istorya

Part of speech:
- Verb (root): istorya – “to talk, tell, relate”
- Common noun: istorya – “story, conversation, account”
Typical position: In a neutral Cebuano clause the conjugated verb opens the predicate and any short actor pronoun follows it:
- Mo-istorya ko nimo unya. – “I will talk to you later.”
  Patient- and locative-focus forms (gi-, –on, –an) keep the verb first but switch the grammatical subject to the message or the addressee/place.

Mo-istorya ko sa maestra karon. – I will speak to the teacher now.
- Mo-istorya – Verb, actor focus, future aspect
- ko – Personal pronoun, first-person singular clitic (actor)
- sa – Locative-marker particle
- maestra – Common noun (addressee)
- karon – Adverb of time
Gi-istorya ni Pedro ang balita sa klase. – The news was told by Pedro in class.
- Gi-istorya – Verb, patient focus, past aspect
- ni – Genitive marker for personal names
- Pedro – Proper noun (actor)
- ang – Subject-marker particle
- balita – Common noun (patient)
- sa – Locative-marker particle
- klase – Common noun (location)
Istoryahan nato siya bahin sa plano. – Let’s talk to him about the plan.
- Istoryahan – Verb, locative/addressee focus, future/imperative aspect
- nato – Personal pronoun, first-person plural exclusive genitive (actor)
- siya – Personal pronoun, third-person singular (addressee)
- bahin – Preposition “about”
- sa – Linker particle
- plano – Common noun (topic)

Form	Focus & aspect	Usual translation	Sample sentence
mag-istorya	actor, habitual / future	“be talking; usually talk”	Mag-istorya sila ug Cebuano sa balay.
mo-istorya	actor, non-past / imperative	“will talk; speak!”	Mo-istorya ta sa tinuod. – “Let’s speak the truth.”
nag-istorya	actor, progressive / recent past	“is / was talking”	Nag-istorya siya sa telepono.
mi-istorya / ni-istorya	actor, completed past	“talked, spoke”	Ni-istorya ko gahapon.
gi-istorya	patient, completed past	“was said / told (by …)”	Gi-istorya ni Ana ang sekreto.
istoryahon (-on)	patient, future / imperative	“to be talked about / say it”	Istoryahon nato ang problema karon.
istoryahan (-an)	locative / addressee	“to tell someone; place of talking”	Ayaw istoryahi ang bata og daotan.

Verb vs. noun – Context distinguishes “to talk” from “a story.”
Addressee focus (-an) – istoryahan highlights whom you address: Istoryahan tika – “I’ll talk to you.”
Markers for content – Use og before an indefinite remark, sa for a definite one: mo-istorya ko og joke vs. mo-istorya ko sa joke nga imong nadungog.
Imperatives – istorya-a (patient) and istorya-hi (addressee) soften commands.
Reduplication – istorya-istorya implies casual chatting.

Mistake	Issue	Correct form
Mo-istorya ako nimo.	Clitic pronoun misplaced.	Mo-istorya ko nimo.
Gi-istorya ko ang balita.	Actor in wrong case with gi-.	Gi-istorya ni ko ang balita.
Istorya ta siya!	Imperative lacks focus affix.	Istoryahi siya!

A: Unsa imong istorya? – What’s your story?
B: Mo-istorya ko nimo unya sa detalye. – I’ll tell you the details later.
A: Nag-istorya ba sila og seryoso? – Are they talking seriously?
B: Oo, bahin sa ilang trabaho. – Yes, about their job.
A: Istoryahi ko palihog sa resulta. – Please tell me the result.
B: Gi-istorya na nako sa email. – I already told it in the email.
A: Ngano wala ka ni-istorya sa problema? – Why didn’t you talk about the problem?
B: Nahadlok ko nga basig magul-an sila. – I was afraid they might worry.
A: Mag-istorya ta sa budget ugma? – Shall we talk about the budget tomorrow?
B: Sige, istoryahon nato ug maayo. – Sure, we’ll discuss it thoroughly.