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. Please check out our main menu here for more lessons: homepage. The next lesson is below, have fun!