In the last lesson, we explored what Tagalog adjectives are and how they connect to the nouns they modify. Using the na/-ng linker particle, we can say ‘mabilís na sasakyán’ (a fast vehicle), or ‘magandáng babae’ (a beautiful lady). When an adjective modifies a noun, the resulting phrase is called a noun phrase. You can read more about noun phrases on this page. Now let’s use these noun phrases to attribute it to something or someone.
Vocabulary:
Nouns:
- lalaki → man
- babae → woman, lady
- estudyante → estudyante
- arkitekto → architect
- kápitbahay → neighbor
- isdâ → fish
- pagkain → food
- aso → dog
- elepante → elephant
- hayop → animal
- sasakyán → vehicle
- buwán → moon, month
- Enero → January
Adjectives:
- mabilís → fast
- magandá → beautiful, pretty
- malakí → big
- masustánsiya → nutritious
- malamíg → cold
- matibay → sturdy
- masayá → happy
- masipag → hardworking, diligent, industrious
- mabaít → good, kind
- matangkád → tall
- puyát → sleep-deprived
💡BEFORE WE START: The term Tagalog used extensively in this guide refers to the variety spoken in Metro Manila. This variety is part of the broader Filipino/Tagalog umbrella that also includes Batangas and Quezon Tagalog, both of which retain more of the older, original Tagalog from history. This guide only covers the informal Filipino/Tagalog (or Taglish) used in everyday Metro Manila speech.
Attributing the Noun Phrase to a Common Noun
Using the noun phrase to describe a common noun is quite straightforward. To say that an elephant is malakí (big):
- Malakí ang elepante. → The elephant is big.
To say that an elephant is a big animal, follow the construction you have learned in the last lesson:
- Malakíng hayop ang elepante. → The elephant is a big animal.
For inverted sentences, the same rules apply:
- Ang elepante ay malakí. → The elephant is big.
- Ang elepante ay malakíng hayop. → The elephant is a big animal.
More examples:
- Mabilís na sasakyán ang Tesla. → Tesla is a fast car.
- Masustansiyang pagkain ang isdâ. → Fish is a nutritious food.
- Malamig na buwán ang Enero. → January is a cold month.
- Ang iPhone ay matibay na phone. → iPhones are sturdy phones.
- Ang mga Dela Cruz ay masasayang kápitbahay. → The Dela Cruzes are joyful neighbors.
Attributing the Noun Phrase to a Name
Names of people and pets also follow the same rules. Instead of ang and ang mga, use si and sina. To say that Ryujin is beautiful:
- Magandáng babae si Ryujin. → Ryujin is a beautiful lady.
- Si Ryujin ay magandáng babae. → Ryujin is a beautiful lady.
Examples:
- Masisipag na mga estudyante sina John at Patrick. → John and Patrick are hardworking students.
- Mabaít na aso si Bantay. → Bantay is a gentle dog.
Attributing the Noun Phrase to a Pronoun
Using noun phrases on pronouns works quite differently. As you learned in the Tagalog pronouns chapter, pronouns always take the second position in the sentence. Using the above example:
Matangkád na lalaki si Luka. → Luka is a tall man.
If proper noun Luka turns to the pronoun he, the sentence will go like this:
- Matangkád siyang lalaki. → He is a tall man.
As you may have noticed, the pronoun really inserted itself to the second position. Let’s do a play-by-play recap of what happened:
- Matangkád na lalaki si Luka. (The original sentence)
- Matangkád na lalaki (siya). (Luka changed to the pronoun siya)
- Matangkád siya na lalaki. (The pronoun siya inserted itself between the adjective and the na/-ng linker particle)
- Matangkád siyang lalaki. (Siya now goes before the na/-ng linker particle therefore they are combined)
Yeah, pronouns. Some more examples:
- Magandáng babae si Ryujin. → Ryujin is a beautiful lady.
- Magandá siyang babae. → She is a beautiful lady.
- Siya ay magandáng babae.
- Masisipag na mga estudyante sina John at Patrick. → John and Patrick are hardworking students.
- Masisipag silang mga estudyante. → They are hardworking students.
- Sila ay masisipag na mga estudyante.
- Puyát na mga arkitekto si Adrian at si Peter. → Adrian and Peter are sleep-deprived architects.
- Puyát kaming mga arkitekto. → We are sleep-deprived architects.
- Puyát tayong mga arkitekto. → We are sleep-deprived architects.
- Tayo ay mga puyát na arkitekto.
Conclusion
This has been a short one. As you’ve seen, pronouns tend to disrupt the expected order, but with practice you’ll naturally slot them in. In the next lesson, we’ll explore even more ways to describe in Tagalog!