Tagalog 101: basic Tagalog grammar:Understand Tagalog grammar easily
I have a good reference book for the things I wrote here. But then, I am not a graduate of "Major in Filipino" nor a licensed educator/ instructor or teacher so if you have professional corrections, those are welcome.
NOUN MARKERS
Singular -Ang (it’s “the” in English), it is the focus marker in
Tagalog
Plural -mga
Mga- pluralizes nouns , comes before the noun
[ never at the end]
Examples:
Ang ibon -the bird
Ang mga ibon -the birds
Ang bata - the child
Ang mga bata - the children
Ang nanay -the mother
Ang mga nanay -the mothers
Ang aklat -the book
Ang mga aklat -the books
Personal Markers
si - marker use to identify a specific names [of person,
animals etc]-for singular names
sina - marker use to identify specific names of person
-for plural names
Examples:
Si Anna, Si Peter, Si Karla
Si Browny [a dog's name]
Si President Aquino, Si Secretary Cruz
Sina Patrick, Karl, at Noel
At - is “And” in English
Examples:
Kape at gatas -coffee and milk
Upuan at mesa -chair and table
Eva at Lucy -Eva and Lucy
Uses of “Sa”
Sa- similar to the English preposition ‘to’, ‘towards’, ‘in’, ‘on’ , ‘at’, ‘from’ and ‘belong’, or ‘belonging to’
For Ownership
Sa akin mine
Sa iyo yours
Sa kanya hers/ his
Kaninong bag ito? /Whose bag is this?
Sa akin. / Mine.
For Places
Sa kwarto in the bedroom
Sa kusina at/ in the kitchen
Saan ka kakain? / Where will you eat?
Sa kainan. / In the dining area.
Sa Kenny Rogers. /In Kenny Rogers.
For Cities/Towns/Barangay
Sa Makati
Sa Barangay Bel Air
Sa Houston, Texas
Saan ka pupunta? /Where are you going?
Sa Pasay City. / In Pasay city.
Sa- use to refer dates, exact day of the week, months, and year
Ex.
Sa Lunes on Monday
Sa Biyernes on Friday
Sa birthday/ kaarawan ni Paul. On Paul’s birthday.
Sa a- kwatro ng Marso [ with Spanish words]
on the 4th day of March or
Sa ika-apat na araw ng Marso [ Tagalog way]
We also use SA for future events only. NOT past nor events currently happening
Specific events
Sa kasal ko on my wedding
Sa kaarawan ni Juan on Juan’s birthday
Sa araw ng binyag on the day of baptism/on the baptismal day\
Sa Pasko on Christmas