Tagalog Conversation: everyday and family talk

How a Tagalog sentence works

In simple words

In English the verb comes in the middle: "I eat rice." In Tagalog the verb usually comes first: "Kumakain ako ng kanin." Think of the verb as the engine, and small marker words as the signs that tell you who does what and where.

Before this course: Learn Tagalog (Filipino) for Beginners (course 6.3). You should already know the greetings, po and opo, family words like ate and kuya, the numbers 1 to 10, shop and food phrases, and the survival phrases. We do not repeat them. We build on them.

Key facts

Usual order: verb first, then the doer, then the thing: Kumain ako ng kanin. (I ate rice.)
Three marker words for common nouns:
ang points to the main person or thing in the sentence (the topic).
ng (said "nang") marks the thing that is eaten, bought or owned, and also shows ownership: ang bahay ng lola (grandma's house).
sa marks a place, a direction or a person who receives: Pumunta ako sa tindahan. (I went to the store.)
For names of people, the markers change: si (instead of ang), ni (instead of ng), kay (instead of sa): Si Joy ay kumain. Ang bahay ni Joy. Para kay Joy.
To say where something or someone is, use nasa: Nasa bahay si Nanay. (Mom is at home.)
The little word ng (nang) is not the same as the word nang, which also exists in Tagalog (it can mean "when" or "in such a way"). For now, remember that ng goes before the thing, and you do not need nang yet.
Pronouns come in three sets. Use the right set for the job:

Doer or topic (like ang)	Owner or "by" (like ng)	Place or receiver (like sa)	Meaning
ako	ko	sa akin	I / my / to me
ikaw (or ka)	mo	sa iyo	you
siya	niya	sa kanya	he or she
kami	namin	sa amin	we (not including the person you talk to)
tayo	natin	sa atin	we (including the person you talk to)
kayo	ninyo	sa inyo	you (more than one, or polite)
sila	nila	sa kanila	they

Kami and tayo both mean "we". Use tayo when the listener is included ("Let's eat!" is Kain tayo!). Use kami when the listener is left out ("We ate at home" said to a friend who was not there: Kumain kami sa bahay.).
Short pronouns such as ka, mo and ko come right after the first word of the sentence: Kumain ka na?

Example (dialogue)

A: "Saan ka pumunta kahapon?" (Where did you go yesterday?)
B: "Pumunta kami ni Joy sa palengke. Bumili kami ng isda." (Joy and I went to the market. We bought fish.)
A: "Nasaan na ang isda?" (Where is the fish now?)
B: "Nasa bahay na po, nasa ref." (It is at home now, in the fridge.)

Step by step

Write the verb first in three short sentences: Kumain ako. Pumunta ako. Bumili ako.
Add the thing: Kumain ako ng kanin. Bumili ako ng isda.
Add a place with sa: Pumunta ako sa tindahan. Bumili ako sa palengke.
Change "ako" to "siya", "sila" and "kami" and see how the sentence stays the same.
Write one sentence with a name: Bumili si Joy ng isda. Ang bahay ni Joy.
Choose kami or tayo for these two cases: you invite a friend to eat; you tell a friend what your family did without them.
Say all your sentences out loud.
Check: every sentence starts with the verb, and you used ng for the thing and sa for the place.

Watch on YouTube

Tagalog grammar: NG vs NANGTalk to Me in Tagalog · YouTube · youtube.com

Tagalog pronouns: the SA group (to me, to you, to her)Talk to Me in Tagalog · YouTube · youtube.com

Videos by other creators on YouTube, for reference. They are not made by or affiliated with The Future Market.

LESSON 01How a Tagalog sentence works

LESSON 01 / ANIMATED LESSON / AI VOICE00:00 / 01:00

Voice

Read the video script

[Host] "Tagalog puts the verb first. Watch."
[Text on screen: Kumain ako ng kanin. = I ate rice.] "Kumain ako ng kanin. Verb, doer, thing."
[Text on screen: ng = thing, sa = place] "Ng goes before the thing. Sa goes before a place: Pumunta ako sa tindahan."
[Text on screen: kami / tayo] "Two words for we. Tayo includes the listener. Kami leaves the listener out."
[Host] "Learn these three markers and your sentences will make sense."

Try it now

Write six sentences about your day, each starting with a verb (for example, "Bumili ako ng tinapay sa tindahan."). Use ng, sa and one name with si or ni. Read them aloud.

ClaudeStuck? Copy a ready-made prompt for Claude

Copy this, open Claude, paste it, and Claude will walk you through the lesson step by step.

For a grown-up: Claude is for adults (18+). Copy this, paste it into Claude, and use the answer to explain the lesson to your child.

I'm learning "Tagalog Conversation: everyday and family talk" on The Future Market. Lesson 1: "How a Tagalog sentence works".

What the lesson teaches:
- Usual order: verb first, then the doer, then the thing: Kumain ako ng kanin. (I ate rice.)
- Three marker words for common nouns:
- ang points to the main person or thing in the sentence (the topic).
- ng (said "nang") marks the thing that is eaten, bought or owned, and also shows ownership: ang bahay ng lola (grandma's house).
- sa marks a place, a direction or a person who receives: Pumunta ako sa tindahan. (I went to the store.)
- For names of people, the markers change: si (instead of ang), ni (instead of ng), kay (instead of sa): Si Joy ay kumain. Ang bahay ni Joy. Para kay Joy.
- To say where something or someone is, use nasa: Nasa bahay si Nanay. (Mom is at home.)

The exercise I'm working on:
Write six sentences about your day, each starting with a verb (for example, "Bumili ako ng tinapay sa tindahan."). Use ng, sa and one name with si or ni. Read them aloud.

I'm stuck. Please:
1. Explain the main idea in plain, simple words with one everyday example.
2. Walk me through the exercise one small step at a time. Ask me what I've done so far before giving the next step.
3. Don't just give me the final answer. Help me do it myself, and check my work when I share it.

I'm a parent helping my child (about 8 years old) with a lesson called "How a Tagalog sentence works" from the course "Tagalog Conversation: everyday and family talk".

Here's what the lesson says:
In English the verb comes in the middle: "I eat rice." In Tagalog the verb usually comes first: "Kumakain ako ng kanin." Think of the verb as the engine, and small marker words as the signs that tell you who does what and where.

The activity:
Write six sentences about your day, each starting with a verb (for example, "Bumili ako ng tinapay sa tindahan."). Use ng, sa and one name with si or ni. Read them aloud.

Please explain this so an 8-year-old understands: short sentences, a fun everyday example, and no hard words.
Then give me 3 simple questions I can ask my child to check they understood, and a way to do the activity together, one tiny step at a time.

Open Claude

Sources

Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (the national body for the language, standard spelling and grammar guidance): kwf.gov.ph/
Sentence and marker patterns checked against the video lessons above and the standard Tagalog grammar of Schachter and Otanes, Tagalog Reference Grammar (University of California Press, 1972).

My notes

I learned this