Vocabulary
ulán
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rain
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alám
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knowledge
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alám ko
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I know
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hindî ko alám
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I do not know
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Grammar
In this lesson we will further clarify some of the pronouns in Appendix A that are quite different from English. We will also look some usages of the noun alam.
Tayo/Natin/Sa Atin vs Kami/Namin/Sa Amin
In Tagalog when someone says “we” or “us”, the speaker must clarify if they are included.
Tayo/natin/sa atin = me, you and possibly some other people in ang/ng/sa forms respectively = we (inclusive) or we (incl.) for short.
Kami/namin/sa amin = me and at least one other person but not you in ang/ng/sa forms respectively = we (exclusive) or we (excl.) for short.
Ex: Nakita natin ang ulan.
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= We (you and I) saw the rain.
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Ex: Nakita namin ang ulan.
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= We (a friend and I) saw the rain.
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Ito/Nito vs Iyan/Niyan vs Iyon/Niyon vs Yun/Non
In Tagalog when you say “this” it means something next to the speaker. Formally, when you say “that”, you must specify if it is something next to the listener or something far from both the speaker and listener:
Ito/nito = this, close to the speaker in ang/ng form respectively.
Iyan/niyan = that, close to the listener in ang/ng form respectively.
Iyon/niyon = that, far from both the speaker and listener in ang/ng form respectively.
However, in colloquial speech iyan/niyan and iyon/niyon normally reduce to yan/nyan and yun/non respectively (ito is sometimes reduced to to, but this is less common, so we use ito in the book). Furthermore, the distinction between near and far is often ignored (for example, you will hear yun instead of yan and vice versa). Because they are more common than yan/nyan, we will only use yun/non in this book for the ang/ng forms of “that”.
Ex: Maganda ito.
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= This is pretty.
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Ex: Mabilis yun.
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= That is fast.
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Ex: Kakain ka ba non?
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= Will you eat that?
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Dito/Rito vs Diyan/Riyan vs Doon/Roon vs Dun
Dito/diyan/doon is technically the sa form of ito/iyan/iyon, but “here/there/there” is usually a more accurate definition for it than “this/that/that”. Formally, when you say “there”, you must specify if it is something next to the listener or something far from both the speaker and listener. R is supposed to be used instead of d when it follows a vowel:
Dito/rito = here, close to the speaker.
Diyan/riyan = there, close to the listener.
Doon/roon = there, far from both the speaker and listener.
For the same reasons given in the previous section, only dito is used for “here”, and only dun is used for “there”.
Ex: Mainit dito.
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= It is hot here.
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Ex: Mainit dun.
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= It is hot there.
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Ka/Mo/Sa Iyo vs Kayo/Ninyo/Sa Inyo vs Ikaw
“You” in Tagalog is quite different from English because there are different forms depending on whether you mean singular, plural, informal or respectful.
Ka/mo/sa iyo = you (informal singular) in ang/ng/sa form respectively.
Kayo/ninyo/sa inyo = you (plural) or you (respectful singular) in ang/ng/sa form respectively.
Ex: Hinahanap mo ba ang aso niya?
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= Are you looking for her dog?
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Ex: Hinahanap ba ninyo ang aso niya?
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= Are you (pl) looking for her dog?
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Ex: Hinahanap po ba ninyo ang aso niya?
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= Are you (resp. plural or singular) looking for her dog?
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That is not all. There are certain sentence structures that require the use of ikaw, which (along with ka) is an informal singular ang form of you. These are usually sentences in which “you” comes in the beginning. For example, identificational sentences:
Ex: Ikaw ang guro.
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= You are the teacher.
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You will also frequently see ikaw in ay-sentences:
Ex: Ikaw ay maganda.
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= You are pretty.
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And there are exceptions where it does not come first:
Ex: At ikaw?
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= And you? or How about you?
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Alam
Here are some very common usages of alam, which is a noun that roughly means “knowledge”:
Alam ko.
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= I know.
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Alam mo ba ang pangalan niya?
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= Do you know his name?
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Hindi ko alam kung nasaan siya.
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= I do not know where she is.
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For the time being, we will just use alam with an ng form personal pronoun as shown above. The grammar will be explained more thoroughly in a later lesson.
Sample sentences
Q1
Are you the one who made halo-halo outside?
Ikaw ba ang gumawa ng halo-halo sa labas?
Q2
I do not know how many pesos he got.
Hindi ko alam kung ilang piso ang nakuha niya.
Q3
We (excl.) are prohibited from cooking the lechon in the rain.
Bawal naming lutuin ang lechon sa ulan.
Q4
Do not say that twice.
Huwag mo yung sabihin nang dalawang beses.
Q5
Where are you from? Are you the one from Seattle?
Tagasaan ka? Ikaw ba ang taga-Seattle?
Q6
Does he also know the question we (incl.) answered? (resp.)
Alam din po ba niya ang tanong na sinagot natin?
Q7
They were not able to tease me over there yesterday morning.
Hindi pa nila ako puwedeng biruin dun kahapon ng umaga.
Q8
Jasmine and Luis like rain.
Mahilig sina Jasmine at Luis sa ulan.
Q9
Yes. You are the one who needs to learn that.
Oo. Ikaw ang kailangang matuto non.
Q10
Do you know what Mary was able to say for thirty seconds?
Alam mo ba ang nasabi ni Maria nang tatlumpung segundo?
Drills - Lesson 41