Vocabulary
ba
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question particle
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hindí
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no; not
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po
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formality particle
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oo
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yes
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opó
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yes (formal)
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mabilis
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fast
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Grammar
In this lesson we’ll cover 3 very common words to broaden your ability to make sentences.
Ba
The particle ba is used for asking questions:
Ex: Guro ka ba?
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= Are you a teacher?
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Ans: Oo, guro ako.
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= Yes, I’m a teacher.
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Hindi
You can negate a sentence using hindi, which roughly means no or not.
Ex: Guro ka ba?
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= Are you a teacher?
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Ans: Hindi.
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= No.
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Ans: Hindi ako guro.
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= I’m not a teacher.
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Po/Ho
You can add formality to a sentence by using the particle po or ho. Po is more common, so we’ll use it from now on. When you use po you must also use the plural/formal form of you.
Ex: Guro po ba kayo?
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= Are you a teacher sir?
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Also, oo becomes opo in formal speech.
Ans: Opo, guro po ako.
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= Yes, I’m a teacher ma’am.
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Po, ba and personal pronouns are enclitic, which means they like to attach themselves to certain words, enclitic magnates, in a sentence. Hindi is an enclitic magnate (more about enclitics in a future lesson).
Ex: Hindi po ba kayo guro?
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= Aren’t you a teacher sir?
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Ans: Hindi po. Hindi po ako guro.
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= No ma’am. I’m not a teacher ma’am.
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Predicate and Subject
Let’s do another quick English grammar refresher. Take the sentence
Ex: I am a teacher.
The subject of a sentence is the person/thing that is doing or being something. So in the above sentence, I is the subject. The rest of the sentence, am a Teacher, is called the predicate.
Ex: Guro ako.
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= lit “teacher I” = I am a teacher.
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Predicate = guro
Subject = ako
Summary Notes
ba sentence word order is <predicate, (po)(ba), subject> if there are no pronouns
hindi sentence word order is <hindi, (po)(ba), predicate, subject> if there are no pronouns. If the subject is a pronoun and the predicate isn’t, they trade places.
subjects and predicates take ang-form; the is translated as ang
if the subject or predicate is the pronoun ka, it goes before (po)(ba); if it’s any other pronoun it goes after (po)(ba)
po doesn’t necessarily mean ma’am or sir, so I will just put it in parentheses when I want you to use it, like (po)
that’s not all there is to these 3 words; more to come later.
Sample Sentences
Q1
Is the drink water?
Tubig ba ang inumin?
Q2
Yes, the drink is water.
Oo, tubig ang inumin.
Q3
Isn’t she a student? (po)
Hindi po ba siya estudyante?
Q4
Yes, she’s a student. (po)
Opo, estudyante po siya.
Q5
Are you the teacher? (po)
Kayo po ba ang guro?
Q6
No. Mrs. Diaz is the teacher.
Hindi. Si Mrs. Diaz ang guro.
Q7
Isn’t the building a hospital?
Hindi ba ospital ang gusali?
Q8
Yes. (po)
Opo.
Q9
Is our car fast?
Mabilis ba ang kotse namin?
Q10
Your car isn’t fast.
Hindi mabilis ang kotse ninyo.