Tagalog Grammar
Welcome to the 8th lesson about Tagalog grammar. We will first learn about prepositions, negation, questions, adverbs, and pronouns including: personal, object and possessive pronouns.
We will start with prepositions. In general, they are used to link words to other words. For example: I speak Tagalog and English the preposition is [and] because it connects both words Tagalog and English. The following is a list of the most used prepositions in Tagalog. To hear the pronunciation, just click on the sound icon.
| Prepositions | Tagalog |
|---|---|
| and | at  |
| above | sa itaas |
| under | sa ilalim |
| before | bago |
| after | pagkatapos |
| in front of | sa harap ng |
| behind | sa likod ng |
| far from | malayo mula sa |
| near | malapit sa |
| in | sa |
| inside | sa loob |
| outside | sa labas |
| with | kasama |
| without | hindi kasama |
| about | tungkol sa |
| between | sa pagitan ng |
| but | pero |
| for | para sa |
| from | mula sa |
| to | sa |
Preposition Grammar Rules
The following examples use prepositions in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.
| Prepositions + Rules | Tagalog |
|---|---|
| I eat without a knife [preposition + noun] | kumakain ako nang walang kutsilyo |
| she lives near the church [verb + preposition] | siya ay nakatira malapit sa simbahan |
| he is taller than her [adjective + preposition] | mas matangkad siya kaysa sa kanya |
| he came with his small dog [preposition + pronoun] | siya ay dumating kasama ang kanyang maliit na aso |
| can you come with me? [preposition + pronoun] | puwede kang sumama sa akin? |
Negation in Tagalog
Now let's learn how to make a negative sentence (negation). For example: Saying no, I can't, I don't ... The following examples use negation in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.
| Negation + Rules | Tagalog |
|---|---|
| I understand you [affirmative form] | nauunawaan kita |
| I don't understand you [negation + verb] | hindi kita maintindihan |
| this is not the correct word [negation + adjective] | hindi ito ang tamang salita |
| don't leave me [imperative negation] | huwag mo akong iwan |
| no problem [negation + noun] | walang problema |
| Negative Sentences | Tagalog |
|---|---|
| I don't speak French [negation + present tense] | hindi ako nagsasalita ng pranses |
| she didn't visit Germany [negation + past tense] | hindi siya ay bumisita sa alemanya |
| he cannot see us [negative modal verb] | hindi niya tayo nakikita |
| can't she play chess? [interrogative negation] | hindi ba siya naglalaro ng tses? |
| we will not come late [negation + future tense] | hindi kami darating nang leyt |
Questions in Tagalog
Now let's learn how to ask questions (interrogative). Such as: what, why, can you ...? Here are some common examples:
| English | Tagalog |
|---|---|
| how? | paano? |
| what? | ano? |
| who? | sino? |
| why? | bakit? |
| where? | saan? |
More of the interrogative form, now in a sentence:
| Questions + Rules | Tagalog |
|---|---|
| where do you live? [interrogative + verb] | saan ka nakatira? |
| does she speak Chinese? [interrogative verb] | siya ba ay nagsasalita ng tsino? |
| how much is this? [interrogative preposition] | magkano ito? |
| can I help you? [interrogative modal verb] | puwede ba kitang tulungan? |
| what is your name? [interrogative preposition] | ano ang pangalan mo? |
Adverbs in Tagalog
It's time to learn the adverbs in Tagalog. But what is an adverb? In general, adverbs modify verbs and adjectives. For example: You speak fast. The adverb is [fast] because it describes the verb and answers the question how do you speak?. Here is a list of the most common ones:
| Adverbs | Tagalog |
|---|---|
| now | ngayon |
| yesterday | kahapon |
| today | ngayong araw |
| tonight | ngayong gabi |
| tomorrow | bukas |
| soon | malapit na |
| quickly | mabilis |
| slowly | dahan-dahan |
| together | sama-sama |
| very | napaka |
| almost | halos |
| always | lagi |
| usually | karaniwan |
| sometimes | kung minsan |
| rarely | madalang |
| never | hindi kailanman |
The following examples use the adverbs in different ways and places to demonstrate how it behaves in a sentence.
| Adverbs + Rules | Tagalog |
|---|---|
| do you understand me now? [pronoun + adverb] | nauunawaan mo na ba ako ngayon? |
| I need help immediately [noun + adverb] | kailangan ko ng tulong agad |
| she is very intelligent [adverb + adjective] | napakatalino niya |
| I will always love you [verb + adverb] | lagi kitang iibigin |
| can we learn German together? [adverb in a question] | puwede ba nating sabay na aralin ang aleman? |
Pronouns in Tagalog
We're almost done! This time we will learn the pronouns in Tagalog. In general, a pronoun can be used instead of a noun. For example instead of saying my teacher speaks 3 languages, you can use the pronoun he, and say he speaks 3 languages. Here is a list of the most common ones:
| Personal Pronouns | Tagalog |
|---|---|
| I | ako |
| you | ikaw |
| he | siya |
| she | siya |
| we | kami |
| they | sila |
| Object Pronouns | Tagalog |
|---|---|
| me | ako |
| you | ikaw |
| him | kanya |
| her | kanya |
| us | kami |
| them | kanila |
| Possessive Pronouns | Tagalog |
|---|---|
| my | ko |
| your | iyong |
| his | ang kanyang |
| her | ang kanyang |
| our | ang aming |
| their | ang kanilang |
I think it's better to put the above example in a sentence to better assist you. The following examples use pronouns in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence. We will start with the personal pronouns.
| Personal Pronouns | Tagalog |
|---|---|
| I am your friend [1st pronoun + verb] | ako ang iyong kaibigan |
| you speak very fast [2nd pronoun + adverb] | napakabilis mong magsalita |
| he has three dogs [3rd pronoun + verb] | meron siyang tatlong aso |
| she can speak German [3rd pronoun + verb] | maruong siyang magsalita ng aleman |
| we will not come late [1st plural pronoun] | hindi kami darating ng leyt |
| they bought milk and bread [3rd plural pronoun] | bumili sila ng gatas at tinapay |
The object pronoun is used as a target by a verb, and usually come after that verb. For example: I gave him my book. The object pronoun here is him. Here are more examples:
| Object Pronouns | Tagalog |
|---|---|
| can you tell me your name? [1st object pronoun] | maaari mong sabihin sa akin ang iyong pangalan? |
| I will give you money [2nd object pronoun] | bibigyan kita ng pera |
| she wrote him a letter [3rd object pronoun] | gumawa siya ng sulat para sa kanya |
| they visited her yesterday [3rd object pronoun] | siya ay binisita nila kahapon |
| can she help us? [1st pl. object pronoun] | maaari niya ba tayong tulungan? |
| he gave them food [3rd pl. object pronoun] | sila ay binigyan niya ng pagkain |
| Possessive Pronouns | Tagalog |
|---|---|
| my name is Maya [1st possessive pronoun] | ang pangalan ko ay maya |
| your brother lives here [2nd possessive pronoun] | ang iyong kapatid na lalaki ay nakatira dito |
| her mother cooks for us [3rd possessive pronoun] | ang kanyang ina ay nagluluto para sa amin |
| his hobby is reading books [3rd possessive pronoun] | pagbabasa ng libro ang kanyang libangan |
| our dream is to visit Paris [1st pl. possessive pronoun] | pangarap naming mabisita ang paris |
| their house is not far [3rd pl. possessive pronoun] | ang kanilang bahay ay hindi malayo |
One more thing you need to know is the demonstrative pronouns. They're very easy to learn.
| Demonstrative Pronouns | Tagalog |
|---|---|
| this is my house | ito ay ang aking bahay |
| that restaurant is far | restaurant na malayo |
| these apples are delicious | mga mansanas ay masarap |
| those stars are shiny | yaong mga bituin ay makintab |
I hope you learned a lot about the Tagalog grammar in this lesson. If you have any question about this lesson please contact me here. The next lesson is below, have fun!
| Tagalog Vocabulary |
Inspirational Quote: First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do. Epictetus |