dula | Let's talk in Bisaya with loved ones

Part of speech
- Verb (root): dula — “to play (a game or sport), have fun, perform”
- Common noun: dula — “game, match, play”
Sentence-position rule
A conjugated dula form normally heads the predicate; any clitic actor-pronoun follows it: Mo-dula ko og basketball unya.
I will play basketball later.
Example sentences
- Mo-dula ko sa liga ugma sa hapon. — I will play in the league tomorrow afternoon.
  - Mo-dula – Verb, actor focus, future
  - ko – 1-sg actor clitic
  - sa liga – Locative phrase “in the league”
  - ugma sa hapon – Time phrase “tomorrow afternoon”
- Nag-dula sila og chess kada Sabado. — They play chess every Saturday.
  - Nag-dula – Verb, actor focus, progressive/habitual
  - sila – 3-pl pronoun (actor)
  - og chess – Object phrase “chess”
  - kada Sabado – Adverbial phrase “every Saturday”
- Gi-dulaan sa mga bata ang bag-ong duyan. — The new swing was played on by the children.
  - Gi-dulaan – Verb, locative focus, past
  - sa mga bata – Genitive phrase (actor)
  - ang bag-ong duyan – Subject phrase (location/patient)

Form	Voice & aspect	Typical translation	Sample sentence
mag-dula	Actor focus, habitual / future	“will be playing; usually play”	Mag-dula sila og tenis kada buntag. — They play tennis every morning.
mo-dula	Actor focus, non-past / imperative	“will play; play!”	Mo-dula ta karon, ha. — Let’s play now, okay.
nag-dula	Actor focus, progressive	“is / was playing”	Nag-dula siya pag-abot nimo. — She was playing when you arrived.
mi-dula / ni-dula	Actor focus, completed past	“played”	Ni-dula mi sa finals kagabii. — We played in the finals last night.
gi-dula	Patient focus, completed past	“was played (by …)”	Gi-dula sa banda ang paborito nilang kanta. — Their favorite song was performed by the band.
dul-on (-on)	Patient focus, future / imperative	“to be played / play it”	Dul-on nato ang sunod nga round unya. — Let’s play the next round later.
dul-aan (-an)	Locative / beneficiary focus	“to play on / for”	Dul-ai ang bata og sayaw sa pista. — Let the child perform a dance at the fiesta.

Actor-focus norm – mo-/nag-/ni-dula are standard when the player is the topic.
Patient focus – gi-dula, dul-on highlight what is being played or performed (song, game).
Locative/beneficiary focus – dul-aan / dul-ai stresses where or for whom play happens: dul-ai ko og gitara “play guitar for me.”
Noun vs. verb – As a noun dula equals “game/match”: ang dula sa basketball.
Reduplication – dula-dula may imply light, carefree play or mock fighting.

Mistake	Problem	Correct form
Mo-dula ako og badminton.	Clitic pronoun misplaced.	Mo-dula ko og badminton.
Gi-dula ko ang sayaw.	With gi-, actor must be genitive (ni / sa).	Gi-dula ni ko ang sayaw.
Dul-on ta siya!	Beneficiary/locative imperative needs dul-ai.	Dul-ai siya!

A: Unsa imong dulaon karon? — What will you play now?
B: Mo-dula ko og Mobile Legends. — I’ll play Mobile Legends.
A: Nag-dula ba sila og basketball? — Are they playing basketball?
B: Oo, sa covered court sila karon. — Yes, they’re at the covered court now.
A: Dul-ai ko palihog og usa ka kanta. — Please play me a song.
B: Sige, dul-on nako ang imong paborito. — Sure, I’ll play your favorite.
A: Nganong ni-dula ka bisan uwan? — Why did you play even though it was raining?
B: Importante man ang championship. — The championship was important.
A: Mag-dula ta og board games ugma? — Shall we play board games tomorrow?
B: Oo, dad-a lang ang scrabble. — Yes, just bring the Scrabble set.