mata

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1 Part of speech, core meaning, sentence position, and example sentences

  • Part of speech
    • Verb (root): mata — “to wake up, awaken”
    • Common noun: mata — “eye”
  • Sentence-position rule
    A conjugated form of mata normally heads the predicate and any clitic actor-pronoun follows it: Mo-mata ko alas singko sa buntag.
    I will wake up at five in the morning.
  • Example sentences
    • Mo-mata ko sayo ugma. — I will wake up early tomorrow.
      • Mo-mata – Verb, actor focus, future aspect
      • ko – Personal pronoun, first-person singular clitic (actor)
      • sayo – Adverb “early”
      • ugma – Adverb “tomorrow”
    • Nag-mata sila og hapon human sa duty sa gabii. — They were waking up in the afternoon after a night shift.
      • Nag-mata – Verb, actor focus, progressive aspect
      • sila – Personal pronoun, third-person plural (actor)
      • og hapon – Adverbial phrase “in the afternoon”
      • human sa duty sa gabii – Prepositional phrase “after the night duty”
    • Gi-mata ni Ana ang iyang igsoon tungod sa alarma. — Her sibling was awakened by Ana because of the alarm.
      • Gi-mata – Verb, patient focus, past aspect
      • ni Ana – Genitive phrase (actor)
      • ang iyang igsoon – Noun phrase (patient)
      • tungod sa alarma – Prepositional phrase “because of the alarm”

2 Verb derivations of mata

FormVoice & aspectTypical translationSample sentence
mag-mataActor focus, habitual / future“(will) be waking up habitually”Mag-mata siya kada alas sais. — She wakes up every six o’clock.
mo-mataActor focus, non-past / imperative“will wake (up); wake up!”Mo-mata ta karon, kay late na. — Let’s wake up now because it’s late.
nag-mataActor focus, progressive / recent past“is / was waking up”Nag-mata ko pag-ring sa phone. — I was waking up when the phone rang.
mi-mata / ni-mataActor focus, completed past“woke up”Ni-mata sila sa kalit nga kusog nga tingog. — They woke up to a sudden loud sound.
gi-mataPatient focus, completed past“was awakened (by …)”Gi-mata sa iro ang bata sa ka-sayu sa buntag. — The child was awakened by the dog early in the morning.
mata-on (-on)Patient focus, future / imperative“to be woken (object)”Mata-on nato siya ug alas kuwatro kung naay biyahe. — We will wake him at four if there’s a trip.
mata-an (-an)Locative / beneficiary focus“to wake at / to wake someone for”Mata-a ko palihog sa unom para sa jogging. — Please wake me at six for jogging.

Note: The -on and -an forms are less common but acceptable, especially in imperative or descriptive contexts when specifying the person/place being awakened.

3 Common phrases

  • mata sayo — wake up early
  • mata nga tambok — big eyes (noun sense)
  • ni-mata sa kahadlok — woke up in fear
  • gi-mata sa alarma — awakened by the alarm
  • mag-mata ug hapon — sleep in until afternoon

4 Detailed usage notes

  1. Two key senses
    • Verb (“to wake up”): Mo-mata ko ugma.
    • Noun (“eye”): Daku iyang mata. — “His eye is big.”
      Context clearly indicates whether mata is a verb or noun.
  2. Duration & time markers — Time phrases follow the predicate (mo-mata ko alas singko).
  3. Patient vs. actor focus — Use gi-mata or mata-on when the sleeper (patient) is the grammatical subject.
  4. Reduplication — mata-mata can mean “peep” or “half-open eyes.”
  5. Idioms — mata sa bagyo (“eye of the storm,” noun sense) is fixed; do not confuse with the verb.

5 Common mistakes & tips

MistakeIssueCorrect form
Mo-mata ako ug sayo.Clitic pronoun must immediately follow the verb.Mo-mata ko ug sayo.
Gi-mata ko siya.With gi-, actor must be in genitive; patient should be subject.Gi-mata ni ko siya. or Gi-mata niya ko.
Mata-on ta siya!Imperative for beneficiary/location focus needs mata-a / mata-i.Mata-a siya!

6 Short everyday conversations

  1. A: Unsay oras ka mo-mata matag adlaw? — What time do you wake up every day?
    B: Mag-mata ko alas singko sa buntag. — I wake up at 5 a.m.
  2. A: Nag-mata na ba ang bata? — Has the child woken up?
    B: Oo, ni-mata siyag kalit tungod sa kulog. — Yes, he suddenly woke up because of thunder.
  3. A: Mata-a ko palihog kung mo-abot na ang bus. — Please wake me when the bus arrives.
    B: Sige, ako’y bahala. — Sure, I’ll take care of it.
  4. A: Nganong gi-mata man ko nimo ka-sayu? — Why did you wake me so early?
    B: Kay naa tay biyahe, nakalimot ka? — Because we have a trip, remember?
  5. A: Lisod gyud mo-mata ug sayo bisan weekdays? — Do you really find it hard to wake up early even on weekdays?
    B: Oo, kinahanglan pa ko mag-alarm og daghan beses. — Yes, I still need to set multiple alarms.
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