Vocabulary
lamesa
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table
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ilaw
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light (lamp)
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pintô
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door
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kalsada
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street
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Inglés
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English (language)
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Grammar
In English we often add tag-questions to the end of sentences, for example, the “isn’t it?” at the end of “That is Mary, isn’t it?” This is also very common in Tagalog, so let’s see how this is done.
Di ba with Positive Statements
With positive statements, just add hindi ba or its abbreviation di ba to the end. Di ba is much more common, so we will use it from now on.
Positive statement, di ba? (Tag.) = Positive statement, right? (Eng.)
Ex: Guro si Joe, di ba?
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= Joe is a teacher, isn’t he?
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Ex: Mainit po ang kalsada, di po ba?
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= The road is hot, isn’t it? (resp.) Notice there are two phrases, so po is needed twice.
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Ex: Ito ang lamesa mo, di ba?
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= This is your table, right?
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You have already learned how to answer these. Here are some samples.
Agreeing ans: Oo, guro si Joe.
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= Yes, Joe is a teacher.
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Disagreeing ans: Hindi. Hindi guro si Joe.
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= No. Joe is not a teacher.
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You can add di ba to the beginning of a sentence and it is still considered to be a tag-question in Tagalog.
Ex: Di ba guro si Joe?
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= Isn’t Joe a teacher?
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But it is more common to put it on the end, so we will do that from now on.
No with Negative Statements
With negative statements, just add ano or its abbreviation no to the end. No is much more common, so we will use it from now on.
Negative statement, no? (Tag.) = Negative statement, right? (Eng.)
Ex: Hindi guro si Joe, no?
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= Joe is not a teacher, is he?
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Ex: Hindi mainit ang kalsada, no?
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= The road is not hot, is it?
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Ex: Hindi ito ang lamesa mo, no?
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= This is not your table, right?
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Here are some sample answers:
Agreeing ans: Oo, hindi guro si Joe.
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= Yes, Joe is not a teacher.
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Disagreeing ans: Hindi, guro si Joe.
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= No, Joe is a teacher.
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Unlike di ba, you cannot add no to the beginning of sentences to make tag questions.
Sample sentences
Q1
That is our (incl.) beautiful table, isn't it?
Yun ang maganda nating lamesa, di ba?
Q2
Joshua is not happy here, is he?
Hindi masaya si Joshua dito, no?
Q3
You like a lot of lights in the house, don't you?
Mahilig ka sa maraming ilaw sa bahay, di ba?
Q4
You (pl.) were not worried on the fourth of April, were you?
Hindi kayo nag-alala nung ikaapat ng Abril, no?
Q5
Yes. We (incl.) are already studying English, aren't we? (resp.)
Opo. Nag-aaral na po tayo ng Ingles, di po ba?
Q6
He will give a door to the man tomorrow, right?
Magbibigay siya ng pinto sa lalaki bukas, di ba?
Q7
Mark likes Jessica, doesn't he?
Gusto ni Mark si Jessica, di ba?
Q8
They did not bicycle in the street in the year 1907, right?
Hindi sila nagbisikleta sa kalsada nung taong isang libo, siyam na raan at pito no?
Q9
Yes. You will look for chickens for 15 seconds, not ten, right?
Oo. Maghahanap ka ng manok nang labinlimang segundo, hindi sampu, di ba?
Q10
I am not putting a basketball on the table, am I?
Hindi ako naglalagay ng basketbol sa lamesa, no?
Drills - Lesson 18