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Question: Hi! Beginner tagalog learner here :) I'm a bit confus

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Author Photo by: richieuk87
Jan 23 2021, 12:05pm CST ~ 3 years, 2 mos ago. 
Question: Hi! Beginner tagalog learner here I'm a bit confused about using the verb usap (to talk). If I'm saying "I spoke with him/her earlier today" I think I would say "nag-usap ko siya kanina".. but if I want to say "I didn't talk to her/her" I was told I have to say "hindi ko siya nakausap"... but I don't get why you use a different conjugation? I thought naka/maka is used to denote ability to do the verb, but I'm not trying to say I wasn't able to talk to him/her, just that I didn't talk to him/her. Sorry for the confusing explanation, hope it makes sense. Thanks in advance for your help
Richie
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Author Photo jkos Badge: AdminBadge: SupporterBadge: Serious SupporterBadge: VIP Supporter
Jan 23 2021, 7:01pm CST ~ 3 years, 2 mos ago. 
@richieuk87
Verbs are really tricky in Tagalog...takes some getting used to!
 
The first example is not quite correct...It should be “Kinausap ko siya kanina” = “I talked to him/her earlier” to get the focus right.
 
“Nag-usap” would be used in a different way. (nag-usap is actor focused, and the actor is always plural for the nag-usap form..see the dictionary entry for this verb on this website for some example sentences).
 
You are right about the abilitive form in the second example, but you also use that form to say something along the lines of “I haven’t had a chance to speak to her...” if you had said “Hindi ko siya kinausap,” it would almost feel like you were purposely choosing not to talk to him/her, which is probably not the tone you’re going for.
 
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