dagan

Cebuano root word: dagan

Core meaning: “to run” (move quickly on foot); by extension “to flow” (liquid), “to operate” (machine), or “to elapse” (time)

Table

1 Position in the sentence
2 Key verb derivations
3 Common collocations
4 Detailed usage notes
5 Common mistakes & how to avoid them
6 Example sentences

1 Position in the sentence

In Cebuano predicates normally come first, so a conjugated form of dagan appears before any actor clitic pronoun:

Mo-dagan ko karon.
(I will run now)

When patient-focus or locative-focus affixes are used, the verb still opens the predicate, but the grammatical subject changes (object or place).

2 Key verb derivations

Form	Focus & aspect	Typical translation	Sample sentence
mag-dagan	actor focus, habitual/future	“be running; keep running”	Mag-dagan sila kada buntag. – “They run every morning.”
mo-dagan	actor focus, non-past / imperative	“will run; run!”	Mo-dagan ta sa park ugma. – “Let’s run in the park tomorrow.”
nag-dagan	actor focus, progressive or recent past	“is/was running”	Nag-dagan siya paingon sa estasyon. – “She was running toward the station.”
ni-dagan (also mi-dagan)	actor focus, completed past	“ran”	Ni-dagan ko kagahapon. – “I ran yesterday.”
gi-dagan	patient focus, completed past	“was run (by …)” – object is the path/distance	Gi-dagan ni Pedro ang lima ka kilometro. – “Pedro ran the five kilometres.”
daganon (-on)	patient focus, future/imperative	“to run (something, distance)”	Daganon nato kining ruta karong hapon. – “We’ll run this route this afternoon.”
daganan (-an)	locative focus, place/time	“to run on/at (a place)”	Ayaw daganan ang bas-ang salog. – “Don’t run on the wet floor.”

No standard contracted forms exist in everyday speech.

3 Common collocations

dagan sa dalan – run on the road
dagan ug kusog – run fast
mag-dagan og marathon – do marathon running
nag-dagan ang oras – time is running
dagan sa makina – the engine is running

4 Detailed usage notes

Physical vs. figurative – Besides literal running, dagan describes flowing water (Nag-dagan ang tubig) or an engine in operation (Nag-dagan ang makina). Context shows the sense.
Marker choice – Use sa for destinations (mo-dagan ko sa baybayon “I will run to the beach”).
Actor clitic placement – The clitic pronoun (ko, ka, siya, sila, nato, etc.) must follow the verb immediately: mo-dagan ko, never mo-dagan ako.
Patient focus meaning – With gi- or -on the path or distance is the grammatical subject: Gi-dagan ni Ana ang usa ka milya “Ana ran the one mile.”
Reduplication – dagan-dagan can imply light jogging or playful running.

5 Common mistakes & how to avoid them

Mistake	Why it’s wrong	Correct form
Mo-dagan ako sa eskwelahan.	Actor clitic should follow the verb.	Mo-dagan ko sa eskwelahan.
Gi-dagan ko ang dalan.	With gi-, the actor needs a genitive marker (ni or sa).	Gi-dagan ni ko ang dalan.
Dagan ta sa park karon!	Imperative lacks focus affix; must use mo- or mag-.	Mo-dagan ta sa park karon!

6 Example sentences

Mo-dagan ko sa eskwelahan ugma.
I will run to school tomorrow.
- Mo-dagan – Verb, actor focus, future aspect
- ko – Personal pronoun, first-person singular clitic (actor)
- sa – Locative-marker particle
- eskwelahan – Common noun (destination)
- ugma – Adverb of time
Nag-dagan sila sa dalan samtang nag-istorya.
They were running on the street while talking.
- Nag-dagan – Verb, actor focus, progressive aspect
- sila – Personal pronoun, third-person plural (actor)
- sa – Locative-marker particle
- dalan – Common noun (place)
- samtang – Subordinating conjunction
- nag-istorya – Verb, actor focus, progressive aspect
Gi-dagan ni Ana ang duha ka kilometro alang sa ensayo.
The two kilometres were run by Ana for training.
- Gi-dagan – Verb, patient focus, past aspect
- ni – Genitive marker for personal names
- Ana – Proper noun (actor)
- ang – Subject-marker particle
- duha ka kilometro – Numeral phrase (patient)
- alang – Preposition “for”
- sa – Linker/marker particle
- ensayo – Common noun
Dili pa ko pwede mag-dagan layo human sa operasyon.
I am not yet allowed to run far after the operation.
- Dili – Negation particle
- pa – Adverb “yet/still”
- ko – Personal pronoun, first-person singular clitic
- pwede – Adjective, modal “allowed”
- mag-dagan – Verb, actor focus, infinitive/habitual aspect
- layo – Adverb “far”
- human – Relational noun “after”
- sa – Linker/marker particle
- operasyon – Common noun
Daganan nato ang track unya sa buntag.
Let’s run on the track later in the morning.
- Daganan – Verb, locative focus, future/imperative aspect
- nato – Personal pronoun, first-person plural exclusive genitive (actor)
- ang – Subject-marker particle
- track – Common noun (place)
- unya – Adverb “later”
- sa – Locative-marker particle
- buntag – Common noun “morning”

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