Читать книгу Easy Tagalog - Joi Barrios - Страница 8
ОглавлениеCHAPTER 1
How are you?
Kumusta ka?
Ralph Woods, a bank manager on a two-year assignment in Manila for the North American Investment Bank is at a party hosted by one of his Filipino friends. He is meeting Sarah, an advertising company executive.
Introductions
Let us learn about introducing oneself. Here are some words, phrases, and sentences.
| Kumusta ka? | How are you? (informal; derived from the |
| Spanish “Como esta?”) | |
| ka | You (second person singular) |
| Mabuti | Fine. |
| ako | I (first person singular) |
| si | subject marker (This word tells us that the word which follows it is the subject of the sentence. It is used for proper nouns or names.) |
| Ako si Sarah. | I + si + Sarah. I am Sarah. |
| ang | subject marker (This word tells us that the word which follows it is the subject of the sentence. It is used for common nouns.) |
| pangalan ko | name |
| my (first person singular, possessive); | |
| I (first person singular) | |
| Ralph ang pangalan ko. | Ralph + ang + name + my. My name is Ralph. |
| Ikinagagalak | pleased |
| ikinagagalak ko | I am pleased |
| na | linker (used to link words; used here to mean the word “to)” |
| kong | contraction of ko + na |
| makilala | meet |
| Ikinagagalak kong makilala ka. | Pleased + I + na (used for to) + meet + youPleased to meet you. |
DIALOGUE A
Study this dialogue to learn how to introduce yourself in Tagalog.
RALPH : Kumusta ka? How are you?
SARAH : Mabuti. Ako si Sarah. Fine. I am Sarah.
RALPH : Ralph Woods ang pangalan ko. My name is Ralph Woods.
SARAH : Ikinagagalak* kong makilala ka. Pleased to meet you.
RALPH : Ikinagagalak kong makilala ka. Pleased to meet you.
Note: ikinagagalak is pronounced/ikinAgAgA’lak/with the stress on the fourth syllable.
Now practice the dialogue.
SENTENCE CONSTRUCTION
Let’s study the following words and how to formulate questions.
| Sino | Who |
| Sino ka? | Who + you? Who are you? |
| po | honorific; used to show politeness and respect |
| kayo | you (plural) |
| Sino po kayo? | Who + honorific + you? |
| Who are you? (formal; polite) | |
| ano | what |
| Ano ang pangalan mo? | What + ang + name + your? What is your name? |
There is no equivalent of the verb “to be” (are, is) in Tagalog. Thus, if you look at “Sino ka?” the literal translation is just “Who you?” Similarly, the literal translation for Ano ang pangalan mo? is “What marker name your?”
A brief culture note – the question “Sino ka?” is not considered to be polite. Unless you are speaking to someone much younger, it is best to use Sino po kayo?
Let’s study how to answer these questions. One important characteristic of the Tagalog language is flexibility. We can change the order of the sentence. The subject (person, place, thing, or idea of doing something) can come before the predicate (tells something about the subject), or the predicate can come before the subject.
In Tagalog, the predicate–subject order is more commonly used, especially in conversations. The subject–predicate order is considered formal and less common. Thus, it is called an “inverted order” by grammarians.
Here are two ways to construct sentences.
Question: Sino po kayo? Who are you?
| Predicate–Subject | Subject–Predicate | |
| Answers: | Si Sarah ako.Si +Sarah + I. (Sarah I.) | Ako si Sarah.I + si + Sarah. (I Sarah.)I am Sarah. |
Question: Ano ang pangalan mo? What is your name?
| Predicate–Subject | Subject–Predicate | |
| Answers: | Ralph ang pangalan ko.Ralph + ang + name + my. | Ang pangalan ko ay Ralph.Ang + name + my + ay + Ralph.My name is Ralph. |
Note: The word ay—Some learners get confused and think that this is the verb “to be” and is the equivalent of the words am, or is. According to Tagalog grammar, ay is actually a particle (minor function word) that serves as a linker (used to connect the subject and the predicate).
Now, practice asking and answering questions.
QUESTION AND ANSWER PRACTICE
Now, let us practice some of the words you learned by asking and answering questions:
1. Question: Kumusta ka?
Answer: ____________________________________________________.
2. Question: Ano ang pangalan mo?
Answer: ____________________________________________________.
3. Question: ____________________________________________________?
Answer: Mabuti.
4. Question: ____________________________________________________?
Answer: Sarah ang pangalan ko.
LANGUAGE AND CULTURE TIP (Tongue-Twisters): Ikinagagalak kong makilala ka is a tongue-twister. It also sounds very formal. If you forget it, don’t let this bother you. Just plunge into the conversation by saying your name, and then say “Kumusta ka?” You’ll be fine.
Introducing Oneself to an Older Person
At the same party, Ralph later meets Mr. Tolentino, a lawyer. Mr. Tolentino is in his late 40s, and is older than Ralph. Thus, Ralph greets him politely, using the honorific words po and pong, and plural pronouns.
Here are a few words for polite speech and more pronouns.
| pong | contraction of the honorific po + na (linker) |
| ho | honorific; used to show politeness and respect; less formal than po |
| ikaw | you (second person singular; used only either alone or at the beginning of a sentence) |
| kayo | you (second person plural) |
Study how polite language is used.
DIALOGUE B
RALPH : Kumusta po kayo? How are you?
MR. TOLENTINO : Mabuti. Ikaw? Fine. And you?
RALPH : Mabuti po. Ako ho si Ralph. Fine. I am Ralph.
MR. TOLENTINO : Ako si Richard Tolentino. I am Richard Tolentino.
RALPH : Ikinagagalak ko pong makilala kayo. Pleased to meet you.
MR. TOLENTINO : Ikinagagalak kong makilala ka. Pleased to meet you.
Practice using polite language when introducing yourself.
GRAMMAR
Using Honorifics
You have learned two words that express politeness and respect: po and ho. While po is considered to be more formal than ho, these two words are interchangeable in conversations.
In general, po/ho is inserted after the first word of a sentence. For example,
| Ako po si Ralph. | I am Ralph. |
| Ralph po ang pangalan ko. | My name is Ralph. |
| Ano po ang pangalan ninyo? | What is your name? |
However, there are two exceptions.
• First, when the pronoun ko (singular object pronoun I) follows the verb, po is placed after ko. For example, Ikinagagalak ko pong makilala kayo. Pleased to meet you.
• Second, when po follows a set phrase used together, we put po after the full greeting instead of inserting it between magandang and gabi. For example, Magandang gabi po (Good evening po).
Pronouns
In the dialogues above, pronouns were introduced. Here is a chart of subject pronouns and singular possessive pronouns. Other pronouns will be introduced in later chapters.
| 1st person | Singular subject pronouns | Plural subject pronouns | Singular possessive pronouns |
| ako | kami (exclusive) ustayo (inclusive) us or we + you | ko my | |
| 2nd person | Ikaw, ka you | kayo you | mo your |
| 3rd person | siya he/she | sila they | niya your |
Here are some reminders for using Tagalog pronouns:
1. Use ikaw only at the beginning of a sentence. Elsewhere, use ka. They mean the same thing.
2. When using po, use the second person plural pronoun kayo and not ka. For example, “Kumusta po kayo?” and not “Kumusta po ka?”
3. There are two pronouns that are the equivalent of the English first person plural subject pronoun “us.” One is kami. This is called an “exclusive” pronoun because it refers only to the people speaking and not to the person or people being addressed. The second is tayo. This is called an “inclusive” pronoun because it refers to everyone—the people speaking and the people being addressed.
Study the following sentence patterns.
| Ako si Ralph. | I + si + Ralph. I am Ralph. |
| Ikaw si Sarah. | You + si + Sarah. (You Sarah.) |
| Si Sarah ka. | Si + Sarah + you. You are Sarah. |
| Siya si Mr. Tolentino. | He + si + Mr. Tolentino. He is Mr. Tolentino. |
Here are some examples of sentences with possessive pronouns. The pronouns ko, mo, and niya always follow the word they modify—pangalan (name), in this case.
| Ralph ang pangalan ko. | Ralph + ang + name + my. My name is Ralph. |
| Sarah ang pangalan mo. | Sarah + ang + name + your. Your name is Sarah. |
| Mr. Tolentino ang pangalan niya. | Mr. Tolentino + ang + name + niya + his. His name is Mr. Tolentino. |
Let us learn words we can use to form sentences with plural subject pronouns.
| mga (pronounced)/mɐ'ŋa/) | (used to make any common noun plural) |
| pangalan | name |
| mga pangalan | names |
| sina | subject marker for plural proper nouns |
| at | and |
| sina Ralph at Melissa | sina + Ralph + and + Melissa |
To illustrate the difference between the plural pronouns kami (exclusive) and tayo (inclusive), let us study the following examples.
If Ralph and Melissa are speaking to Mr. Tolentino, they can say:
| Kami sina Ralph at Melissa. | We (the speakers) + sina + Ralph + and + Melissa. We are Ralph and Melissa. |
| Tayo sina Ralph, Melissa, at Mr. Tolentino. | We (the speakers + person being addressed) + sina + Ralph + Melissa + and + Mr. Tolentino.We are Ralph, Melissa, and Mr. Tolentino. |
QUESTION AND ANSWER PRACTICE
Answer and ask questions.
1. Question: Ano ang pangalan mo?
Answer: ___________________ ang ___________________ ko.
2. Question: Sino siya?
Answer: Siya si _____________________________________________.
3. Question: Ano _______________________________________________?
Answer: Mr. Tolentino ang pangalan niya.
4. Question: Ano ang ____________________ mo?
Answer: Ako si Sarah.
Introducing Another Person and Common Greetings
Now, let us study three things: common greetings, saying something about yourself/others, and introducing people.
Study the following words, phrases, and sentences to prepare for next dialogue.
| ito | this |
| Ito si… | this is … |
| Ito si Ralph. | This + si + Ralph. This is Ralph. |
| maganda | beautiful; good |
| magandang | contraction of maganda + na |
| gabi | evening |
| Magandang gabi! | Good + LINKER + gabi + evening. Good evening! |
| Magandang gabi po! | Good + LINKER + gabi + evening + po! |
| Good evening! | |
| din/rin | also; too |
| Magandang gabi rin. | Good + LINKER + evening + too. Good evening too. |
| estudyante | student |
| Estudyante siya. | Student + she. She is a student. |
DIALOGUE C
At the same party, Ralph meets Melissa, a student studying at the university of the Philippines. Melissa was brought to the party by her cousin, Sarah. Sarah is introducing Melissa to Ralph.
SARAH : Melissa, ito si Ralph. Ralph, si Melissa. Estudyante siya. Melissa, this is Ralph. Ralph, Melissa. She is a student.
MELISSA : Magandang gabi po. Good evening.
RALPH : Magandang gabi rin, Melissa. Good evening too, Melissa.
Practice the dialogue above.
GRAMMAR AND CULTURE TIP (The letters D And R): The words din and rin can be used to mean “also.” The meaning of these words are exactly the same, but we use din when the preceding word ends with a consonant, and we use rin when the preceding word ends with a vowel. The interchangeability of letters “d” and “r” can be traced to the indigenous script baybayin, where these letters used the same symbol.
VOCABULARY
Here are other words you can use in greetings:
| Magandang umaga! | Good morning! |
| Magandang tanghali! | Good noon! (literally) |
| Magandang hapon! | Good afternoon! |
| Magandang araw! | Good day! |
PRACTICE EXERCISE
Study the following situations below. Note the time of day and the age or status of the person you are meeting. Greet this person.
1. You meet your classmate. It is 10:00 in the morning.
You say: _______________________________________________________!
2. You meet your friend, who is about your age. It is 12:10 noon.
You say: _______________________________________________________!
3. You meet your elderly neighbor while walking your dog. It is 7:00 in the evening.
You say: _______________________________________________________!
4. You meet your aunt at a family gathering. It is 3:00 in the afternoon.
You say: _______________________________________________________!
Saying Goodbye
To say goodbye, you can use the more formal word paalam or the more casual sige (which means both goodbye and okay).
DIALOGUE D
RALPH : Paalam, Melissa. Goodbye, Melissa.
MELISSA : Sige po. Bye.
Practice saying goodbye.
SUMMING UP
In this chapter, we have studied greetings and introductions.
To sum up what we have learned, fill in the blanks. In the first sentence, you are talking about yourself. In the second sentence, you are talking to Ralph (remember to use the second person pronoun), and in the third, you are talking about Melissa.
Introduce yourself, Ralph, and Melissa to someone.
Ako si ________________. __________________ si Ralph ________________
si Melissa. ______________________ si Melissa.
