Facts about the Standard Sentence
In this book we have defined what we call the “standard sentence” in order to help in explaining Tagalog grammar. Here are some facts about it:
Standard Sentence = Verb + Actor + Object + X
Actor, Object and X are called “complements”
X may be an IO, cause, directional complement, benefactor or reference, depending on the focus and variant.
The forms (ang/ng/sa) of the complements are summarized in this table:
Form PatternFormactorobjectXAFangngsaOFngangsaOtherngngangTable 3: The Three Form Patterns for Standard Sentences
The order of the complements is as shown in the standard sentence equation above (actor, object, x), with a few notable exceptions which are mentioned in the word order lesson.
Which Complements are Required in a Standard Sentence?
Let’s define a complete sentence as one that has, as a minimum, a verb, focus, and any additional complements noted in the variant. For example:
Ex: Naglaro si Angel ng basketbol. = Angel played basketball.
This is a complete sentence because the verb, maglaro, is AF(O), meaning a verb (naglaro), actor (Angel) and object (basketbol) are required. Most of the time complete sentences express a complete thought, or stand on their own. But sometimes incomplete sentences do too:
Ex: Naglaro si Angel sa eskwelahan. = Angel played at school.
This sentence is incomplete because it is missing an object, but it stands on its own. Incomplete sentences can be almost anything. For example, if you ask what Angel played, they could answer:
Ex: Basketbol. = Basketball.
This is just an object, but it is a valid sentence. On the other hand, it does not stand on its own. If you walk up to someone and say “basketball”, they would probably be confused. We use both complete and incomplete sentences in the lessons.
The take away from this section is that there really is no minimum requirement for a standard sentence, but if you need it to stand on its own, your safest bet is to use a complete one.
More on Complements – Definite vs Indefinite
Let’s translate the sentence “The man will put a/the glass on the table” in AF, OF and DF:
Ex: Maglalagay ang lalaki ng baso sa lamesa. = The man will put a glass on the table.
Ex: Ilalagay ng lalaki ang baso sa lamesa. = A/the man will put the glass on the table.
Ex: Lalagyan ng lalaki ng baso ang lamesa. = A/the man will put a glass on the table.
You may be wondering when to translate to “a” and when to translate to “the” in English. Here are the rules for ang/ng/sa when they mark complements in standard sentences:
Ang is always definite, so ang lalaki is “the man”.
Ng is almost always indefinite when it marks an object. So ng baso is “a glass” above. There are a few exceptions, like ng totoo (the truth) and ng Tagalog (Tagalog). But in general, do not use possessive phrases, personal pronouns, demonstrative pronouns or proper nouns as objects in standard sentences if they are ng form.
Ng can be definite or indefinite when it marks an actor. So ng lalaki is “a man” or “the man” above.
Sa is always definite, and normally contains a preposition, so sa lamesa is “on the table”.
Here are some helpful points for translating articles:
The definite article is “the”.
The indefinite articles are “a”, “an”. “Some” is normally used for uncountable nouns. For example, the complement ng tubig would normally translate to “some water”, ng adobo would normally translate to “some adobo”, etc.
Some proper nouns do not require “the/a/an”. For example, the complement ang/ng Tagalog would just translate to “Tagalog”, ang/ng Maynila would just translate to “Manila”, etc.
Extra: Which Focuses can create Standard Sentences?
Here is an expansion of Table 3 for all focuses and variants used in this book. I also listed the focuses not covered in the book, so that you could see how flexible the standard sentence is.
Focus
Pos 1
Pos 2
Pos 3
Pos 4
Pos 5
Standard?
AF(DO)
v
a/ang
o/ng
io/sa
yes
AF(O)
v
a/ang
o/ng
yes
AF(D)
v
a/ang
dc/sa
yes
AF(I)
v
a/ang
c/sa
yes
OF(DO)
v
a/ng
o/ang
io/sa
yes
OF(O)
v
a/ng
o/ang
yes
DF(DO)
v
a/ng
o/ng
io/ang
yes
DF(D)
v
a/ng
dc/ang
yes
BF
v
a/ng
o/ng
b/ang
yes
RFF
v
a/ng
rf/ang
yes
LF
v
a/ng
o/ng
io/sa
l/ang
no
A2F
v
a/ng
o/ng
io/sa
2a/ang
no
*MF
m adv
v/ang
a/ng
no
*RF
v
a/ng
o/ng
r/ang
yes
*IF
v
a/ng
o/ng
i/ang
yes
*CF
v
a/ng
o/ng
c/ang
yes
Table 7: Form Patterns for All Focuses
*Focus not covered in this book.
KEY:
pos
position
m adv
measurement adverb
ang
ang form
dc
directional complement
ng
ng form
c
cause
sa
sa form
b
beneficiary
v
verb
rf
reference
a
actor
r
reservation
o
object
i
instrument
io
indirect object
l
location
standard
standard sentence
2a
2nd actor
Notice that there are only three focuses that cannot create standard sentences (LF, A2F and MF), and these are not very common.