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Tagalog Lite Lesson 53 – More, Most, Very; Mas, Pinaka, Sobra, Gustong-gusto

Vocabulary
mas
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more
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*lalò
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more
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*higít
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more
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kaysa
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than
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pínaka-
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most
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sobra
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very
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*nápaka-
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very
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*These words will not be used in the sample sentences.
Grammar
This lesson will cover the Tagalog versions of the comparative (“more” or “-er” in English), superlative (“most” or “-est” in English) and intensifier (“very” in English).
More: Mas
Mas is an adverb that roughly means “more” or “-er”. We will use it before adjectives or pseudo verbs:
Ex: Mas mura ang pagkain.
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= The food is cheaper.
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Ex: Kumain siya nang mas marami.
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= She ate more.
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Ex: Mas gusto ko ang mabilis na sasakyan.
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= I like the fast car more.
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Lalo (adv) and higit (adv) can also be used to express “more”:
Ex: Lalong lumalaki ang anak niya.
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= Her child is getting even more big.
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Ex: Higit sa sandaan.
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= More than one hundred.
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But they have special usages and are less common than mas, so we will not use them any further. You can make “more than” statements using kaysa:
Mas + phrase1 + kaysa + phrase2. (Tag.) = Phrase1 is more than phrase2. (Eng.)
Notes: Phrase1 starts with an adjective or pseudo verb. Phrase2 takes sa form.
Ex: Mas mabilis si David kaysa kay Joe.
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= David is faster than Joe.
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Ex: Mas masaya na babae si Analyn kaysa kay Jasmine.
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= Analyn is a happier woman than Jasmine.
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Ex: Mas gusto kong magbisikleta kaysa sa magmaneho.
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= I like to bicycle more than to drive.
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These comparisons can also be buried within a sentence:
Ex: Kukunin ni David ang mga mangga nang mas mabilis kaysa kay Joe.
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= David will get the mangoes faster than Joe.
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Most: Pinaka-
The prefix pinaka- is added to adjectives to create the meaning of “most” or “-est”.
Ex: Gusto ko ang pinakamura na bisikleta.
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= I want the cheapest bicycle.
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Ex: Si Jessica ang pinakamagandang babae.
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= The prettiest woman is Jessica.
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Ex: Lumaki siya nang pinakamabilis.
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= He grew up the fastest.
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Very Adjective: Sobra
As a noun, sobra means “excess”. As an adjective, it means “excessive” or “so”. As an adverb it means “excessively”, and colloquially, although it is not a direct translation, it is the most common way to express “very”.
Ex: Sobrang mura ang bisikleta.
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= The bicycle is very cheap.
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Ex: Lumaki siya nang sobrang bilis.
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= He grew up very fast.
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To apply this to a name, it must take ng form:
Sobrang + adj root + linker + noun + name. = Name is a very adj noun.
Note: Name takes ng form.
Ex: Sobrang gandang babae ni Jessica.
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= Jessica is a very beautiful woman.
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Notice that the adjective root is the host, so if we turn the name into a pp:
Ex: Sobrang ganda niyang babae.
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= She is a very beautiful woman.
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Sobra can be used as an adverb of manner with a verb:
Ex: Kumakain sila nang sobra.
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= They are eating too/very much.
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Ex: Lumaki siya nang sobra.
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= He grew up too/very much.
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But we will not use it that way, since a different adverb is normally used.
The prefix napaka- can be added to roots to create adjectives with the direct translation of “very”.
Ex: Napakamura ang bisikleta.
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= The bicycle is very cheap.
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Ex: Napakagandang babae ni Jessica.
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= Jessica is a very beautiful woman. (Note that, like with sobra, Jessica takes ng form.)
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Ex: Lumaki siya nang napakabilis.
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= He grew up very fast.
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But these are less common, and to be consistent, we will only use sobra for “very” adjective.
Very Pseudo Verb: Gustong-gusto
Sobra can be used for pseudo verbs too, but the most common way to express “very” for pseudo verbs is to repeat them:
pv + linker + pv (Tag.) = very pv (Eng.)
Note: If the linker ends in g, join the pseudo verbs with a dash.
Ex: Gustong-gusto ko ang Pilipinas.
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= I like the Philippines very much.
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Ex: Puwedeng-puwede kami kumain ng lechon.
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= We (excl.) are very able to eat lechon.
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Ex: Bawal na bawal magmaneho sa eskwelahan.
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= It is very much prohibited to drive in school.
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It is also possible to do this with adjectives:
Ex: Pagod na pagod ang lalaki.
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= The man is very tired.
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Ex: Magandang-magandang babae ni Jessica.
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= Jessica is a very beautiful woman. (Note that, like with sobra, Jessica takes ng form.)
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Ex: Lumaki siya nang mabilis na mabilis.
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= He grew up very fast.
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But this is a bit less common than sobra, so we will not use it for adjectives.
Sample sentences
Q1
Yes, she is more entertaining, but she is not that fast.
Oo, mas nakakatuwa siya, pero hindi siya ganun kabilis.
Q2
I want to watch TV more than to be president.
Mas gusto kong manood ng TV kaysa sa maging pangulo.
Q3
Are Jasmine's ten most annoying companions the same?
Pareho ba ang sampung pinakanakakainis na kasama ni Jasmine?
Q4
The kid is as fast as the very tired chicken.
Kasing bilis ng sobrang pagod na manok ang bata.
Q5
She very much likes what is happening due to the rain.
Gustong-gusto niya ang nangyayari dahil sa ulan.
Q6
It seems they were more focused when they went for a walk outside.
Parang mas nakatutok sila nung namasyal sila sa labas.
Q7
Luis is scarier than Analyn and Diego.
Mas nakakatakot si Luis kaysa kina Analyn at Diego.
Q8
My favorite work is like this.
Ganito ang pinakagusto kong trabaho.
Q9
Mark is only shopping for very cheap shoes.
Namimili lang si Mark ng sobrang murang sapatos.
Q10
You really need to buy chocolate for my wife!
Kailangang-kailangan mong bumili ng tsokolate para sa asawa ko!
Drills - Lesson 53

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