Easy Tagalog. Joi Barrios
can also mean on or at)
MELISSA : Nakita mo ba si Muning? Have you seen Muning?
SARAH : Oo. Nasa komedor siya. Yes. She is in the dining room.
MELISSA : Nasaan siya? Where is she?
SARAH : Nasa ilalim siya ng mesa. She is under the table.
VOCABULARY
Study the words for furniture and rooms of a house.
| bahay | house |
| sala | living room |
| komedor/silid-kainan | dining room |
| kuwarto | bedroom/room |
| kusina | kitchen |
| banyo | bathroom |
| hardin | garden |
| garahe | garage |
| mesa | table |
| silya | chair |
| kama | bed |
| sofa | sofa |
GRAMMAR
Study the following sentences that talk about members of the family and where they are in the house.
| Nasa kusina ang tatay ko. | My father is in the kitchen. |
| Nasa garahe ang kuya ko. | My elder brother is in the garage. |
| Nasa hardin ang alagang aso ko. | My pet dog is in the garden. |
You can practice asking questions to the answers above:
| Nasaan ang [insert noun, for example, tatay] mo? | Where is your father? |
| Nasaan si [insert proper noun, for example, Muning]? | Where is Muning? |
QUESTION AND ANSWER PRACTICE
Now, use the following cues to ask and answer questions. Refer to the vocabulary words above. When asked a nasaan (where) question, you should start your answer with the word nasa.
mother – bedroom
elder sister – bathroom
grandfather – living room
cat – kitchen
aunt – dining room
1. Question:Nasaan ang nanay mo?
Answer: Nasa ___________________ ang ___________________ ko.
2. Question: ___________________ ang ate mo?
Answer: ___________________ ang _________________ ko.
3. Question: Nasaan ang lolo mo?
Answer:____________________________________________________.
4. Question: ____________________________________________________?
Answer: Nasa kusina ang pusa ko.
5. Question: ____________________________________________________?
Answer: ____________________________________________________.
VOCABULARY AND CULTURE TIP (Loanwords) Many Tagalog words were influenced by Spanish words because of 300 years of Spanish colonial rule (1560–1898). If you have a knowledge of Spanish, you will see that many of the words in the vocabulary lists were derived from Spanish.
Around the House
In the earlier dialogue, you studied nasa ilalim (under). Now, let us practice the use of other prepositions in the following dialogue.
MELISSA : Nasaan ang cat food? Where is the cat food?
SARAH : Nasa loob ng cabinet ng kusina ang cat food. Nakita mo ba ang libro ko? The cat food is inside the kitchen cabinet. Have you seen my book?
MELISSA : Nasa kuwarto ko ang libro mo. Nasa loob ng bag ko. Your book is in my room. It is in(side) my bag.
VOCABULARY
Study the following words that indicate location:
| nasa loob | inside/In |
| nasa labas | outside |
| nasa ibabaw | on top of |
| nasa itaas | above/top part |
| nasa ilalim | under |
| nasa ibaba | below/lower part |
In English, we use prepositions such as in, at, and on. In Tagalog, we simply pair nasa with other words to indicate location. See how the words above are used in the following sentences:
| Nasa loob ng bag ko ang libro. | My book is in/inside my bag. |
| Nasa loob ng bahay ang nanay ko. | My mother is inside the house. |
| Nasa labas ng bahay ang aso. | The dog is outside the house. |
| Nasa ibabaw ng mesa ang lapis. | The pencil is on top of/on the table. |
| Nasa ilalim ng silya ang pusa. | The cat is under the chair. |
| Nasa itaas ng bahay ang attic. | The attic is at the top part the house. |
| Nasa ibaba ng bahay ang basement. | The basement is below/at the lower part of the house. |
QUESTION AND ANSWER PRACTICE
Ask and answer questions using the cues given below.
grandmother – inside bathroom
cat – on the bed
punchbowl – above the refrigerator
cereal – inside the kitchen cabinet
nook – under the table
TV antenna – above/top part the house
laundry area – below/lower part of the house
1. Question: Nasaan ang lola mo?
Answer: Nasa loob ng banyo ang lola ko.
2. Question: Nasaan ang pusa?
Answer: Nasa _________________ ng _________________ ang pusa.
3. Question: Nasaan ang __________________________?
Answer:____________________________________________________.
4.