← Back

Linkers, Ligatures & Complex Sentences

Na/ng ligatures, relative clauses, compound sentences with at/pero/kaya
na vs. -ng ligature rule
na after consonants except n; -ng suffix after vowels and n
nah / -ng
Magandang babae (vowel end) vs. mabait na lalaki (consonant end)
Relative clauses with ang-topic
ang plus verb phrase plus na/ng plus noun
varies
Ang kumain ng mansanas = the one who ate the apple
Relative clauses with noun head
noun plus na/ng plus verb phrase
varies
Ang babaeng kumain ng mansanas = the woman who ate the apple
Kung conditional
if / when hypothetical
koong
Kung maaga ka, makakakuha ka ng upuan = If early you can get a seat
Kapag conditional/habitual
when / whenever real condition
kah-pahg
Kapag umuulan, nananatili ako sa bahay = When it rains I stay home
Dahil sa reason clause
because of
dah-hil sah
Dahil introduces reason clause; dahil sa plus noun phrase
Para sa / para plus verb
for / in order to
pah-rah sah / pah-rah
Para sa aking ina (for my mother); para makatulog (in order to sleep)
Habang while clause
while / as long as
hah-bahng
Habang natutulog siya, nagsulat ako = While he slept I wrote
Bago / pagkatapos temporal
before / after
bah-goh / pahg-kah-tah-pos
Temporal subordinators introducing clause order
Kahit concessive clause
even though / even if
kah-hit
Kahit mahirap, masaya siya = Even though poor, he/she is happy