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I have been trying to get the local supermarket to put all my th

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Author Photo by: JohnD
Jun 21 2019, 4:21am CST ~ 4 years ago. 
I have been trying to get the local supermarket to put all my things together into one bag rather than use hundreds of bits of plastic. My girlfriend told me the very useful expression of 'pagsamahin mo'. It must be right because it works when I use it!
But I am interested in the structure of pagsamahin. It is presumably based on the word kasama. It looks like an in verb but it has a pag prefix which I am not familiar with. Can anyone help me with the use of a pag prefix for a verb, please.
A couple of asides:
1. The emphasis is on the ma syllable rather than the sa syllable which surprised me (as kasama has, I think, the emphasis on the sa syllable).
2. When I asked if 'pakisamahin mo' would mean 'please put them together', my girlfriend replied that she would say 'pagsamahin mo please' as that is more commonplace now (at least with the people she mixes with).
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Author Photo TLDCAdmin Badge: AdminBadge: SupporterBadge: Serious SupporterBadge: VIP Supporter
Jun 21 2019, 7:11am CST ~ 4 years ago. 
@JohnD
Some verbs just have a “pag-“ prefix, but I’m not sure it has any special/significant meaning...it’s just a verb. Other examples of verbs with a pag- prefix: pag-aralan (to study something), pag-usapan (to discuss something), pag-sabihan (to scold/reprimand someone). “Pagsamahin” would be “to combine/join something.”
 
The root here would be “sama”. “kasama” that you mentioned earlier is actually made by a prefix “ka-“ and the root “sama”. The “ka” prefix means something like “fellow-“ or “-mate” or “co-“ in English. So, “kaklase” = fellow classmate, “katrabaho” = fellow worker / officemate / co-worker, etc. “Kasama” means something like “fellow person joining”.
 
About the stress, “pakisamahin” is the infinitive form of this “-IN” verb. You probably know the infinitive form is also the one used to give commands, which is what you’re doing with the person bagging your stuff.
 
If you look at a bunch if “-IN” verbs, you’ll notice a pattern where typically the stress shifts one spot to the right in both the infinitive and the contemplative/future aspect (but not the other two conjugations).
That’s what’s happening here...”sama” turns into “pagsamahin”. This shift happens in most -IN verbs.
For example, try looking in the dictionary for these -IN verbs and seeing how the stress shifts relative to the root: tanungin, sagutin, kausapin, bilangin, inumin, etc.
 
The stress shift in those tenses/aspects start to feel natural in time.
If you want, you can practice using the -IN flashcards at the link below, which includes the most common -IN verbs:
www.tagaloglessons.c om/flashcards/in_ver bs.php
 
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Author Photo JohnD
Jun 22 2019, 1:26am CST ~ 4 years ago. 
Thank you @TLDCAdmin. The emphasis is perhaps even more important in this example as I now realise that the root word sama has two very different meanings (combine and bad) depending on whether the emphasis is on the first or second syllable!
 
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Author Photo Tagamanila Badge: SupporterBadge: Serious SupporterBadge: VIP SupporterBadge: Native Tagalog Speaker
Jul 09 2019, 6:57am CST ~ 4 years ago. 
@JohnD
 
As TLDCAdmin said, the root word is “sama” (go with). “Kasama” (companion) is a noun and may be used also as an adverb to mean “together with”.
 
“Pagsamahin” uses the “pag” + “in” affixes and it means “to combine/put together”. Another word for it is “ipagsama”, but I think we use “pagsamahin” more often. These words are normally used when only a few items are involved – at least 2 and maybe no more than 4 items. With more items, we usually say them as “pagsama-samahin” and “ipagsama-sama”, where “sama-sama” means “altogether”. Even with just 3 items, some of us may already use “pagsama-samahin” or “ipagsama-sama”.
 
Pagsamahin: pinagsama, pinasasama, pagsasamahin
 
Ipagsama: ipinagsama, ipinasasama, ipagsasama
 
You may say “pakipagsamahin” (not “pakisamahin”) to mean “please combine them”.
 
“Pakipagsamahin mo na lang ‘yung tatlóng supot sa isá.” = Please just put the three bags together into one.
 
“Huwág mong pagsasamahin ang mga putî sa mga may kulay na damít kapág naglálabá ka.” = You should not put the whites together with the colored clothes when you do the laundry. (You may use either “pagsasamahin” or “pagsasama-samahin” in a situation like this. “Pagsamahin” would be thinking in terms of the 2 categories of white and colored only. “Pagsama-samahin” would be thinking in terms of all the individual pieces of clothes.)
 
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