Cebuano is a language with a complex system of affixation and
comparatively simple morphophonemic alternations. For this reason the
listing of forms is strictly by root. [13] Forms of the sort where the
root is not really evident are listed with a cross-reference to the
root. The order is strictly alphabetical with no regard to diacritical
markings (hyphens or accent marks) except that forms without
diacritical markings precede forms with diacritical markings.
The order of presentation is always root alone or root plus verbal
affixes (Section 6.1f.) followed by verbal derivations (Section 6.2),
followed by nominal and adjectival derivations, listed in alphabetical
order (Section 7.0). Most roots occur as several parts of speech, and
the determination of whether a root is basically a noun, adjective, or
verb depends upon a series of morphological and syntactic criteria the
details of which cannot be presented here. [14] Roots which are
basically adjectives are defined first as adjectives, then as nouns and
verbs. Roots, basically nouns, are defined first as nouns, then as
adjectives and verbs; and roots, basically verbs, are defined first as
verbs and then as nouns and adjectives. For verbal forms a formula
indicating the conjugation (set of inflectional affixes which may be
added to them) is given. The formulas are explained in Sections 7.1ff.
and 7.2ff. below.
The entries are liberally illustrated, with the primary aim of
clarifying the meaning and with a secondary aim of exemplifying the
morphological characteristics of the affixed forms.