Tagalog grammar

Tagalog grammar (Tagalog: Balarilà ng Tagalog) are the rules that describe the structure of expressions in the Tagalog language, one of the languages in the Philippines.

In Tagalog, traditional grammar recognizes nine parts of speech: nouns (pangngalan), pronouns (panghalíp), verbs (pandiwà), adverbs (pang-abay), adjectives (pang-urì), prepositions (pang-ukol), conjunctions (pangatníg), ligatures (pang-angkóp) and particles (pantukoy).

Overview

The grammar of Tagalog is agglutinative, predicate-initial, and organized around the Austronesian alignment system, in which intricate verbal morphology indicates which semantic role is associated with the topic ("ang"-marked) argument.

Tagalog verbs combine a wide array of prefixes, infixes, suffixes, circumfixes, and clitic particles to express voice/"trigger", aspect, mood, and valency changes, resulting in morphologically complex predicate structures.

Tagalog noun morphology is relatively simple compared to its verbal system, though nouns are also productively derived from a range of affixes. Grammatical roles are expressed not by case endings but by a three-way article system (ang, ng, sa) placed directly before the noun clause, distinguishing topic, non-topic, and oblique arguments. Pronouns reflect distinctions in person, number, clusivity, and case.

Word order is typically verb-initial, though SVO may be used in formal contexts. Because the voice/trigger system and article markers indicate grammatical roles, arguments can be freely rearranged to shift focus or emphasize different participants without changing the core meaning.

A defining feature of the language is its productive reduplication system, which includes partial and full reduplication. These patterns perform both grammatical and derivational functions, marking imperfective aspect, intensity, plurality, distributive or repeated action, among other functions.

Another important feature is phonemic stress, wherein the placement of stress is lexcially contrastive: identical sequence of sounds can represent distinct words depending on stress and the presence or absence of a glottal stop (e.g., basa “to read” vs. basâ “wet”). Stress interacts with affixation and reduplication in systematic but sometimes nontransparent ways.

Morphophonology

Reduplication

Reduplication in Tagalog is a complex yet productive process. It may be classified based on the phonological shape of the reduplicant (whether partial or full reduplication), degree of morphological productivity, and associated semantic functions.

Morphological productivity

Productive reduplication is a regular morphological process that applies to a wide range of lexical items, expresses a predictable derivational meaning, and systematically interacts with grammatical categories such as verbal aspect, plurality, intensity, and distributivity. Because of its clear grammatical function, it is considered the “significant” type of reduplication in Tagalog. This process is synchronically analyzable by speakers and can be freely applied to new or foreign words. Examples:

• puntá "come" → púpuntá “will come”
• magandá "beautiful"→ magágandá “beautiful (plural)”
• kutitap "flicker" → kumúkutíkutitap “flickering intensively, here and there”
• tatló "three" → tatló-tatló “three at time”

Lexicalized reduplicative roots are words that appear reduplicated but are not synchronically analyzable as products of a productive reduplication process. As such, this may also be known as "non-productive" or "non-significant" reduplication. Although many such words may have originated historically through reduplication, modern speakers do not derive them from an independent word base. Examples include:

• babae “woman” (inherited from Proto-Austronesian *ba-bahi, reduplicated form of *bahi)
• tutubí “dragonfly”
• pakpák “wing”
• lupaypáy “exhausted”

Most reduplicated-looking nouns and ideophones fall into this category.

Phonological shape of reduplicant

Partial reduplication involves the repetition of a syllabic portion of the root or affixed stem. The various types of partial reduplication are as follows:

1. Reduplication of the initial consonant and vowel (CV) of the root or affix. This is the most common type as it is central to aspect marking in verbs, among other functions – making it a highly productive pattern of reduplication.

   Examples: (reduplicant is underlined)

   • susulat "will write" ← sulat "write, letter"
   • makíkikain "will eat at someone else's place" ← makikain ("to eat at someone else's place", from maki- + kain)
   1. In root words beginning with a vowel, the reduplicated consonant corresponds to the glottal stop that inherently precedes word-initial vowels in Tagalog; e.g. íinóm (pronounced /ˌʔiʔiˈnom/, "will drink") from inóm (/ʔiˈnom/, "drinking")
   2. Certain words displaying initial-syllable reduplication (typically nouns) are synchronically unanalyzable as productive reduplication, and are therefore morphologically “non-significant”.
      • For example, babae (“woman”), lalaki (“man”), and gagambá (“spider”) are not derived from independent roots (i.e., there are no such base words as *bae, *laki, or *gamba which they could have been derived from) and function as simple lexical items.
2. Reduplication of the first two syllables in polysyllabic roots, minus the final consonant (coda) of the second syllable if present. This is used productively in polysyllabic roots in place of full reduplication. A hyphen may be orthographically placed between the reduplicant and the base word:
   • baí-baitáng (“gradual”) ← baitáng (“step”); used instead of baitáng-baitáng which is seldom used
   • balí-baligtád ("turned around continually", "all turned inside up") ← baligtád ("reverse"); notice how the coda of the second syllable (i.e., [g]) is not part of the reduplicant, as *balig-baligtad is never used
3. Reduplication of the final syllable; this type is always non-productive:
   • kilala ("known")
   • kulimlím ("overcast"; compare limlím "brooding")
   • bulaklák ("flower"; compare bulak "cotton")
4. Reduplication of the final syllable of a disyllabic word, where the final syllable "copies" the initial consonant of the first syllable and the final vowel-consonant sequence of the second syllable; this is also always non-productive:
   • tagaytáy ("mountain range"; compare taytáy "bridge, mountain range")
   • halakhák (“boisterous laughter”)

   Reduplicated words of this type may have been historically derived from base words affixed with now non-productive infixes such as -al- and -ag-.

5. Combination of partial reduplication types:
   • bábalíbaligtád ("will turn around continually"), from CV- + CVCV- + baligtád
   • makíkilala ("will get to know someone"), from ma- + CV- + kilalá

Full reduplication consists of repeating the entire word base or monosyllabic sequence of sounds. Examples include:

1. Reduplication of an existing root word. This is a productive process, and a hyphen is always used to separate the base and the reduplicant:
   • araw-araw ("every day") ← araw ("day" or "sun")
   • háka-hakà (“rumor”) ← hakà (“idea, suspicion”)
2. Reduplication of a word base that does not exist independently. These forms are lexicalized and are written as a single word, except when a hyphen is required to mark a glottal stop.
   • alaala (“memory”), *ala alone does not exist
   • ilang-ilang (“Cananga odorata”), *ilang alone does not exist
3. Full reduplication with intervening connective (na/-ng, at/-’t, nang); always productive:
   • paskóng-paskó ("truly Christmas, Christmas-Christmas"), from paskó + na + paskó
   • isá’t-isá ("each other"), from isá + at + isá
   • lakad nang lakad ("walking about a lot")
4. Monosyllabic reduplication; [u] is lowered to [o] in final syllables; always lexical:
   • pakpák ("wing")
   • sipsíp ("suck up")
   • tuktók (“summit”)
5. Monosyllabic reduplication with an intervening vowel; always lexical:
   • sagisag ("emblem")
   • patupat ("cigarette holder")
   • hayahay ("freshness")

Verbs

Tagalog verbs are complex and are changed by taking on many affixes reflecting voice/trigger, aspect and mood. Below is a chart of the main verbal affixes, which consist of a variety of prefixes, suffixes, infixes, and circumfixes.

Conventions used in the chart:

• CV~ stands for reduplication of the first syllable of a root word; that is, the first consonant (if any) and the first vowel of the word.
• N stands for a nasal consonant, which are m, n, or ng.
  • m is used when the prefixed word starts with the consonants b or p
  • n is used before the consonants d, t, and l
  • in all other cases, ng /ŋ/ is used
• ∅ means that the verb root is used, therefore no affixes are added.
• Punctuation marks indicate the type of affix a particular bound morpheme is:
  • hyphens mark prefixes if placed after the morpheme (e.g., mag-), or suffixes if placed before it (e.g., -han)
  • Template:Angbr marks infixes, which is typically placed before the first vowel of the word, and after the first consonant if there is any. Thus, the word "sumulat" (sTemplate:Angbrulat) is composed of the root word sulat and the infix Template:Angbr.
  • ~ is used to separate the reduplicated morpheme (CV), from the root word, such that "susulat" is written as (su~sulat) and "sumusulat" as (sTemplate:Angbru~sulat).

	Complete	Progressive	Contemplative	Infinitive	Imperative
Actor trigger I	Template:Angbr bumasa	CTemplate:AngbrV~ bumabasa	CV~ babasa	Template:Angbr bumasa	∅
Actor trigger II	nag- nagbasa	nag-CV~ nagbabasa	mag-CV~ magbabasa	mag- magbasa	pag- pagbasa
Actor trigger III	na- nabasa	na-CV~ nababasa	ma-CV~ mababasa	ma- mabasa	pa- pabasa
Actor trigger IV	naN- (nang-, nam-, nan-) nangbasa (nambasa)	naN-CV~ nangbabasa (nambabasa)	maN-CV~ mangbabasa (mambabasa)	maN- mangbasa (mambasa)	paN- pangbasa (pambasa)
Object trigger I	Template:Angbr binasa	CTemplate:AngbrV~ binabasa	CV~ ... -(h)in babasahin	-(h)in basahin	-a (or verb root) basa
Object trigger II	iTemplate:Angbr- ibinasa	i-CTemplate:AngbrV~ ibinabasa	i-CV~ ibabasa	i- ibasa	-(h)an/-(h)in basaan
Object trigger III	Template:Angbr ... -(h)an binasahan	CTemplate:AngbrV~ ... -(h)an binabasahan	CV~ ... -(h)an babasahan	-(h)an basahan	-(h)i basahi
Locative trigger	Template:Angbr ... -(h)an binasahan	CTemplate:AngbrV~ ... -(h)an binabasahan	CV~ ... -(h)an babasahan	-(h)an basahan	∅
Benefactive trigger	iTemplate:Angbr- ibinasa	i-CTemplate:AngbrV~ ibinabasa	i-CV~ ibabasa	i- ibasa	∅
Instrument trigger	ipTemplate:AngbraN- ipinambasa	ipTemplate:AngbraN-CV~ ipinambabasa	ipaN-CV~ ipambabasa	ipaN- ipambasa	∅
Reason trigger	ikTemplate:Angbra- ikinabasa	ikTemplate:Angbra-CV~ ikinababasa	ika-CV~ ikababasa	ika- ikabasa	∅

With object-focus verbs in the completed and progressive aspects, the infix -in- frequently becomes the prefix ni- if the root word begins with , , , or ; e.g., linalapitan or nilalapitan and inilagáy or ilinagáy.

When suffixing -in and -an to a word that ends in a vowel, an epenthetic h is inserted. This helps to distinguish them from words that have a glottal stop, which is usually not written except when diacritical marks are applied, such that "basa" (to read) becomes "basahin" while "basa" (to be wet, otherwise spelt as "basâ") becomes "basaín" pronounced with a glottal stop.

The imperative affixes are not often used in Manila, but they do exist in other Tagalog speaking provinces.

Archaic Forms

	Complete	Progressive	Contemplative	Infinitive	Imperative
Archaic Actor trigger I (Unassimilated)	Template:Angbr or Template:Angbr bungmasa, tingmingin	CTemplate:AngbrV~ or CTemplate:AngbrV~ bungmabasa, tingmitingin	CV~ babasa	Template:Angbr bumasa	∅
Archaic Actor trigger I (Assimilated)	b/p → n nasa	b/p → n + REDUP nanasa	b/p → m + REDUP mamasa	b/p → m masa	∅

In old Tagalog, the complete and progressive aspects of actor trigger I was marked with the affix "-ungm-" or "-ingm-', while "-um-" was used solely as the infinitive form. The rule is that when a verb has an "i" in its initial syllable, the infix used is "-ingm-" like "tingmingin" (looked, complete aspect) and "tingmitingin" (is looking, progressive aspect), otherwise "-ungm-" is used. This is a case called vowel harmony.

Another archaic feature is when a verb starts in a "b" or "p", which becomes an "n" for the complete and progressive aspects, and "m" for contemplative and infinitive. The word "pasok" (to enter) therefore becomes "nasok" (complete), "nanasok" (progressive), "mamasok" (contemplative), and "masok" (infinitive). Though these have been lost in the Manila dialect, they are preserved in some Tagalog dialects. The allophones "d" and "r" are still somewhat preserved when it comes to verbs like "dating (to arrive)" but it is sometimes ignored.

Trigger

The central feature of verbs in Tagalog and other Philippine languages is the trigger system, often called voice or focus. In this system, the thematic relation (agent, patient, or other oblique relationsTemplate:Sndlocation, direction, etc.) of the noun marked by the direct-case particle is encoded in the verb.

List of triggers and examples

The actor trigger marks the direct noun as the agent (doer) of the action:

• Bumilí ng saging ang lalaki sa tindahan para sa unggóy.

The man bought a banana at the store for the monkey.

The object trigger marks the direct noun as the patient (receiver) of the action:

• Binilí ng lalaki ang saging sa tindahan para sa unggóy.

The man bought the banana at the store for the monkey.

The locative trigger marks the direct noun as the location or direction of an action or the area affected by the action.

The man bought a banana at/from the store.

• Binilhán ng lalaki ng saging ang tindahan. (formal/dated form)
• Pinagbilhán ng lalaki ng saging ang tindahan. (colloquial form)

The benefactive trigger marks the direct noun as the person or thing that benefits from the action; i.e., the beneficiary of an action.

The man bought a banana for the monkey.

• Ibinilí ng lalaki ng saging ang unggóy. (formal/dated form)
• Binilhán ng lalaki ng saging ang unggóy. (colloquial form)

The instrumental trigger marks the direct noun as the means by which the action is performed.

• Ipinambilí ng lalaki ng saging ang pera ng asawa niyá.

The man bought a banana with his spouse's money.

The reason trigger marks the direct noun as the cause or reason why an action is performed. It is mostly used exclusively with verbs of emotion.

• Ikinagulat ng lalaki ang pagdatíng ng unggóy.

The man got surprised because of the monkey's arrival.

Actor trigger forms

Also known as the agent trigger, agent focus, actor focus, or by the abbreviations AT or AF. This verb form triggers a reading of the direct noun (marked by "ang") as the agent of the clause. The main affixes/forms under this trigger are -um-, mag-, ma-, and mang-; while their derivatives (e.g., maka-, ma- -an, magsi-, etc.) may also function as actor focus.

Some verb roots only take one of the main affixes to form the actor trigger of that verb, such as "tingín" (to look) which only uses the -um- conjugation as its actor trigger form. Other root words may take two or more, such as "sulat" (to write) which could take mag- and -um- conjugations. In such instances, the different verb forms may have the same exact meaning, or they may have some slight nuances. In the case of "sulat", "magsulat" is closer to the meaning of physically writing a letter, while "sumulat" is closer to the meaning of sending a letter out. "sayáw" (to dance), on the other hand, has "sumayáw" and "magsayáw" which mean the same thing. Furthermore, there are a few root verbs that derive opposite meanings through these affixes, such as in the case of "bilí" (to buy), where "bumilí" means to buy and "magbilí" is to sell.

The difference between these four actor trigger forms are complicated and there seems to be no consistent rule dictating when one form should be used over another. That said, memorizing what affixes a verb root uses and its corresponding meaning is essential in learning Tagalog.

• ma- is only used with a few roots which are semantically intransitive, for example, matulog (to sleep) and maligò (to bathe). Ma- is not to be confused with ma-, a patient-trigger prefix verb form.

Object trigger forms

Otherwise known as the patient trigger, patient focus, object focus, or by its initials OT, OF, PT, or PF. This verb form triggers a reading of the direct noun (marked by "ang") as the patient of the clause. There are three main affixes/forms used in this trigger, -in-, i-, and -an:

• -in is the most commonly used patient trigger form. It is generally used with:
  • actions that involve movement towards the agent: kainin (to eat something), bilhín (to buy something).
  • actions that involve permanent change: basagin (to crack something), patayín (to kill something).
  • actions that involve thought: isipin (to think of something), alalahanin (to remember something).
• i- is also a benefactive trigger, but when used as an object trigger, it denotes actions which involve something that is moved away from an agent: ibigáy (to give something), ilagáy (to put something), itaním (to plant something).
• -an can also serve as a locative or benefactive trigger, but as an object trigger, it denotes actions involving a surface change (doing unto something): hugasan (to rinse something), walisán (to sweep something off), sulatan (to write on a surface).

Affixes can also be used in nouns or adjectives: baligtarán (from baligtád, to reverse) (reversible), katamarán (from tamád, lazy) (laziness), kasabihán (from sabi, to say) (proverb), kasagutan (from sagót, answer), bayarín (from bayad, to pay) (payment), bukirín (from bukid, farm), lupaín (from lupà, land), pagkakaroón (from doón/roón, there) (having/appearance), and pagdárasál (from dasál, prayer). Verbs with affixes (mostly suffixes) are also used as nouns, which are differentiated by stress position. Examples are panoórin (to watch or view) and panoorín (materials to be watched or viewed), hangarín (to wish) and hangárin (goal/objective), arálin (to study) and aralín (studies), and bayáran (to pay) and bayarán (someone or something for hire).

Aspect

The aspect of the verb indicates the progressiveness of the verb. It specifies whether the action happened, is happening, or will happen. Tagalog verbs are conjugated for time using aspect rather than tense, which can be easily expressed with phrases and time prepositions.

Aspect	Use	Example sentence	Meaning
Completed (Perfective)	indicates that the action has been completed	Naglutò ang babae	The woman cooked
		Naglutò na ang babae	The woman has/had cooked
Uncompleted (Imperfective)	indicates that the action has started, but not completed and is ongoing; also indicates habitual actions and general facts	Naglulutò ang babae	The woman cooks
		Naglulutò na ang babae	The woman is (already) cooking
		Naglulutò pa ang babae	The woman is (still) cooking
Unstarted (Contemplative)	indicates that the action has not been started	Maglulutò ang babae	The woman will cook
		Maglulutò na ang babae	The woman is going to cook (now)
		Maglulutò pa ang babae	The woman is yet to cook
Recently completed	indicates that the action has been completed just before the time of speaking or just before some other specified time	Kalulutò lang ng babae	The woman has just cooked

Infinitive (Pawatas)

This serves as the base form of the verb, and is not marked by aspect. It is typically used in modal and subjunctive constructions. It is also used in standard Tagalog as the basis for the imperative form of the verb, by adding a second-person pronoun, such as ka/mo (you) and kayó/ninyó (you all), directly after it.

This is formed by affixing a verbal trigger suffix to the root word.

Root Word	Affix	Base Form	Trigger
alís (leave)	-um-	umalís (to leave)	Actor trigger I
kain (eat)	-um-	kumain (to eat)	Actor trigger I
sulat (write)	mag-	magsulát (to write)	Actor trigger II
tulog (sleep)	ma-	matulog (to sleep)	Actor trigger III
hingî (ask/request)	mang-	manghingî (to ask/request)	Actor trigger IV
alís (leave)	-(h)in	alisín (to remove)	Object trigger I
basa (read)	-(h)in	basahin (to read)	Object trigger I
bigáy (give)	i-	ibigáy(to give)	Object trigger II
bilí (buy)	-(h)an	bilhán (to buy from)	Locative trigger
balík (return)	i-	ibalík (to bring back)	Benefactive trigger
hugas (wash)	ipang-	ipanghugas (to use for washing)	Instrumental trigger
galák (joy)	ika-	ikagalák (to bring joy)	Reason trigger

Examples of infinitive use in modal sentences:

Grammatical mood	Example	Meaning
Subjunctive	dapat matulog ka	you should sleep
Optative	sana ibigáy mo	I hope you will give (it)
Necessitative	kailangan niláng kumain	they need to eat
Imperative	basahin mo na	read it now
Prohibitive	huwág kang manghingî ng tawad	don't ask for forgiveness

Perfective (Naganáp)

Also known as the complete or completed aspect. This implies that the action was done in the past, prior to the time of speaking or some other specified time. This aspect is characterized by:

• the use of the infix -in- in all triggers except the actor trigger
• the alteration of initial m to n in mag-, ma-, and mang- (actor triggers II, III, and IV)
• no change with -um- (actor trigger I)

In the complete aspect of the object trigger -in, that suffix -in (or -hin) is removed. This is in contrast with other triggers where the trigger affix remains.

Root Word	Trigger	Base Form	Affix	Complete Aspect
alís (leave)	Actor trigger I	umalís (to leave)	no change	umalís (left)
kain (eat)	Actor trigger I	kumain (to eat)	no change	kumain (ate)
sulat (write)	Actor trigger II	magsulat (to write)	mag- → nag-	nagsulat (wrote)
tulog (sleep)	Actor trigger III	matulog (to sleep)	ma- → na-	natulog (slept)
hingî (ask/request)	Actor trigger IV	manghingî (to ask/request)	mang- → nang-	nanghingî (asked/requested)
alís (leave)	Object trigger I	alisín (to remove)	remove -in + add -in-	inalís (removed)
basa (read)	Object trigger I	basahin (to read)	remove -hin + add -in-	binasa (read)
bigáy (give)	Object trigger II	ibigáy(to give)	add -in-	ibinigáy (given)
bilí (buy)	Locative trigger	bilhán (to buy from)	add -in-	binilhán (bought from)
balík (return)	Benefactive trigger	ibalík (to bring back)	add -in-	ibinalík (brought back)
hugas (wash)	Instrumental trigger	ipanghugas (to use for washing)	add -in-	ipinanghugas (used for washing)
galák (joy)	Reason trigger	ikagalák (to bring joy)	add -in-	ikinagalák (brought joy)

On its own, the perfective verb may not necessarily imply that the action is completed. Adding the particle na directly after it strengthens the notion that it is in fact completed. Compare this with the difference between English simple past and past perfect tenses.

	Without particle	With particle
Example	pumuntá akó sa Baguio pagdatíng nilá	pumuntá na akó sa Baguio pagdatíng nilá
Meaning	I went to Baguio when they came	I have (already) gone to Baguio when they came

Imperfective (Nagaganap)

Also known as the progressive or uncompleted aspect. This implies that the action has started, is ongoing, and not yet completed. It is also used with habitual actions, or actions that signify general facts. This aspect is characterized by the reduplication of the first syllable of the root word, followed by application of the same morphological rules as seen with the complete aspect. If the base form of the verb has its stress on the last syllable, a secondary stress usually falls on the reduplicated syllable.

Root Word	Trigger	Base Form	Affix	Uncompleted Aspect
alís (leave)	Actor trigger I	umalís (to leave)	CV reduplication	umáalís (leaving)
kain (eat)	Actor trigger I	kumain (to eat)	CV reduplication	kumakain (eating)
sulat (write)	Actor trigger II	magsulát (to write)	CV reduplication + mag- → nag-	nagsúsulát (writing)
tulog (sleep)	Actor trigger III	matulog (to sleep)	CV reduplication + ma- → na-	natutulog (sleeping)
hingî (ask/request)	Actor trigger IV	manghingî (to ask/request)	CV reduplication + mang- → nang-	nanghíhingì (asking/requesting)
alís (leave)	Object trigger I	alisín (to remove)	CV reduplication + remove -in + add -in-	ináalís (removing)
basa (read)	Object trigger I	basahin (to read)	CV reduplication + remove -hin + add -in-	binabasa (reading)
bigáy (give)	Object trigger II	ibigáy(to give)	CV reduplication + add -in-	ibiníbigáy (giving)
bilí (buy)	Locative trigger	bilhán (to buy from)	CV reduplication + add -in-	biníbilhán (buying from)
balík (return)	Benefactive trigger	ibalík (to bring back)	CV reduplication + add -in-	ibinábalík (bringing back)
hugas (wash)	Instrumental trigger	ipanghugas (to use for washing)	CV reduplication + add -in-	ipinanghuhugas (using for washing)
galák (joy)	Reason trigger	ikagalák (to bring joy)	CV reduplication + add -in-	ikinagágalák (bringing joy)

Contemplative (Magaganap)

This implies that the action has not yet started but anticipated. This aspect is characterized solely by the reduplication of the first syllable of the root word.

In the contemplative aspect of the actor trigger -um-, that infix -um- is removed.

Root Word	Trigger	Base Form	Affix	Contemplative Aspect
alís (leave)	Actor trigger I	umalís (to leave)	remove -um- + CV reduplication	áalís (will leave)
kain (eat)	Actor trigger I	kumain (to eat)	remove -um- + CV reduplication	kakain (will eat)
sulat (write)	Actor trigger II	magsulat (to write)	CV reduplication	magsúsulát (will write)
tulog (sleep)	Actor trigger III	matulog (to sleep)	CV reduplication	matutulog (will sleep)
hingî (ask/request)	Actor trigger IV	manghingî (to ask/request)	CV reduplication	manghíhingì (will ask/request)
alís (leave)	Object trigger I	alisín (to remove)	CV reduplication	áalisín (will remove)
basa (read)	Object trigger I	basahin (to read)	CV reduplication	bábasahin (will read)
bigáy (give)	Object trigger II	ibigáy(to give)	CV reduplication	ibíbigáy (will give)
bilí (buy)	Locative trigger	bilhán (to buy from)	CV reduplication	bíbilhán (will buy from)
balík (return)	Benefactive trigger	ibalík (to bring back)	CV reduplication	ibábalík (will bring back)
hugas (wash)	Instrumental trigger	ipanghugas (to use for washing)	CV reduplication	ipanghuhugas (will use for washing)
galák (joy)	Reason trigger	ikagalák (to bring joy)	CV reduplication	ikagágalák (will bring joy)

Recently Complete (Katatapos)

This implies that the action has just been completed before the time of speaking or before a specified time. This aspect is unique in that it does not use the direct case marker ang to mark a focused argument. All nouns bound to a verb in this aspect are only marked by the indirect and oblique markers.

It is often taught that to form this aspect, the first syllable of the word should be reduplicated followed by adding the prefix ka-. In colloquial speech however, the prefix kaka- is used instead without any reduplication. A verb in this aspect is always followed by the particle lang.

Root Word	Formal	Informal
alís (leave)	kaáalís (just left)	kakáalís (just left)
kain (eat)	kakakain (just ate)
sulat (write)	kasusulat (just wrote)	kakasulat (just wrote)
tulog (sleep)	katutulog (just slept)	kakatulog (just slept)
hingî (ask/request)	kahíhingî (just asked/requested)	kakahingî (just asked/requested)
basa (read)	kababasa (just read)	kakabasa (just read)
bigáy (give)	kabíbigáy (just gave)	kakabigáy (just gave)
bilí (buy)	kabíbilí (just bought)	kakabilí (just bought)
balík (return)	kabábalík (just returned)	kakabalík (just returned)
hugas (wash)	kahuhugas (just washed)	kakahugas (just washed)

Mood

Tagalog verbs also have affixes expressing grammatical mood; some examples are indicative, potential, social, causative and distributed.

Indicative
Nagdalá siyá ng liham.
"(S)he brought a letter."

Bumilí kamí ng bigás sa palengke.
"We bought rice in the market."

Kumain akó.
"I ate."

Hindî siyá nagsásalitâ ng Tagalog.
"(S)he does not speak Tagalog."

Causative magpa-
Nagpadalá siyá ng liham sa kaniyáng iná.
"He sent (literally: caused to be brought) a letter to his mother."

Distributive maN-
Namilí kamí sa palengke.
"We went shopping in the market."

Social maki-
Nakikain akó sa mga kaibigan ko.
"I ate with my friends."

Potential maka-/makapag-
Hindî siyá nakapagsásalitâ ng Tagalog.
"(S)he was not able to speak Tagalog."

Nouns

While Tagalog nouns are not inflected, they are usually preceded by case-marking particles. These follow an Austronesian alignment, also known as a trigger system, which is a distinct feature of Austronesian languages. There are three basic cases: direct (ang/si); indirect (ng/ni); and oblique (sa/kay).

The direct case marks the noun which has a special relation to the verb in the clause. Here, it is the verb's trigger that determines what semantic role (agent, patient, etc.) the noun is in. The indirect case marks the agent or patient, or both, that isn't marked with the direct case in the clause. The oblique case marks the location, beneficiary, instrument, and any other oblique argument that isn't marked with the direct case.

In clauses using the actor trigger, the direct case would mark the agent of the verb (corresponding to the subject in the English active voice), the indirect would mark the patient (direct object), while any other argument would be marked by the oblique case. In the object trigger, the reverse occurs, wherein the direct would mark the patient and the indirect marking the agent. When other verb triggers are used (i.e, locative, beneficiary, instrumental, causal triggers), both agent and patient would be marked by the indirect case, the focused oblique argument marked with the direct case, and any other argument by the oblique case.

One of the functions of trigger in Tagalog is to code definiteness, analogous to the use of definite and indefinite articles (i.e., the & a) in English. That said, an argument marked with the direct case is always definite. Whereas, when a patient argument is marked with the indirect case, it is generally indefinite, but an agent argument marked with the same indirect case would be understood as definite. To make it indefinite, the numeral isá (one) is used.

	Sentence 1 (AF)	Sentence 2 (OF)	Sentence 3 (OF)	Sentence 4 (OF)	Sentence 5 (AF)
Tagalog	kumain ang pusà ng isdâ	kinain ng pusa ang isdâ	kinain ng isáng pusà ang isdâ	kinain ng isáng pusà ang isáng isdâ	kumain ang isáng pusà ng isáng isdâ
English	the cat ate a fish	the cat ate the fish	a cat ate the fish	a cat ate a fish	a cat ate a fish

The indirect particle is also used as a genitive marker. It is for this reason that Tagalog lean more towards a VOS word order, as an indirect (ng/ni) argument directly following a direct (ang/si) argument might be misinterpreted as a possessive construction. For instance with the sentence above, kumain ang pusà ng isdâ may be read as "the cat of the fish ate".

The oblique particle and the locative derived from it are similar to prepositions in English, marking things such as location and direction.

The case particles fall into two classes: one used with names of people (proper) and one for everything else (common).

The common indirect marker is spelled ng and pronounced . Mgá, pronounced , marks the common plural.

Tagalog has associative plural in addition to additive plural.

Cases

		Direct (ang)	Indirect (ng)	Oblique (sa)
Common	singular	ang, 'yung (iyong)	ng, nu'ng (niyong)	sa
	plural	ang mgá, 'yung mgá (iyong mgá)	ng mgá, nu'ng mgá (niyong mgá)	sa mgá
Personal	singular	si	ni	kay
	plural	sina	nina	kina

Common noun affixes

ka-	indicating a companion or colleague
ka- -(h)an	collective or abstract noun
pan-, pam-, pang-	denoting instrumental use of the noun

Examples

Note that in Tagalog, even proper nouns require a case marker.

Pronouns

Like nouns, personal pronouns are categorized by case. As above, the indirect forms also function as the genitive.

			Direct ()	Indirect ()	Oblique ()
1st person	singular			()
	dual		/	/ ()	/ ()
	plural	inclusive
		exclusive
2nd person	singular		()	()
	plural
3rd person	singular
	plural

	Direct second person () with Indirect () first person
(to) you by/from me

Pronoun sequences are (), , , and .

Examples:

"I wrote."

"He/She/They wrote me a letter."
Note: If "" is removed from the sentence, it becomes "I was written on"

"I will give this to him/her/them."

Genitive pronouns follow the word they modify. Oblique pronouns can take the place of the genitive pronoun but they precede the word they modify.

"My house."

The inclusive dual pronoun has largely disappeared from the Manila Dialect. It survives in other Tagalog dialects, particularly those spoken in the rural areas. However is used to replace the pronoun sequence [verb] , (I [verb] you).

The 1st–2nd dual pronoun "" referring to "you and I" is traditionally used as follows:

(Manila Dialect: )
"You and I are friends." (Manila Dialect: “We are friends.")

Examples:

(We are lovers.)

(Our house is fixed.)

(The destinations are beautiful at ours.)

As previously mentioned, the pronoun sequence [verb] , (I [verb] you) may be replaced by .

"I love you."

"I will give you money."

"I saw you at the store yesterday."

"You are my friend."

The inclusive pronoun refers to the first and second persons. It may also refer to a third person(s).

The exclusive pronoun refers to the first and third persons but excludes the second.

"We (you and me) have no rice."

"We (someone else and me, but not you) have no rice."

The second person singular has two forms. is the non-enclitic form while is the enclitic which never begins a sentence. The plural form is also used politely in the singular, similar to French .

Native nouns are genderless, hence means he, she, or they (singular).

Polite or formal usage

Tagalog, like many languages, marks the T–V distinction: when addressing a single person in polite/formal/respectful settings, pronouns from either the 2nd person plural or the 3rd person plural group are used instead of the singular 2nd person pronoun. They can be used with, or in lieu of, the iterations without losing any degree of politeness, formality, or respect:

• or ("you" sgl.) becomes ("you" pl.) or ("they")
• (post-substantive "your") becomes or (more polite), (post-substantive "your" pl.) or (post-substantive "their")
• ("yours" sgl. or pre-substantive "your" sgl.) becomes ("yours" pl. or pre-substantive "your" pl.) or ("theirs" or pre-substantive "their")

Example:
English: "What's your name?"
Casual:
Respectful: or ?

Using such pluralized pronouns is quite sufficient for expressing politeness, formality or respect, particularly when an affirmative (or negative) iteration isn't necessary.

Additionally, the formal second-person pronouns (), , , and , third-person forms and , and their oblique forms , , and are, by custom, reverentially capitalized in religious contexts. Purists who frame this capitalization as nonstandard and inconsistent do not apply it in written form.

Demonstrative pronouns

Tagalog's demonstrative pronouns are as follows.

	Direct (ang)	Indirect (ng)	Oblique (sa)	Locative (nasa)	Existential	Manner (gaya)
Nearest to speaker (this, here)*	iré, aré	niré	díne/ríne	nandine(andine)/nárine	eré	ganiré
Near speaker and addressee (this, here)	itó	nitó	díto/ríto	nandíto(andíto)/nárito	éto/héto	ganitó
Nearest addressee (that, there)	iyán	niyán	diyán/riyán	nandiyán(andíyan)/náriyan	ayán/hayán	ganiyán
Remote (that, there)	iyón, yaón	niyón	doón/roón	nandoón(andoón)/nároon	ayón/hayón	ganoón (gayón/ganó'n)/ garoón

Notes:

- Although dine and dito both mean here, its difference is the first one pertains to the speaker only while the second one includes the listener. Lost in Standard Filipino/Tagalog (Manila dialect: dito) but still survive in province dialects like Batangas. The same goes for direct, indirect, oblique, locative, existential, and manner (nearest to speaker).

- Yaón is an old-fashioned word which means that.The modern word is iyón.

- The oblique are verbs and locative are pseudo-verbs; for instance, dumito, dumidito, and didito for oblique; and narito, naririto, and nandito for oblique. However, some are archaic and some are old-fashioned.

- Words like pariné, paritó, pariyón, and paroón are combined with pa+(oblique word). These were old-fashioned and/or archaic but still survive in dialects.

- The contractions are: 're, 'to, 'yan, 'yun, n'yan, gan'to, gan'yan, gan're, gano'n (gayon)

*Many Tagalog speakers may use itó in place of iré/aré.

Examples:

Anó itó?
"What's this?"

Sino ang lalaking iyón?
"Who is that man?"

Gáling kay Pedro ang liham na itó.
"This letter is from Pedro."

Nandito akó.
"I am here."

Kakain silá roón.
"They will eat there."

Saán ka man naróroon.
"Wherever you are."

Kumain niyán ang batà.
"The child ate some of that."

Ayón palá ang salamín mo!
"So that's where your glasses are!"

Heto isáng regalo para sa iyó.
"Here's a gift for you."

Adjectives

Just like English adjectives, Tagalog adjectives modify a noun or a pronoun.

Forms

Simple (Payák)

These consist of only the root word.

Examples: hinóg (ripe), sabog (exploded), ganda (beautiful)

Affixed (Maylapì)

These consist of the root word and one or more affixes.

Examples: tinanóng (questioned), kumakain (eating), nagmámahál (loving)

Repeating (Inuulit)

These are formed by the repetition of the whole or part of the root word.

Examples: puláng-pulá (really red), putíng-putî (really white), araw-araw (every day), gabí-gabí (every night)

Compound (Tambalan)

These are compound words.

Examples: ngiting-aso (literally: "dog smile", meaning: "big smile"), balát-sibuyas (literally: "onion-skinned", meaning: "crybaby")

Types

Descriptive (Panlarawan)

This states the size, color, form, smell, sound, texture, taste, and shape.

Examples: muntî (little), biluhabà (oval), matamis (sweet), malubhâ (serious)

Proper (Pantangì)

This states a specific noun. This consists of a common noun and a proper noun. The proper noun (that starts with a capital letter) is modifying the type of common noun.

Examples: wikang Ingles (English language), kulturang Espanyol (Spanish culture), pagkaing Iloko (Ilokano food)

Pamilang

This states the number, how many, or a position in order. This has multiple types.

• Sequence (Panunurán) – This states the position in an order. Examples: ikatló (third), una (first), pangalawá (second)
• Quantitative (Patakarán) – This states the actual number. Examples: isa (one), apat (four), limang libo (five thousand)
• Fraction (Pamahagì) – This states a part of a whole. Examples: kalahatì (half), limáng-kawaló (five-eights), sangkapat (fourth)
• Monetary (Pahalagá) – This states a price (equivalent to money) of a thing or any bought item. Examples: piso (one peso), limampung sentimo (fifty centavos), sandaang piso (one hundred pesos)
• Collective (Palansák) – This states a group of people or things. This identifies the number that forms that group. Examples: dalawahan (by two), sampú-sampû (by ten), animan (by six)
• Patakdâ – This states the exact and actual number. This cannot be added or subtracted. Examples: iisa (only one), dadalawa (only two), lilima (only five)

Degrees of Comparison

Just like English adjectives, Tagalog adjectives have 3 degrees of comparison.

Positive (Lantáy)

This only compares one noun/pronoun.

Example: maliít (small), kupas (peeled), matabâ (fat)

Comparative (Pahambíng)

This is used when 2 nouns/pronouns are being compared. This has multiple types.

• Similar (Magkatulad) – This is the comparison when the traits compared are fair. Usually, the prefixes ga-, sing-/kasíng-, and magsing-/magkasíng- are used.
• Dissimilar (Di-magkatulad) – This is the comparison if it shows the idea of disallowance, rejection or opposition.
  • Palamáng – the thing that is being compared has a positive trait. The words "higít", "lalo", "mas", "di-hamak" and others are used.
  • Pasahol – the thing that is being compared has a negative trait. The words "di-gaano", "di-gasino", "di-masyado" and others are used.

Superlative (Pasukdól)

This is the highest degree of comparison. This can be positive or negative. The prefix "pinaká" and the words "sobra", "ubod", "tunay", "talaga", "saksakan", and "hari ng ___" are used, as well as the repetition of the adjective.

Positive (Lantay)	Comparative (Pahambing)			Superlative (Pasukdol)
	Similar (Magkatulad)	Dissimilar (Di-magkatulad)
		Palamáng	Pasahol
pangit (ugly)	kasíng-pangit (as ugly as)	higít na pangit (uglier)	di-gaanong pangit (not that ugly)	pinakapangit (ugliest)
magandá (beautiful)	singgandá (as beautiful as)	mas magandá (more beautiful)	di-masyadong magandá (not that beautiful)	ubod ng gandá (most beautiful)
mabangó (fragrant)	magkasíng-bangó (as fragrant as)	lalong mabangó (more fragrant)	di-gasinong mabangó (not that fragrant)	tunay na mabangó (most fragrant)

Degrees of Description

These degrees have no comparison.

Lantáy

This is when the simple/plain form of the adjective is being used for description.

Examples: matalino (smart), palatawá (risible)

Katamtaman

This is when the adjective is accompanied by the words "medyo", "nang kauntî", "nang bahagyâ" or the repetition of the root word or the first two syllables of the root word.

Examples: medyo matabâ (somewhat fat), malakás nang bahagyâ (slightly strong), malakás-lakás (somewhat strong), matabáng nang kauntî (a little bit insipid)

Masidhî

This is when the adjective is accompanied by the words "napaka", "ubod ng", "saksakan ng", "talagáng", "sobrang", "masyadong" or the repetition of the whole adjective. The description in this degree is intense.

Examples: napakalakas (so strong), ubod ng baít (really kind), talagáng mabangó (truly fragrant), sobrang makinis (oversmooth)

Number

There are rules that are followed when forming adjectives that use the prefix "ma-".

Singular (Isahan)

When the adjective is describing only one noun/pronoun, "ma-" and the root word is used.

Examples: masayá (happy), malungkót (sad)

Plural (Maramihan)

When the adjective is describing two or more noun/pronoun, "ma-" is used and the first syllable or first two letters of the root word is repeated.

Examples: maliliít (small), magagandá (beautiful)

The word "mgá" is not needed if the noun/pronoun is right next to the adjective.

Example: Ang magagandáng damít ay kasya kiná Erica at Bel. (The beautiful clothes can fit to Erica and Bel.)

Ligature

The ligature (pang-angkóp) connects, or links, modifiers (like adjectives and adverbs) to the words that they are modifying. It has two allomorphs:

na

This is used if the preceding word ends with a consonant other than n. It is not combined with the preceding word but separated, appearing between the modifier and the word it modifies.

Example: ("loving person")

-ng

This suffixed allomorph is used if the preceding word ends with a vowel or n; in the latter case, the final n is lost and replaced by the suffix:

Examples: ("good creation of God"); () ("ideal citizen")

Conjunctions

Tagalog uses numerous conjunctions, and may belong to one of these possible functions:

1. separate non-contrasting ideas (e.g. "and")
2. separate contrasting ideas (e.g. "but")
3. give explanations (e.g. "if")
4. provide circumstances (e.g. "when")
5. indicate similarities (e.g. "where")
6. provide reasons (e.g. "because")
7. indicate endings (e.g. "[in order] to")

Modifiers

Modifiers alter, qualify, clarify, or limit other elements in a sentence structure. They are optional grammatical elements but they change the meaning of the element they are modifying in particular ways. Examples of modifiers are adjectives (modifies nouns), adjectival clauses, adverbs (modifies verbs), and adverbial clauses. Nouns can also modify other nouns. In Tagalog, word categories are fluid: A word can sometimes be an adverb or an adjective depending on the word it modifies. If the word being modified is a noun, then the modifier is an adjective, if the word being modified is a verb, then it is an adverb. For example, the word 'mabilís' means 'fast' in English. The Tagalog word 'mabilís' can be used to describe nouns like 'kuneho' ('rabbit') in 'kunehong mabilís' ('quick rabbit'). In that phrase, 'mabilís' was used as an adjective. The same word can be used to describe verbs, one can say 'tumakbo nang mabilís' which means 'quickly ran'. In that phrase, 'mabilis' was used as an adverb. The Tagalog word for 'rabbit' is 'kuneho' and 'ran' is 'tumakbo' but they showed up in the phrases as 'kuneho-ng' and 'tumakbó nang'. Tagalog uses something called a "linker" that always surfaces in the context of modification. Modification only occurs when a linker is present. Tagalog has the linkers -ng and na. In the examples mentioned, the linker -ng was used because the word before the linker ends in a vowel. The second linker, na is used everywhere else (the na used in modification is not the same as the adverb na which means 'now' or 'already'). Seeing the enclitics -ng and na are good indications that there is modification in the clause. These linkers can appear before or after the modifier.

The following table summarizes the distribution of the linker:

Required	Prohibited
Attributive Adjective	Predicative Adjective
Adverbial modifier	Predicative Adverbial
Nominal Modifier	Predicative Nominal
Relative Clause	Matrix Clause

Sequence of modifiers in a noun phrase

The following tables show a possible word order of a noun phrase containing a modifier. Since word order is flexible in Tagalog, there are other possible ways in which one could say these phrases. To read more on Tagalog word order, head to the Word Order section.

	Marker	Possessive	Quantity	Verbal Phrase	Adjectives	Noun	Head Noun
Example	ang	kaniyáng	apat na	piniritong	mahabang	Vigang	lumpiâ
Gloss	the	her	four	fried	long	Vigan	spring roll
Translation	her four fried, long Vigan spring rolls
Example	iyáng	inyóng	limáng kahóng	binasag ng batang		Intsík na	pinggán
Gloss	those	your	five boxes	that the children broke	white	Chinese	plates
Translation	those five boxes of yours of white Chinese plates that the children broke

Enclitic particles

Tagalog has enclitic particles that have important information conveying different nuances in meaning. Below is a list of Tagalog's enclitic particles.

1. and
   • : now, already
   • : still, else, in addition, yet
2. , : even, even if, even though
3. : although
4. : indeed; used to affirm or to emphasise. Also softens imperatives.
5. (after a vowel: ): too, also
6. (contracted as ): limiting particle; only or just
7. (after a vowel: ): a reporting particle that indicates the preceding information as secondhand; they say, he said, reportedly, supposedly, etc.
8. (less respectful form: ): marker indicating politeness.
9. : used to end yes-and-no questions and optionally in other types of questions, similar to Japanese and Chinese ma (嗎), but not entirely.
10. : for now, for a minute, and yet (when answering in the negative).
11. : used in making contrasts; softens requests; emphasis
12. : expresses cause; because
13. : expresses wonder; I wonder; perhaps (we should do something); also optionally used in yes-and-no questions and other forms of questions
14. : expresses that the speaker has realized or suddenly remembered something; realization particle; apparently
15. (contracted as/informal: ): expresses uncertainty; probably, perhaps, seems
16. : used in cause and effect; as a result
17. : expresses hope, unrealized condition (with the verb in completed aspect), used in conditional sentences.

The order listed above is the order in which the particles follow if they are used in conjunction with each other. A more concise list of the orders of monosyllabic particles from Rubino (2002) is given below.

1. /
3. ~
4. ~
5. /

The particles and cannot be used in conjunction with each other as well as and .

"Oh yes, your grandmother has apparently arrived."

"Do change it as well."

Note for "/ and /": If the preceding letter is a consonant except y and w, the letter d is used in any word, vice versa for r e.g., , instead of

Although in everyday speech, this rule is often ignored.

"Perhaps his brother still hasn’t a wife."

"I wonder, is the only thing that they'll be giving us?"

"Have you already studied the Spanish language?"

"He's still young, is why."

"Please, do write your name here first."

The words and , which mean “he said”/“she said”/“they said”, are sometimes joined to the real translations of “he said”/”she said”, which is , and “they said”, which is . They are also joined to the Tagalog of “you said”, which is . But this time, both and mean “supposedly/reportedly”.

"He/she supposedly said."

• .

"They supposedly said."

"You supposedly said."

Although the word is a native Tagalog word for “because” and not slang, it is still not used in formal writing. The Tagalog word for this is or . Thus, the formal form of is or . This is sometimes shortened to or , so is also written as or . In both formal and everyday writing and speech, (the oblique form of ; thus, its exact translation is “because of”) is also synonymous to (), so the substitute of for is . Most of the time in speech and writing (mostly every day and sometimes formal), as the Tagalog of “because” is reduced to , so is spoken simply as .

Word order

Tagalog has a flexible word order compared to English. While the verb always remains in the initial position, the order of noun phrase complements that follows is flexible. An example provided by Schacter and Otanes can be seen in (1).

The flexibility of Tagalog word order can be seen in (2). There are six different ways of saying 'The man gave the woman a book.' in Tagalog. The following five sentences, along with the sentence from (1), include the same grammatical components and are all grammatical and identical in meaning but have different orders.

English: The man gave the woman a book.

(2) (Kroeger, 1991: 136 (2))

The principles in (3) help to determine the ordering of possible noun phrase complements. In a basic clause where the patient takes the nominative case, principles (i) and (ii) requires the actor to precede the patient. In example (4a), the patient, 'liham' (letter) takes the nominative case and satisfies principles (i) and (ii). The example in (4b) shows that the opposite ordering of the agent and patient does not result in an ungrammatical sentence but rather an unnatural one in Tagalog.

(3) (Kroeger, 1991: 137 (3))	(i) Actor phrase tends to precede all other arguments
	(ii) Noun phrase which bears nominative case tends to follow all other arguments
	(iii) "Heavier" noun phrases tend to follow "lighter" noun phrases

In example (5), the verb, 'binihag', (captivated) is marked for active voice and results in the actor ('Kuya Louis') to take the nominative case. Example (5) doesn't satisfy principles (i) and (ii). That is, principle (i) requires the Actor ('Kuya Louis') to precede all other arguments. However, since the Actor also takes the nominative case, principle (ii) requires the phrase 'Kuya Louis' to come last. The preferred order of agent and patient in Tagalog active clauses is still being debated. Therefore, we can assume that there are two "unmarked" word orders: VSO or VOS.

A change in word order and trigger generally corresponds to a change in definiteness ("the" vs "a") in English. Example (6) shows a change in word order, triggered by the indirect, "ng." Example (7) shows a change in word order, triggered by the direct, "ang."

DIR:direct INDIR:indirect

Word order may be inverted (referred to in Tagalog grammar as Kabalikáng Anyô) by way of the inversion marker 'ay ' ( ’y after vowels in informal speech, not usually used in writing). Contrary to popular belief, this is not the copula 'to be' as 'ay' does not behave as an existential marker in an SVO structure and an inverted form VSO does not require 'ay' since the existentiality is denoted by case marking. A slight, but optional, pause in speech or a comma in writing may replace the inversion marker. This construction is often viewed by native speakers as formal or literary.

In this construction (ay-inversion), the 'ay' appears between the fronted constituent and the remainder of the clause. The fronted constituent in the construction includes locations and adverbs. Example (8)- (11) shows the inverted form of the sentences in the previous examples above.

In (8) and (11), the fronted constituent is the subject. On the other hand, in (9), the fronted constituent is the object. Another example of a fronted constituent in Tagalog is, wh-phrases. Wh-phrases include interrogative questions that begin with: who, what, where, when, why, and how. In Tagalog, wh-phrases occur to the left of the clause. For example, in the sentence, 'Who are you?', which translates to, 'Sino ka?' occurs to the left of the clause. The syntactic tree of this sentence is found in (12a). As we can see in (12a), the complementizer position is null. However, in the case where an overt complementizer is present, Sabbagh (2014) proposes that the wh-phrase lowers from Spec, CP, and adjoins to TP when C is overt (12b). The operation in (12b) is known as, WhP lowering.

File:Example 12.png

(12a) Syntax tree, made with http://mshang.ca/syntree/

File:Example 12a.png

(12a), Syntax tree adapted from Sabbagh (2014), example 62, made with http://mshang.ca/syntree/

This operation of lowering can also be applied in sentences to account for the verb-initial word order in Tagalog. The subject-lowering analysis states that "the subject lowers from Spec, TP and adjoins to a projection dominated by TP.". If we use the example from (2), Nagbigáy ang lalaki ng libró sa babae. and applied subject lowering, we would see the syntax tree in (13a).If we lowered the subject, ang lalaki, to an intermediate position within VP, we would be able to achieve a VOS word order and still satisfy subject lowering. This can be seen in (13b).

File:Syntax tree 3.png

(13a) Syntax tree, adapted from Sabbagh (2014), 70 (55), made with http://mshang.ca/syntree/

Lowering is motivated by a prosodic constraint called, WeakStart. This constraint is largely based on the phonological hierarchy. This constraint requires the first phonological element within a phonological domain to be lower on the prosodic hierarchy than elements that follow it, within the same domain.

Negation

There are three negation words: hindî, walâ, and huwág.

Hindî negates verbs and equations. It is sometimes contracted to ‘dî.

• Hindî akó magtatrabaho bukas.

"I will not work tomorrow."

• Hindî mayaman ang babae.

"The woman is not rich."

Walâ is the opposite of may and mayroón ("there is").

• Walâ akóng pera.
• Akó ay waláng pera.

"I do not have money."

• Waláng libró sa loób ng bahay niyá.

"There are no books in his house."

Huwág is used in expressing negative commands. It can be used for the infinitive and the future aspect. It is contracted as ‘wag.

• Huwág kang umiyák.

"Do not cry."

• Huwág kayóng tumakbó rito.

"Do not run here."

There are two (or more) special negative forms for common verbs:

• Gustó/Ibig/Nais ko nang kumain.

"I would like to eat now." (Positive)

• Ayaw ko pang kumain.

"I don't want to eat yet." (Negative)

Interrogative words

Tagalog's interrogative words are: alín, anó, bákit, gaáno, gaálin, makáilan, ilán, kailán, kaníno, kumustá, magkáno, nakaníno, nasaán, níno, paáno, pasaán, saán, tagasaán, and síno. With the exceptions of bakit, kamustá(maáno), and nasaán, all of the interrogative words have optional plural forms which are formed by reduplication. They are used when the person who is asking the question anticipates a plural answer and can be called wh-phrases. The syntactic position of these types of phrases can be seen in (12a).

Gaano (from ga- + anó) means how but is used in inquiring about the quality of an adjective or an adverb. The root word of the modifier is prefixed with ga- in this construction (16a).Ilán means how many (16b). Kumustá is used to inquire how something is (are).(16c) It is frequently used as a greeting meaning How are you? It is derived from the Spanish ¿cómo está?. Magkano (from mag- + gaano) means how much and is usually used in inquiring the price of something (16d). Paano (from pa- + anó) is used in asking how something is done or happened (16e).

Nino (from ni + anó) means who, whose, and whom (18a). It is the indirect and genitive form of sino. Sino (from si + anó) means who and whom and it is in the direct form (18b). Kanino (from kay + anó) means whom or whose (18c). It is the oblique form of sino (who).

See also

• Abakada alphabet
• Commission on the Filipino Language
• Filipino alphabet
• Filipino orthography
• Tagalog phonology
• Old Tagalog

Bibliography

• Kroeger, P. R. (1991). Phrase structure and grammatical relations in Tagalog
• Ramos, T. (1971). Tagalog Structures. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii Press. p. 126.
• Rubino, C. (2002). Tagalog-English, English-Tagalog dictionary / Taláhuluganang Pilipino-Ingglés, Ingglés-Pilipino Taláhuluganang. Conshohocken, PA: Hippocrene Books.
• Sabbagh, J. (2014). Word order and Prosodic‐Structure constraints in Tagalog. Syntax, 17(1), 40–89.
• Sabbagh, J. (2011). Adjectival passives and the structure of VP in Tagalog. Lingua, 121, 1424–1452.
• Scontras, G. & Nicolae A. (2014). Saturating syntax: Linkers and modification in Tagalog. Lingua, 149, 17–33.
• Baybayin: Paglalayag sa Wika at Panitikan 8 by Remedios Infantado Template:ISBN pp. 133–134, 169
• Bagong Likha: Wika at Pagbasa 4, by Ester V. Raflores Template:ISBN, pp. 239, 252–253, 267–268, 283, 326–327, 341–342
• Pinagyamang Pluma 9, by Ailene G. Baisa-Julian, Mary Grace G. del Rosario, Nestor S. Lontoc Template:ISBN, p. 86, 383
• mga-uri-ng-pang-uri.pdf. samutsamot.files.wordpress.com. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
• Baybayin: Paglalayag sa Wika at Panitikan 7 by Ramilito Correa Template:ISBN p. 19

External links

• Tagalog grammar Free and comprehensive Tagalog grammar reference
• Interactive Language and Filipino Culture Resources Part of the SEAsite Project at Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois, USA