Easy Tagalog. Joi Barrios
in later chapters.
| 1st person | Singular subject pronouns | Plural subject pronouns | Singular possessive pronouns |
| ako | kami (exclusive) ustayo (inclusive) us or we + you | ko my | |
| 2nd person | Ikaw, ka you | kayo you | mo your |
| 3rd person | siya he/she | sila they | niya your |
Here are some reminders for using Tagalog pronouns:
1. Use ikaw only at the beginning of a sentence. Elsewhere, use ka. They mean the same thing.
2. When using po, use the second person plural pronoun kayo and not ka. For example, “Kumusta po kayo?” and not “Kumusta po ka?”
3. There are two pronouns that are the equivalent of the English first person plural subject pronoun “us.” One is kami. This is called an “exclusive” pronoun because it refers only to the people speaking and not to the person or people being addressed. The second is tayo. This is called an “inclusive” pronoun because it refers to everyone—the people speaking and the people being addressed.
Study the following sentence patterns.
| Ako si Ralph. | I + si + Ralph. I am Ralph. |
| Ikaw si Sarah. | You + si + Sarah. (You Sarah.) |
| Si Sarah ka. | Si + Sarah + you. You are Sarah. |
| Siya si Mr. Tolentino. | He + si + Mr. Tolentino. He is Mr. Tolentino. |
Here are some examples of sentences with possessive pronouns. The pronouns ko, mo, and niya always follow the word they modify—pangalan (name), in this case.
| Ralph ang pangalan ko. | Ralph + ang + name + my. My name is Ralph. |
| Sarah ang pangalan mo. | Sarah + ang + name + your. Your name is Sarah. |
| Mr. Tolentino ang pangalan niya. | Mr. Tolentino + ang + name + niya + his. His name is Mr. Tolentino. |
Let us learn words we can use to form sentences with plural subject pronouns.
| mga (pronounced)/mɐ'ŋa/) | (used to make any common noun plural) |
| pangalan | name |
| mga pangalan | names |
| sina | subject marker for plural proper nouns |
| at | and |
| sina Ralph at Melissa | sina + Ralph + and + Melissa |
To illustrate the difference between the plural pronouns kami (exclusive) and tayo (inclusive), let us study the following examples.
If Ralph and Melissa are speaking to Mr. Tolentino, they can say:
| Kami sina Ralph at Melissa. | We (the speakers) + sina + Ralph + and + Melissa. We are Ralph and Melissa. |
| Tayo sina Ralph, Melissa, at Mr. Tolentino. | We (the speakers + person being addressed) + sina + Ralph + Melissa + and + Mr. Tolentino.We are Ralph, Melissa, and Mr. Tolentino. |
QUESTION AND ANSWER PRACTICE
Answer and ask questions.
1. Question: Ano ang pangalan mo?
Answer: ___________________ ang ___________________ ko.
2. Question: Sino siya?
Answer: Siya si _____________________________________________.
3. Question: Ano _______________________________________________?
Answer: Mr. Tolentino ang pangalan niya.
4. Question: Ano ang ____________________ mo?
Answer: Ako si Sarah.
Introducing Another Person and Common Greetings
Now, let us study three things: common greetings, saying something about yourself/others, and introducing people.
Study the following words, phrases, and sentences to prepare for next dialogue.
| ito | this |
| Ito si… | this is … |
| Ito si Ralph. | This + si + Ralph. This is Ralph. |
| maganda | beautiful; good |
| magandang | contraction of maganda + na |
| gabi | evening |
| Magandang gabi! | Good + LINKER + gabi + evening. Good evening! |
| Magandang gabi po! | Good + LINKER + gabi + evening + po! |
| Good evening! | |
| din/rin | also; too |
| Magandang gabi rin. | Good + LINKER + evening + too. Good evening too. |
| estudyante | student |
| Estudyante siya. | Student + she. She is a student. |
At the same party, Ralph meets Melissa, a student studying at the university of the Philippines. Melissa was brought to the party by her cousin, Sarah. Sarah is introducing Melissa to Ralph.
SARAH : Melissa, ito si Ralph. Ralph, si Melissa. Estudyante siya. Melissa, this is Ralph. Ralph, Melissa. She is a student.
MELISSA : Magandang gabi po. Good evening.
RALPH : Magandang gabi rin, Melissa. Good evening too, Melissa.
Practice the dialogue above.
GRAMMAR AND CULTURE TIP (The letters D And R): The words din and rin can be used to mean “also.” The meaning of these words are exactly the same, but we use din when the preceding word ends with a consonant, and we use rin when the preceding word ends with a vowel. The interchangeability of letters “d” and “r” can be traced to the indigenous script baybayin, where these letters used the same symbol.
VOCABULARY
Here are other words you can use in greetings:
| Magandang umaga! | Good morning! |
| Magandang tanghali! | Good noon! (literally) |
| Magandang hapon! | Good afternoon! |
| Magandang araw! | Good day! |
PRACTICE EXERCISE
Study the following situations below. Note the time of day and the age or status of the person you are meeting. Greet this person.
1. You meet your classmate. It is 10:00 in the morning.
You say: _______________________________________________________!
2. You meet your friend, who is about your age. It is 12:10 noon.
You say: _______________________________________________________!
3.