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.
Prepositions In Filipino
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, or 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 languages 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.
List Of Prepositions In Filipino
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.
1. Sa – (To, In, On, Through, Into, From, etc.)
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
SA marks direction
| English Translation | Tagalog | Sound |
| I will go to the Philippines. | Pupunta ako sa Pilipinas. | |
| The conductor took the ticket from me. | Kinuha ng kundoktor ang ticket sa akin. |
SA marks a future time
| English Translation | Tagalog | Sound |
| I am graduating in the summer. | Magtatapos ako ng pag-aaral sa summer. | |
| It’s my birthday on February 14. | Kaarawan ko sa Pebrero 14. |
2. Ng – Of
| English Translation | Tagalog | Sound |
| I will take lots of beautiful pictures. | Kukuha ako ng magagandang larawan. |
3. Kay/Kina – To
| English Translation | Tagalog | Sound |
| I will give this to Angela. | Ibibigay ko ito kay Angela. | |
| I will give this to Angela and Marie. | Ibibigay ko ito kina Angela at 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.
4. Ni/Nina – Of
| English Translation | Tagalog | Sound |
| Let’s watch the new movie with John Llyod Cruz. | Panoorin natin ang bagong pelikula ni John Llyod Cruz. | |
| Let’s watch the new movie of John Llyod Cruz and Bea Alonzo. | Panoorin natin ang bagong pelikula nina John Llyod Cruz at Bea Alonzo. |
Note:
You will use ni for singular and nina for plural. This is specifically used for people.
5. Para Sa/Para Kay – For
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.
6. Tungkol Sa/Tungkol Kay – About
Note:
We use sa when talking about an object or thing, and we use kay or kina when talking about a person or people.
7. Hinggil Sa/Hinggil Kay – About
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.
8. Alinsunod Sa/ Alinsunod Kay – In Accordance With/ To
| English Translation | Tagalog | Sound |
| Wearing a face mask is in accordance with the COVID-19 Health Protocol. | Ang pagsusuot ng face mask ay alinsunod sa COVID-19 Health Protocol. | |
| In accordance with President Duterte, cities should set curfew hours. | Alinsunod kay Pangulong Duterte nuong 2020, ang mga lungsod ay dapat magtakda ng 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.
9. Ayon sa/ Ayon kay – According To
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.
10. Tungo Sa – Towards
| English Translation | Tagalog | Sound |
| I am walking towards the other way. | Naglalakad ako tungo sa kabila. | |
| The country is progressing towards development. | Ang bayan ay sumusulong tungo sa kaunlaran. |
11. Labag Sa – Against
| English Translation | Tagalog | Sound |
| Discrimination based on the gender of a person is against the law. | Ang diskriminasyon batay sa kasarian ng isang tao ay labag sa batas. |
Note:
This is often used in laws, guidelines, protocols, etc.
12. Laban Sa/Laban Kay – Against
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.
13. Mula sa/Mula Kay – From
| English Translation | Tagalog | Sound |
| OFWs come home from different countries. | Umuwi ang mga OFW mula sa ibang bansa. | |
| I received a letter from Patrick. | Nakatanggap ako ng sulat mula kay 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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