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Beginners of Tagalog such as myself learn the three tenses; past

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Author Photo by: JohnD
Jun 01 2019, 12:00am CST ~ 4 years ago. 
Beginners of Tagalog such as myself learn the three tenses; past present and future eg tumakbo, tumatakbo and tatakbo - I ran, I run, I will run.
 
In English however we use the present perfect tense just as much as the past tense (if not more) eg 'I have seen the movie', 'Have you read the book?' etc etc (as opposed to 'I saw the movie' and 'Did you read the book' etc etc). I believe that in Tagalog this tense is formed with a naka prefix eg nakatakbo.
 
A couple of questions come to mind.
 
1. Do Tagalog speakers use the present perfect tense as much as we do in English? So, for instance, when translating 'I have run the Manila Marathon', would you be more likely to say 'Nakatakbo ako ng Manila Marathon' (literally 'I have run the Manila Marathon') or 'Tumakbo na ako ng Manila Marathon' (literally 'I ran the Manila Marathon' but with an added na chucked in). I think that both sentences are correct but which is the one that a Tagalog speaker would use to say 'I have run the Manila Marathon' (as opposed to 'I ran the Manila Marathon')
 
2. Can naka be used in both actor and object focused senses? eg 'I have cooked breakfast' could be either 'Nakaluto na ako ng almusal' or Nakaluto ko ang almusal' depending upon what I was stressing?
 
I feel that if the present perfect tense is used as much in Tagalog as it is in English, then I should be concentrating on it a bit more.
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Author Photo Tagamanila Badge: SupporterBadge: Serious SupporterBadge: VIP SupporterBadge: Native Tagalog Speaker
Jun 01 2019, 12:00am CST ~ 4 years ago. 
@JohnD
 
For "I have run the Manila Marathon", we would say "Nakatakbo NA ako ng Manila Marathon". We would, therefore, say "I have run" as "I was already able to run".
 
"I ran the Manila Marathon" would be "Tumakbo ako ng Manila Marathon" and "na" is not needed unless it's "I already ran...".
 
With "nakatakbo" we would be referring to an unspecified time in the past. I think that's the same idea behind the present perfect tense.
 
We would be using "tumakbo" if it happened at a specific period in time in the past or at a time immediately preceding the present time.

"Tumakbo ako ng Manila Marathon kahapon." = I ran the Manila Marathon yesterday.
 
Q: "Saan ka galing?" = Where did you come from?
A: "Tumakbo ako ng Manila Marathon" = I ran the Manila Marathon (that's where I came from).
If the person answered this with "Nakatakbo ako ng Manila Marathon", it would be inconsistent with the question. It's the same as answering with "I was able to run the Manila Marathon".
 
I believe "naka" is always actor-focused when it means "to be able to". "Nakaluto na ako ng almusal" is "I have cooked breakfast" in the been-there-done-that sense. It can also mean "I have already cooked breakfast (just a while ago)."
 
"Nakaluto ko ang breakfast", with "nakaluto" considered as object-focused and hence followed by "ko", does not make sense in the real world. However, in a fantasy world, that may be read as "Nákaluto ko ang breakfast" (note the additional stress over "na") which would now mean something like "I had a chance to cook alongside breakfast", i.e., "breakfast" is the name of a creature that cooks, too. And the dish ran away with the spoon. 😁
 
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Author Photo JohnD
Jun 01 2019, 12:00am CST ~ 4 years ago. 
Many thanks @Tagamanila. The naka prefix giving the equivalent of the English perfect tense seems incredibly useful.
 
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Author Photo Tagamanila Badge: SupporterBadge: Serious SupporterBadge: VIP SupporterBadge: Native Tagalog Speaker
Jun 01 2019, 12:00am CST ~ 4 years ago. 
You're welcome, JohnD.
 
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