Are you mastering Filipino/Tagalog grammar? Then, Tagalog prepositions are one of the essential parts of speech to learn.
Prepositions are essential words in learning a language's grammar. In learning the grammar of the English language, prepositions are some of the first lessons that you will learn. This is also true in Filipino or Tagalog grammar. So, let's explore more than just Tagalog vocabulary, and let's learn about Tagalog prepositions to help you in writing a Tagalog sentence.
Before we start, let us recall what prepositions are. A preposition connects a noun, pronoun, or phrase (after the preposition) to a different portion of the sentence. It is also a word or set of words that come before a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase to indicate a direction, time, place, location, spatial relationships, or to introduce an object.
If you can still recall how you have learned prepositions in the English language, most of you will remember it as a challenging lesson, especially if you're not a native speaker. In the Filipino language, it's the other way around. The Filipino word for preposition is pang-ukol. Tagalog prepositions are often taken for granted by the students, maybe because it's not that hard to learn the English language.
Tagalog prepositions are pretty straightforward. It is very different from demonstrative pronouns. For Filipino native speakers, it's easy to identify which preposition to use in a sentence. In English, they usually get confused about when to use the prepositions in, on, and at.
Another reason is that some prepositions and prepositional phrases are not used in daily conversations. Most of the time, their written and spoken language are different. They tend to be more formal in written form and casual in spoken form. In fact, they sometimes use Taglish, which is a Tagalog-English combination.
Some of the prepositions you'll learn below are very uncommon in daily conversations. You'll just hear them on the news, in school, on TV shows, and at other formal events. Some also appear to be noun markers, but they are actually part of a prepositional phrase.
So, here is one of the essential Tagalog lessons when you are learning the Tagalog language - Tagalog prepositions.
You might be confused why the preposition sa has different translations in English. This is because of the fact that it's the most versatile preposition in the Tagalog language. This is also the reason Filipinos do not see the need to spend more time learning about pang-ukol (preposition)because most of what they want to say can be expressed using sa. See the examples below:
SA marks location
| Tagalog | English Translation |
| Nag-aaral ang kapatid ko sa Unibersidad ng Pilipinas. | My sibling studies at the University of the Philippines. |
| Iniwan ko and aking tsinelas sa labas. | I left my slippers outside. |
| Nakalagak ang labi ni Rizal sa ilalim ng kanyang monumento. | Rizal's remains lie at the bottom of his monument. |
SA marks direction
| Tagalog | English Translation |
| Pupunta ako sa Pilipinas. | I will go to the Philippines. |
| Kinuha ng kundoktor ang ticket sa akin. | The conductor took the ticket from me. |
SA marks a future time
| Tagalog | English Translation |
| Magtatapos ako ng pag-aaral sa summer. | I am graduating in the summer. |
| Kaarawan ko sa Pebrero 14. | It's my birthday on February 14. |
| Tagalog | English Translation |
| Kukuha ako ng magagandang larawan. | I will take lots of beautiful pictures. |
| Tagalog | English Translation |
| Ibibigay ko ito kay Angela. | I will give this to Angela. |
| Ibibigay ko ito kina Angela at Marie. | I will give this to Angela and Marie. |
Note:
You will only use kay or kina when you are referring to a specific person or people. You will use kay for singular and kina for plural.
| Tagalog | English Translation |
| Panoorin natin ang bagong pelikula ni John Llyod Cruz. | Let's watch the new movie with John Llyod Cruz. |
| Panoorin natin ang bagong pelikula nina John Llyod Cruz at Bea Alonzo. | Let's watch the new movie of John Llyod Cruz and Bea Alonzo. |
Note:
You will use ni for singular and nina for plural. This is specifically used for people.
| Tagalog | English Translation |
| Bumili ako ng dekorasyon para sa aking bahay. | I bought a decoration for the house. |
| Bumili ako ng pasalubong para sa aking pamilya. | I bought souvenirs for my family. |
| Bumili ako ng pasalubong para kay John. | I bought souvenirs for John.) (Pasalubong is a term for something you'll take home. It can be souvenirs, food, or anything else. |
Note:
Sa can be used when talking about an object or a person, but we only use kay or kina when talking about a specific person or people and even a pet with a name. As you can notice, the English counterpart doesn't change. This is one of the unique things about the Filipino language.
| Tagalog | English Translation |
| May balita ka ba tungkol sa parating na bagyo? | Do you have any news about the typhoon coming? |
| Nag-uusap sila tungkol kay Catriona Gray. | They are talking about Catriona Gray. |
Note:
We use sa when talking about an object or thing, and we use kay or kina when talking about a person or people.
| Tagalog | English Translation |
| Nagsulat ako ng sanaysay hinggil sa pandemya. | I wrote an essay about the pandemic. |
| Nakarinig ako ng balita hinggil kay Manny Pacquiao. | I heard the news about Manny Pacquiao. |
Note:
This is used the same way as tungkol sa and tungkol kay. The only difference is that this is it is often used in formal speech or settings.
| Tagalog | English Translation |
| Ang pagsusuot ng face mask ay alinsunod sa COVID-19 Health Protocol. | Wearing a face mask is in accordance with the COVID-19 Health Protocol. |
| Alinsunod kay Pangulong Duterte, ang mga lungsod ay dapat magtakda ng curfew hours. | In accordance with President Duterte, cities should set curfew hours. |
Note:
We use sa when talking about an object or thing, and we use kay or kina when talking about a person or people. The preposition alinsunod kay is strictly for people who have high authority only, like the president, vice president, mayor, etc.
| Tagalog | English Translation |
| Ayon sa World Health Organization, kailangang mag-ingat ang lahat dahil sa bagong variant na ng COVID-19 na nadiskubre. | According to the World Health Organization, everyone should be careful because of the new variant of COVID-19 that has been discovered |
Note:
We use sa when talking about an object like newspaper, news, TV channel, and organization. We use kay or kina when talking about a specific person or people.
| Tagalog | English Translation |
| Naglalakad ako tungo sa kabila. | I am walking towards the other way. |
| Ang bayan ay sumusulong tungo sa kaunlaran. | The country is progressing towards development. |
| Tagalog | English Translation |
| Ang diskriminasyon batay sa kasarian ng isang tao ay labag sa batas. | Discrimination based on the gender of a person is against the law. |
Note:
This is often used in laws, guidelines, protocols, etc.
| Tagalog | English Translation |
| Marami ang nakikibaka laban sa pang-aabuso sa mga kababaihan. | Many people are fighting against violence against women. |
| Inabangan ng mga Pilipino ang laban ni Manny Pacquiao laban kay Mayweather. | The Filipinos waited for the match of Manny Pacquiao against Mayweather. |
Note:
We use sa when talking about an object or thing, and we use kay or kina when talking about a specific person or people.
| Tagalog | English Translation |
| Umuwi ang mga OFW mula sa ibang bansa. | OFWs come home from different countries. |
| Nakatanggap ako ng sulat mula kay Patrick. | I received a letter from Patrick. |
Note:
We use sa when talking about an object or thing, and we use kay or kina when talking about a specific person or people
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