How a Tagalog Sentence Works

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How a Tagalog Sentence Works

The Tagalog sentence is composed of subject and predicate. The subject can be a person, animal, thing, place or event. For example:

Nag-aalaga/ din/ ng mga bata/ ang katulong sa kanilang bahay.
Takes care /also /of the children /the maid in their house.
(The maid in their house also takes care of the children.)

The subject may also be the object of the verb in the sentence. For example:
Pinatulog niya / sa kanyang bahay/ ang kanyang mga kaibigan.
He let sleep / in his house / his friends.
(He let his friends sleep in his house.)

In the first example, the subject "the maid" (ang katulong) does the action in the verb "nag-aalaga" (takes care of). In the second example, the subject is "his friends" (ang mga kaibigan). This is the object of the verb "to let sleep" (Pinatulog).

Meanwhile, the Tagalog sentence predicate gives knowledge or information about the topic or subject of the sentence. Tagalog sentences have different types of predicates. These are as follows:

Noun Predicate
Manggang hinog /ang gusto niyang kainin.
Ripe mangoes/ are what he wants to eat.
(He wants to eat green mangoes.)
Tungkol sa nagdadalagang binabae /ang pelikulang iyon.
About a gay's growing up into maidenhood / that movie is.
(That movie is about a gay's coming of age.)

Pronoun Predicate
Ako/ ang nakakaalam sa mga papeles.
I am /the one /who knows about the documents.
(I am the one who knows about the documents. Or, Me, I know about the documents.)
Sila na aming kapitbahay/ ang may gawa ng kapalpakang ito.
They, who are our neighbors,/ are the ones/ who created this mess.
(Our neighbors, they created this mess.)

Adjective Predicate
Napakaalat /ng adobo.
Too salty /the adobo
(The adobo is too salty.)
Maaliwalas sa mata /ang berdeng-berdeng kapaligiran.
Soothing to the eyes /the very green surroundings.
(The very green surroundings soothes the eyes.)

Verb Predicate
Naglalaro/ ang mga bata.
Playing /the children.
(The children are playing.)
Naghahabi sa kanilang tahanan /ang mga T-boli.
Weaving in their houses /the T-bolis.
(The T-bolis are weaving in their houses.)

Gerund, Infinitive or Participle
Manood ng sine/ ang hilig niya mula pa noong siya'y tinedyer.
Watching a movie/ his fondness since he was a teenager.
(He's been fond of watching movies since he was a teenager.)
Pangingisda /ang libangan niya sa baryo.
Fishing/ his leisure activity in the barrio.
(Fishing is his leisure activity in the barrio.)

Adverbials
Mamaya pa darating /ang balikbayan.
arriving a bit later / the balikbayan .
(The balikbayan will arrive a bit later)
Ganito /ang pagsasalita sa harap ng maraming tao.
This is how/ the speaking in front of many people.
(This is how to speak in front of many people)

Knowing the focus of the source text (English) is crucial in translation to avoid a change in meaning or a mistranslation. The final Tagalog Sentence should sound natural following Tagalog set rules of syntax.

Practice Your English

Office
Hello, sino po sila
Hello, who's calling please
Sandali lang po
Just a moment please
Telepono po
Telephone call for you [sir/ma'am]

Street
Puwede po bang magtanong?
Can you help me please?
Saan po ba dito yung bahay ni Aling Ada?
Which is Aling Ada's house?
Puwede po ba ninyo akong samahan doon?
Will you take me there?

Home
Tao po!
Hello! Anybody home?
Tuloy po kayo.
Come in.
Maupo po kayo.
Sit down please.
Ano pong kailangan nila?
What do you need?

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How a Tagalog Sentence Works