Basic Sentence Structure

Welcome to your sixth Tagalog lesson! Now that you've learned vocabulary and phrases, it's time to understand how Tagalog sentences are structured. This will allow you to create your own sentences and communicate more effectively.

Word Order in Tagalog

Tagalog sentence structure is quite flexible compared to English, but there are some basic patterns to understand.

Basic Patterns

There are two main patterns for basic Tagalog sentences:

1. Predicate + Topic: This is the most common pattern
2. Topic + Predicate: Used for emphasis

In Tagalog, the topic is marked by the particle ang (or si for personal names), and the predicate can be a verb, adjective, or noun.

Predicate + Topic Pattern

[Predicate] + [ang/si + Topic]

Examples:

• Masaya ang bata - The child is happy
• Matalino si Juan - Juan is intelligent
• Guro ang babae - The woman is a teacher

Topic + Predicate Pattern (with "ay")

[ang/si + Topic] + ay + [Predicate]

Examples:

• Ang bata ay masaya - The child is happy
• Si Juan ay matalino - Juan is intelligent
• Ang babae ay guro - The woman is a teacher

Subject-Verb-Object Order

When using basic sentences with a verb, object, and subject, the default order in Tagalog is Verb-Subject-Object:

[Verb] + [ang/si + Subject] + [ng/kay + Object]

Examples:

• Kumain ang bata ng mansanas - The child ate an apple
• Bumili si Maria ng libro - Maria bought a book
• Nagluto ang nanay ng adobo - The mother cooked adobo

Markers and Particles

Tagalog uses particles to mark the role of words in a sentence:

• ang/si - marks the topic/subject
• ng/ni - marks the object/possessor
• sa/kay - marks location or direction

Examples of markers in use:

• Kumain ang bata ng mansanas - The child ate an apple
• Libro ni Juan - Juan's book
• Pupunta ako sa palengke - I will go to the market

Affirmative Statements

Making simple affirmative statements in Tagalog is straightforward:

Equational Sentences (X is Y)

• Guro ako - I am a teacher
• Maganda ang bahay - The house is beautiful
• Malaki ang aso - The dog is big

Action Sentences

• Kumakain ang bata - The child is eating
• Naglalaro si Pedro - Pedro is playing
• Nagsasalita ako ng Tagalog - I am speaking Tagalog

Negative Statements

To make a sentence negative in Tagalog, you use specific negative markers:

Using "Hindi" (not)

For most sentences, use hindi before the predicate:

• Hindi ako guro - I am not a teacher
• Hindi maganda ang bahay - The house is not beautiful
• Hindi kumakain ang bata - The child is not eating

Using "Wala" (none, don't have)

For expressing absence or lack:

• Wala akong pera - I don't have money
• Wala siyang kapatid - He/She doesn't have siblings
• Wala sa bahay ang nanay - The mother is not at home

Question Structures

There are several ways to form questions in Tagalog:

Yes/No Questions

Add ba after the first word or phrase:

• Guro ka ba? - Are you a teacher?
• Kumakain ba ang bata? - Is the child eating?
• Maganda ba ang bahay? - Is the house beautiful?

Information Questions (WH-questions)

Use question words at the beginning of the sentence:

• Ano (what):

  • Ano ang pangalan mo? - What is your name?
  • Ano ang trabaho mo? - What is your job?

• Sino (who):

  • Sino ang guro? - Who is the teacher?
  • Sino ka? - Who are you?

• Saan (where):

  • Saan ang paaralan? - Where is the school?
  • Saan ka nakatira? - Where do you live?

• Kailan (when):

  • Kailan ang klase? - When is the class?
  • Kailan ka darating? - When will you arrive?

• Bakit (why):

  • Bakit ka umiiyak? - Why are you crying?
  • Bakit wala siya? - Why isn't he/she here?

• Paano (how):

  • Paano pumunta sa palengke? - How to go to the market?
  • Paano magluto ng adobo? - How to cook adobo?

Personal Pronouns

Pronouns in Tagalog change based on their role in the sentence:

Ang-Form (Topic/Subject)

• ako - I
• ikaw/ka - you (singular)
• siya - he/she
• tayo - we (inclusive)
• kami - we (exclusive)
• kayo - you (plural)
• sila - they

Ng-Form (Object)

• ko - my/me
• mo - your/you
• niya - his/her
• natin - our (inclusive)
• namin - our (exclusive)
• ninyo - your (plural)
• nila - their/them

Pronoun Position

Pronouns usually come after the first word in a phrase:

• Kumakain ako - I am eating
• Gusto ko ng tubig - I want water
• Hindi ka pupunta - You will not go

Conversation Practice

Let's use various sentence structures in a conversation:

At a Restaurant:

Sentence Building Practice

Try to understand how these sentences are constructed:

1. Masarap ang pagkain (The food is delicious)

   • Predicate: Masarap (delicious)
   • Topic marker: ang
   • Topic: pagkain (food)

2. Bumili ako ng libro (I bought a book)

   • Verb: Bumili (bought)
   • Subject: ako (I)
   • Object marker: ng
   • Object: libro (book)

3. Hindi siya pupunta sa party (He/She will not go to the party)

   • Negative: Hindi (not)
   • Subject: siya (he/she)
   • Verb: pupunta (will go)
   • Direction marker: sa
   • Location: party

Wrap-Up

Excellent work! You've now learned the basic sentence structure of Tagalog. Understanding these patterns will help you create your own sentences and express yourself more freely. With practice, you'll become more comfortable with Tagalog's flexible word order and various sentence constructions.

In our next lesson, we'll learn about present tense verbs and conjugation in Tagalog.

Next up: Learn about present tense verbs and conjugation in Tagalog!