Noun Modifiers

1.       Si and Sila(ng)

The modifier si is singular and used before the name of the person and the plural sila(ng) is used before the names of two or more persons.

Babae si Joan.	Girl Joan.	Joan is a girl.
Lalaki si Jose.	Boy Jose.	Jose is a boy.
Silang Jose ug Joan.	Jose and Joan.	Jose and Joan.

      2.    Ni and Nila(ng)

The modifier ni is singular and used before the name of the person and the plural nila(ng) is used before the names of two or more persons.

Gikaon ni Joan ang bayabas.	Ate Joan the guava.	Joan ate the guava.
Giadto ni Jose ang balay.	Went Jose the house.	Jose went to the house.
Giuli nilang Jose ug Joan ang CD.	Returned Jose and Joan the CD.	Jose and Joan returned the CD.

Note: Passive and active forms. (Refer to passive and active form of the verb chapter.)

Gikaon ni Joan ang bayabas.	Ate Joan the guava.	Joan ate the guava. (active)
Ang bayabas kay gikaon ni Joan.	The guava is eaten by Joan.	The guava is eaten by Joan. (passive)
Giuli nilang Jose ug Joan ang CD.	Returned Jose and Joan the CD.	Jose and Joan returned the CD. (active)
Ang CD kay giuli nilang Jose ug Joan.	The CD is returned by Jose and Joan	The CD is returned by Jose and Joan. (passive)

      3.   Ang and Ang mga

The modifier ang is used before the name of a single thing or place and ang mga is used before the names of two or more things or places.

Gikaon ni Joan ang bayabas.	Ate Joan the guava.	Joan ate the guava.
Gbisita ni Jose ang mga balay.	Visited Jose the houses.	Jose visited the houses.
Giuli nilang Jose ug Joan ang mga CD.	Returned Jose and Joan the CDs.	Jose and Joan returned the CDs.
Ang libro ug ang mga lapis.	The book and the pencils.	The book and the pencils.
Ang mga libro ug mga lapis.	The books and the pencils.	The books and the pencils.
Mga libro ug mga lapis.	Books and pencils.	Books and pencils.
Ang Manila ug ang Cebu kay mga siyudad. *	The Manila and the Cebu are cities.	Manila and Cebu are cities.
Ang Manila ug Cebu kay mga siyudad. *	The Manila and Cebu are cities.

* It is acceptable to delete the second ang before the second name of a place and the meaning of the sentence remains unchanged.

Note: Ang is used when referring to a specific thing. It is equivalent to The in English. While A would be usa ka in Bisaya. The sentence pattern would be changed.

Pagtahal ug usa ka lapis.	Sharpen a pencil.	Sharpen a pencil.
Tahali ang lapis.	Sharpen the pencil.	Sharpen the pencil.
Tahali ang mga lapis.	Sharpen the pencils.	Sharpen the pencils.

      4.    Ang, Ug and Sa

Ang is used:

a.       To introduce a common noun as the subject of the sentence (ang is similar to the English definite article the in this case)

Ang bata kay nagdagan.	The child  running.	The child is running.
Nagdagan ang bata.	Running the child.

b.      To emphasise the identity or the action of the doer.

Gisulat nako ang ngalan.	Wrote I the name.	I wrote the name.
Ako ang nagsulat sa ngalan.	I the write the name.	I was the one who wrote the name.
Naay sakit ang bata.	Have illness the child.	The child is sick.
Ang bata ang naay sakit.	The child the have illness.	The child is the one who is sick.

Ug is used:

a.       To introduce the receiver of the action.

Nagpalit ug sud-an ang babae.	Bought food the woman.	The woman bought food.
Ang babae ang nagpalit ug sud-an	The woman the bought food.	The woman is the one who bought the food.

Note: Ug mga is used for plural receiver.

Sa is used:

a.       To indicate association or possession.

Ang balay sa lalaki kay bag-o.	The house of the man is new.	The man’s house is new.
Nibisita sa balay ang asawa sa mayor .	Visited the house the wife of the mayor.	The mayor’s wife visited the house.

Note: Sa mga is used for 2 or more owners.

b.      To introduce the doer of the passive action.

Gikaon sa iro ang pan.	Eaten the dog the bread.	The dog ate the bread. The bread was eaten by the dog.
Gipalit sa bata ang lapis.	Bought the child the pencil.	The child bought the pencil. The pencil was bought by the child.
Gipalit sa bata.	Bought the child.	The child bought it.
Gipalit ang lapis.	Bought the pencil.	The pencil was bought.

Note: Sa mga is used for 2 or more doers. 

      5.    Ka and Nga

Ka is used after a number then a common noun to indicate the number of the said noun. The nouns are not inflected. Nga is equivalent to the preposition of in English to indicate amount.

Usa ka ulo.	One head.	A head.
Duha ka kamot.	Two hand.	Two hands.
(Na)pulo ka tudlo.	Ten finger.	Ten fingers.
Lima ka kilo nga bugas.	Five kilo of rice.	Five kilos of rice.
Tulo ka botelya nga mantika.	Three bottle of oil.	Three bottles of oil.

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• (ref. Aspillera, Paraluman E. Basic Tagalog for Foreigners and Non-Tagalogs. HK: Tuttle Publishing, 2007.)