Easy Tagalog. Joi Barrios
officer
For natural speech, study the following expressions:
| Talaga? | Really? |
| Ganoon ba? | Is that so? |
Also, review the following linkers and markers.
| na | (sometimes contracted into ng) linker (used to link words) |
| ng | preposition; object marker (used to introduce the object of a sentence; used for common nouns) |
| si | subject marker (used to introduce the subject of a sentence; used for names or proper nouns) |
| ni | possessive and object marker (used to introduce proper nouns) |
Notice the phrase manedyer ng bangko (bank manager) above. Ng is a preposition. It can mean in, on, of, and at. In the example below, it is used to mean “of.” Note that pronouns go immediately after manedyer (manager) and before the preposition. Study the following phrases and sentences:
| manedyer ng bangko | manager + of + bank. bank manager |
| Manedyer ng bangko si Ralph. | Manager + of + bank + si + Ralph.Ralph is a bank manager. |
| Manedyer ka ng bangko. | Manager + you + of + bank.You are a bank manager. |
| Estudyante si Melissa. | Student + si + Melissa. Melissa is a student. |
| Account executive si Sarah sa Orendain Advertising. | Account executive + si + Sarah + at + Orendain Advertising. Sarah is an accountexecutive at Orendain Advertising. |
| Doktor ako. | Doctor + I. I am a doctor. |
QUESTION AND ANSWER PRACTICE
Practice asking and answering questions. The first pairs are there to serve as your guide. If your job/profession was not listed earlier, just use the English word for now. The important thing is to study the structure of the sentence. Remember that we are practicing the question words ano (what) and saan (where).
1. Question: Ano ang trabaho mo?
Answer: Guro ako.
2. Question: Ano ang trabaho ni Mr. Tolentino?
Answer: Abugado siya.
3. Question: Ano ang trabaho ni Melissa?
Answer: ____________________________________________________.
4. Question: ____________________________________________________?
Answer: Nars siya.
5. Question: Ano ang ___________________________________________?
Answer: Kawani siya ng bangko.
6. Question: Ano ang trabaho mo?
Answer: ____________________________________________________.
GRAMMAR: VERBS
In Tagalog, it is important to know root words. With root words, we can use affixes to form verbs, nouns, adjectives, and adverbs. In this chapter we are focusing on root words and the prefix mag- (with its variation nag-) for verbs.
In these examples, study how the verbs nag-aaral (study) and nagtatrabaho (work) are formed and used.
| aral | study (root word) |
| nag- | verb prefix |
| nag- + a + aral | nag + first syllable of root word + root word; study |
| nag-aaral ako | I study |
| Nag-aaral ako sa UCLA. | Study + I + at + UCLA. I study at UCLA. |
| trabaho | work |
| nag + ta + trabaho | nag + first syllable of root word + root word (Rule: when the word has double consonants such as tr in trabaho, r is dropped in the second syllable); work |
| Nagtatrabaho Community Center. | Work + I + at + Filipino Community Center.ako sa Filipino I work at the Filipino Community Center. |
Let us also study three special verbs: naging (became), nag-master’s (studied for a master’s degree) and nag-training (trained). Naging (became) is referred to as an independent verb because it is not formed by a prefix and a root word. Nag-master’s (studied for a master’s degree) and nag-training (trained) are also special because the two words are formed by using the Tagalog prefix nag- and the English words, master’s and train, respectively.
| naging abugado | became + lawyer. |
| Naging abugado ako. | Became + lawyer + I. I became a lawyer. |
| Nagma-master’s ako. | Taking a master’s degree + I.I am taking a master’s degree. |
In the previous chapter, we learned about verb aspects in Tagalog. Completed action can be thought of as the past tense in English, incompleted action as the present tense, and contemplated action as the future tense. The main differences between aspects (completed, incompleted, contemplated) and tenses (past, present, future) lie mainly in the perfect tenses (for example, has/have been, had worked) and the progressive tenses (for example, has/have been working). If it is easier for you to think of verbs using the terms simple past, present, and future tenses, use these terms instead.
There are specific formulas to conjugate verbs in Tagalog. Study the following formulas and how these are used with the root word aral (study).
| Completed(Past) Action | prefix nag- + root wordnag + aral = nag-aral |
| Incompleted(Present) Action | prefix nag- + first syllable of root word + root wordnag- + a + aral = nag-aaral |
| Contemplated(Future) Action | prefix mag- + first syllable of root word + root wordmag- + a + aral = mag-aaral |
Study the following chart:
| Root | Completed | Incompleted | Contemplated |
| aral study | nag-aral studied | nag-aaral studying | mag-aaral will study |
| trabaho work | nagtrabaho worked | nagtatrabaho working | magtatrabaho will work |
| maging to become | naging become | nagiging becoming | magiging will become |
| masters to take a master’s degree (used as a verb) | nag-masters took a master’s degree | nagma-masters taking a master’s degree | magma-masters will take a master’s degree |
| training to train (used as a verb) | nag-training trained | nagte-training training | magte-training will train |