Tagalog Adjectives Are Interchangeable

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). But describing something isn’t limited to just adjectives — Tagalog also lets you describe nouns with verbs and phrases, just like English does.

Vocabulary:

Nouns:

batà → child
babae → woman
titser → teacher
doktór → doctor
artista → artist, celebrity
matatandâ → elders
kamáy → hand
aso → dog
pusà → cat
alagà → pet
tubig → water
gulay → vegetable
almusál → breakfast
kutsilyo → knife
palengke → market

Adjectives:

malamíg → cold
makulít → naughty, mischievous

Verbs:

inóm → drink
kalmót → scratch
tulog → sleep
takbó → run
kain → eat
larô → play
maneho → drive
lutò → cook
gising → wake up
sunód → follow
panoód → watch
kantá → sing
sipilyo → to brush one’s teeth
pahingá → rest
kagát → bite
bilí → buy
kità → see
handâ → prepare
tawag → call, shout one’s name
linis → clean

💡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.

Before we move on to verbs and phrases, here’s something cool: Tagalog adjectives are interchangeable. Aside from the adjective → na → noun construction you learned in the previous lesson, Tagalog allows you to flip the order to noun → na → adjective.

malamíg na tubig
tubig na malamíg

Both phrases are correct, with a slight difference in meaning. The first phrase translates to ‘cold water’ whereas the second translates to ‘water that is cold’. The difference is in emphasis. The first highlights the adjective, the second highlights the noun.

Examples:

Uminóm ako ng malamíg na tubig. → I drank cold water.
Uminóm ako ng tubig na malamíg. → I drank water that is cold.
Nakalmót siya ng makulít na pusà. → He/she was scratched by a mischievous cat.
Nakalmót siya ng pusàng makulít.. → He/she was scratched by a cat that is mischievous.

Pronouns aren’t the only ones that cause shifting of words in a sentence. The adjective-noun construction itself does it too! Flipping adjective-noun to noun-adjective unlocks more ways to describe nouns.

Using Single Verb as Noun Modifier

Connecting verbs and phrases to nouns is the same as connecting adjectives — by using the na/-ng linker particle. We will discuss conjugated verbs and how they translate to English.

the sleeping kid

To translate this to Tagalog, use the ongoing action form of tulog:

ang natutulog na batà → the sleeping kid; the kid who is sleeping
ang batàng natutulog → the kid who is sleeping

Quite straightforward, right? Let’s see some more examples:

ang tumátakbong babae → the running woman; the woman who is running
ang babaeng tumátakbo → the woman who is running
ang kumakain na aso → the dog that is eating
ang asong kumakain → the dog that is eating
ang mga naglálarong batà → the children who are playing
ang mga batàng naglálarò → the children who are playing

Quick Note on English Translations

Using verbs as modifiers in English is quite limited. Verbs like running or sleeping fit well in this construction but most English verbs in present tense require the use of relative clauses to get the point across. Using verbs like reading or playing will sound weird.

the running woman ✅
the woman who is running ✅
the sleeping kid ✅
the kid who is sleeping ✅

the eating dog ❌ → the dog that is eating ✅
the playing children ❌ → the children who are playing ✅
the reading student ❌ → the student who is reading ✅

In Tagalog, you just connect the verb to the noun with the na/-ng linker particle.

Proper Nouns

When modifying proper nouns, you still use si and sina focus markers:

ang nagmámanehong si Jane → Jane who is driving
si Jane na nagmámaneho → Jane who is driving
ang naglulutong sina Adam at Jaime → Adam and Jamie who are cooking
sina Adam at Jaime na naglulutò → Adam and Jamie who are cooking

Let’s now use what we’ve learned in a sentence.

Examples:

Ginising ng titser ang natutulog na batà. → The teacher woke up the sleeping kid.
Ginising ng titser ang batàng natutulog. → The teacher woke up the kid who is sleeping.
Sumúsunod ang alagà sa tumátakbong babae. → The pet is following the running lady.
Sumúsunod ang alagà sa babaeng tumátakbo. → The pet is following the lady who is running.
Pinápanood ng mga matatandâ ang mga naglálarong batà. → The elders are watching the kids that are playing.
Pinápanood ng mga matatandâ ang mga batang naglálarò. → The elders are watching the kids that are playing.
Kumákanta ang nagmamanehong si Jane. → Jane, who is driving, is singing.
Kumákanta si Jane na nagmamaneho. → Jane, who is driving, is singing. (kinda awkward to say)

Completed Action and Upcoming Action

Describing nouns with verbs doesn’t stop at using the ongoing action form, you can also use the completed action and upcoming action form.

Examples:

Nagsipilyo ang matutulog na batà. → The child, who is about to sleep, is brushing his teeth.
Nagsipilyo ang batàng matutulog. → The child, who is about to sleep, is brushing his teeth.

Uminóm ng tubig na malamíg ang tumatakbóng babae. → The lady who is running drank water.
Uminóm ng malamíg na tubig ang babaeng tumatakbó. → The lady who is running drank water.

Nagpápahinga ang magmamanehong si Jane. → Jane, who will drive, is resting.

For action sentences, the aspect of the verbal adjective is independent of the aspect of the main verb of the sentence.

Nagpapahingá ang magmamanehong si Jane. → Jane, who will drive, is resting.
Magpapahingá ang magmamanehong si Jane. → Jane, who will drive, will rest.
Nagpahingá ang magmamanehong si Jane. → Jane, who will drive, rested.
Nagpapahingá ang nagmanehong si Jane. → Jane, who drove, is resting.
Magpapahingá ang nagmanehong si Jane. → Jane, who drove, will rest.
Nagpahingá ang nagmanehong si Jane. → Jane, who drove, rested.

Using Action Phrases

Aside from single verbs, you can also use whole action phrases as modifiers.

kinagát ng aso → bitten by a dog
kinagát ng aso na doktór → a doctor who was bitten by a dog

It sounds smoother if the phrase follows the noun it modifies. noun → adjective

kinagat ng aso na doktór → a doctor who was bitten by a dog
doktór na kinagat ng aso ✅ → a doctor who was bitten by a dog

binili sa palengke → bought from the market
binili sa palengke na gulay → a vegetable that was bought from the market
gulay na binili sa palengke ✅ → a vegetable that was bought from the market

nakità ko sa TV → I saw on TV
nakità ko sa TV na artista → an artist I saw on TV
artistang nakità ko sa TV ✅ → an artist I saw on TV

naglulutò ng almusál → cooking breakfast
ang naglulutò ng almusál na sina Adam at Jaime → Adam and Jamie who are cooking breakfast
sina Adam at Jaime na naglulutò ng almusál → Adam and Jamie who are cooking breakfast

Examples:

Hinandá niyá ang gulay na binilí sa palengke. → He/she prepared the vegetable that was bought at the market.
Tinawag ko ang artistang nakità ko sa TV. → I called the artist I saw on TV.
Naglilinis ng kamáy ang doktór na kinagát ng aso. → The doctor, who was bitten by a dog, is cleaning (his) hand.
Binilí ko ang kutsilyong nakità ko sa TV. → I bought the knife I saw on TV.

Moving the Modifying Phrase at the End of the Sentence.

There are instances where the phrase modifying the noun is so long that it would make a sentence less understandable. Let’s see what I mean by that:

Nakità ko ang artista sa Makati. → I saw the artist in Makati. (This just our basic sentence structure)
Nakità ko ang artistang nakità ko sa TV sa Makati. → I saw the artist I saw on TV, in Makati. (When a phrase modifies a noun, the sentence feels heavy in the middle)

Since Tagalog word order is flexible, it would make sense to shift the participants in such a way that the modifying phrase is placed at the end of the sentence.

Nakità ko sa Makati ang artista. → I saw the artist in Makati.
Nakità ko sa Makati ang artistang nakità ko sa TV. → I saw the artist I saw on TV, in Makati. (much smoother)

Conclusion

Now you can describe nouns not just with adjectives but also with verbs and whole phrases! It might look complicated at first — especially with longer sentences — but the construction still follows the same simple action patterns you’ve already learned.

Up next, we’ll dive into ownership and how to express it in Tagalog.