Pronouns & Basic Sentence Structure

ako

I / me (topic form)

ah-koh

Use ako when the speaker is the topic of the sentence

ikaw / ka

you (singular)

ee-kow / kah

Ikaw is used sentence-initially; ka follows the verb

siya

he / she / it

see-yah

Tagalog has no grammatical gender in pronouns

kami

we (excludes listener)

kah-mee

Exclusive we -- I and others, but not you

tayo

we (includes listener)

tah-yoh

Inclusive we -- you and I both

kayo

you (plural / formal)

kah-yoh

Also used as a polite singular you

sila

they

see-lah

Third person plural; no gender distinction

Maganda ang bulaklak.

The flower is beautiful.

mah-gahn-dah ahng boo-lahk-lahk

Predicate (maganda) comes before subject (ang bulaklak)

Mabait si Maria.

Maria is kind.

mah-bah-it see mah-ree-yah

Si is the personal name ang-marker for people

Estudyante ako.

I am a student.

es-tood-yan-teh ah-koh

No verb to be needed; pronoun follows predicate