sa diyaryo matag buntag. – I read the newspaper every morning.
- Mo-basa – Verb, actor focus, future/habitual aspect
- ko – Personal pronoun, first-person singular clitic (actor)
- sa – Locative-marker particle
- diyaryo – Common noun (object, definite)
- matag buntag – Adverbial phrase “every morning”
Nag-basa sila og email samtang nag-kape. – They are reading email while having coffee.
- Nag-basa – Verb, actor focus, progressive aspect
- sila – Personal pronoun, third-person plural (actor)
- og – Object-marker particle
- email – Common noun (object, indefinite)
- samtang – Subordinating conjunction “while”
- nag-kape – Verb, actor focus, progressive aspect
Gi-basa ni Ana ang sulat kagahapon. – The letter was read by Ana yesterday.
- Gi-basa – Verb, patient focus, past aspect
- ni – Genitive marker for personal names
- Ana – Proper noun (actor)
- ang – Subject-marker particle
- sulat – Common noun (patient)
- kagahapon – Adverb of time “yesterday”

Form	Focus & aspect	Usual translation	Sample sentence
mag-basa	Actor focus, habitual / future	“be reading; usually read”	Mag-basa sila og artikulo kada gabii.
mo-basa	Actor focus, non-past / imperative	“will read; read!”	Mo-basa ta sa manual una.
nag-basa	Actor focus, progressive / recent past	“is / was reading”	Nag-basa siya sa librarya.
mi-basa / ni-basa	Actor focus, completed past	“read”	Ni-basa ko gahapon sa parke.
gi-basa	Patient focus, completed past	“was read (by …)”	Gi-basa ni Pedro ang kontrata.
basahon (-on)	Patient focus, future / imperative	“to be read / read it”	Basahon nato ang report karon.
basahan (-an)	Locative / addressee focus	“to read to someone / read at”	Basahan nako siya og istorya.

Actor focus dominates daily speech. In ordinary conversation, forms like mo-basa and nag-basa are far more common than patient-focus gi-basa.
Object markers: use og before indefinite reading material, sa before definite or specific items.
Addressee focus: basahan highlights the listener rather than the material: Basahan ko nimo, palihog – “Read it to me, please.”
Reduplication: basa-basa conveys light or casual reading.
Spelling confusion: Beginners sometimes write basa’a for the imperative; correct written imperatives are basaha! (patient) and basahi! (addressee).

Mistake	Issue	Correct form
Mo-basa ako og artikulo.	Actor clitic placed incorrectly.	Mo-basa ko og artikulo.
Gi-basa ko ang libro.	Actor must be in genitive form with gi-.	Gi-basa ni ko ang libro.
Basahon ta siya!	Imperative lacks the proper addressee ending.	Basahi siya!

A: Unsay imong ginabasa? – What are you reading?
B: Nag-basa ko og nobela sa Bisaya. – I’m reading a Cebuano novel.
A: Mo-basa ka sa guidelines una? – Will you read the guidelines first?
B: Oo, basahon nako karon. – Yes, I’ll read them now.
A: Basahi ko palihog sa resulta sa eksamen. – Please read me the exam result.
B: Gi-basa na nako; nakapasar ka! – I’ve read it; you passed!
A: Nganong wala ka ni-basa sa email? – Why didn’t you read the email?
B: Wala ko’y oras kagahapon. – I had no time yesterday.
A: Mag-basa ta og komiks samtang naga-hulat? – Shall we read comics while waiting?
B: Sige, dad-a ang imohang paborito. – Sure, bring your favorite one.