ang kuya ko.
(My older brother is mean.)
There’s also what is called non-subject markers: ni (for personal names) and ng (all others). Examples as follows:
Sino ang kapatid ni Joseph?
(Who is the sister of Joseph?)
Bastos ang kaibigan ng kaklase ko.
(The friend of my classmate is rude.)
PLURALIZING
Tagalog nouns do not show the difference between singular and plural by altering the form of the word, as English does by adding “s” to the end of most nouns. Instead the word mga (pronounced as MA-NGA) is used before the noun, e.g. mga aklat “books,” mga bata “children.”
THE INVERSION MARKER: “AY”
Sentences do sometimes use the same order as English, meaning the subject comes before the predicate, and in this case the subject/topic is connected to the predicate/comment by the particle ay (pronounced like the English vowel “I”) For example, Si Juan (topic) ay (particle) tumawag (comment) vs. Tumawag si Juan (Juan called).
We refer to “ay” as the inversion marker.
Native speakers tend to use the particle “ay” in their conversations especially in formal situations. There is no direct translation of this particle except that it inverts a predicational sentence to an identificational sentence. For example, to introduce oneself:
| Predicational | Identificational |
| Maria ang pangalan ko. (My name is Maria.) | Ang pangalan ko ay Maria. |
| Taga-Maynila ako. (I’m from Manila.) | Ako ay taga-Maynila. |
| May trabaho ako sa ospital. (I have a job at the hospital.) | Ako ay may trabaho sa ospital. |
PRONOUNS
Tagalog pronouns are as follows in the subject case:
| Singular | Plural |
| Ako (I, me) | Kami (we, exclusive, excluding the person addressed to) Tayo (we, inclusive, including the person addressed to) |
| Ikaw, Ka (you) Note: Ka cannot be used at the beginning of a sentence | Kayo (You) |
| Siya (he/she) | Sila (they) |
Examples of this set of pronouns which serves as a subject of a sentence are as follows:
Filipino ako.
(I’m Filipino.)
Ako rin.
(Me too.)
Saan ka pupunta?
(Where are you going?)
Tanga siya.
(He/She is stupid.)
Another set of pronouns is considered non-subject pronouns or possessive pronouns depending on how they are used. This include: ko, mo, niya and their plural forms, natin/namin, ninyo, nila. Some examples are:
Eva ang pangalan ko.
(My name is Eva.)
Ano ang palayaw mo?
(What is your nickname?)
Malayo ang bahay namin.
(Our house is far.)
Gusto niya ng kape.
(She likes coffee.)
Ayaw nila ng gatas.
(They don’t like milk.)
A third set of pronouns includes akin, iyo, kaniya and their plural counterparts, amin/atin, inyo and kanila.
For examples:
Akin ka.
(You are mine.)
Iyo ba itong kotse o kaniya?
(Is this car yours or hers/his?)
Pupunta si Jemi sa amin bukas.
(Jemi will come to our place tomorrow.)
There is also a cool pronoun called kita which is referred to as a double pronoun replacing ko (I) and ka (you). The most common example is Mahal kita (I love you).
QUESTION MARKER: “BA”
To ask questions, use the particle ba, e.g.
Nagsasalita ba kayo ng Ingles?
Do you speak English?
Maaari ba akong manigarilyo dito?
Can I smoke here?
Mayroon ba kayong…?
Do you have…?
Usually, questions with ba are answered with Oo or Hindi (Yes or No).
THE NEGATIVES
Hindi (No)
Wala (None)
Huwag (Don’t)
To make a sentence negative, use the word hindi, e.g.
Hindi ako naninigarilyo. (I don’t smoke.)
Hindi maganda ito. (This is no good.)
To express the non-existence of someone or something which is the opposite of may(roon), use wala, e.g.
Wala siya rito. (She/He is not here.)
Wala kami nito. (We didn’t have this.)
Wala akong gana. (I don’t feel like it.)
To translate the word, Don’t, use Huwag! as in the example:
Huwag kang umiyak! (Don’t cry!)
Huwag kang matulog! (Don’t sleep!)
Huwag maingay! (Don’t be noisy!)
Huwag hawakan! (Don’t touch.)
VERBS
Just a reminder that there is no translation of the English verb “is” or “are” in Tagalog. Tagalog verbs in their base or root form can be used in conversations. However, there is quite a number of affixes that are added to the root verbs and change the focus and aspect of the sentence. These affixes can either be a prefix, an infix or a suffix. In English, it‘s mostly suffixes that are added.
For the verb, aral “to study”
Mag-aral kayo para sa eksam.
([You] study for the exam.)
Nag-aral kami kagabi.
(We studied last night.)
Ano ang pinag-aaralan ninyo?
(What are you studying?)
Fortunately, it is easy to make requests in Tagalog. Just add the request affix paki to the base form or root of the verb. So for example, Paki-bigay ito sa kanya (Please give this to her), or Paki-hintay ako (Please wait for me).
OTHER LANGUAGE FEATURES
• Versatile Preposition: The most common Tagalog preposition is the virtually all-purpose sa, which is used as an equivalent of English “in,” “on,” “at,” etc, e.g. sa Enero “in January;” sa gabi “at night,” sa kanto “at the corner.”
• Polite Particle: Get it? Po, to indicate politeness or respect. Always remember to use the polite particle po when speaking with older people and those in higher authority. A variation of po is ho which is a little bit less formal. Examples:
Magandang umaga po, Bb. Santos.
(Good morning, Ms. Santos.)
Pwede ho bang magtanong?
(Can I ask a question?)
• Enclitics or Particles: Aside from a number of affixes that are added onto Tagalog words, there is also a quite a list of what we call enclitics or some call it ligatures or particles to add more spice or flavor to the language. This includes lang, na, pa, rin/din, raw/daw, naman. Examples: