Pronouns
Pronouns have different forms, depending on what role they play in a sentence.
| Ang | Sang | Sa | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I / Me | ako (ko) | akon, nakon (ko) | sa akon |
| He/She | siya | iya, niya | sa iya |
| You (singular) | ikaw (ka) | imo, nimo (mo) | sa imo |
| You (plural) | kamo | inyo, ninyo (n'yo) | sa inyo |
| We (exclusive) | kami | amon, namon | sa amon |
| We (inclusive) | kita | aton, naton (ta) | sa aton |
| They | sila | ila, nila | sa ila |
Ang Pronouns
When the pronoun is the focus of a sentence, you use the Ang form of the pronoun. You don't need to mark it with "ang."
Ako is often shortened to "ko" in some situations (explained in Conjugations lesson). Ikaw is often shortened to "ka" in some situations. The "si" in "siya" is pronounced "sh."
Ikaw (you, singular) is used when you are speaking to one person. If you are speaking to multiple people, as in "you guys," you would use kamo (you, plural).
We (exclusive) means you are not including the person you are speaking to. For example, you and your friend are going to school. You tell your neighbor "We are going to school." That doesn't mean your neighbor is coming with, so you would use "kami." If your neighbor was coming with you to school, you would use "kita."
Sang Pronouns
When the pronoun is not the focus, you would use the Sang form of the pronoun. You don't need to mark it with "sang."
The first form of the Sang pronoun is used when the pronoun is before the verb or noun it's attached to. The second form is used when the pronoun comes after it's verb or noun. To illustrate, if you wanted to say "his shoes," you would say "Ang iya sepatos," or you could say, "Ang sepatos niya."
Nakon is almost always shortened to "ko." Nimo is almost always shortened to "mo." Niya is often pronounced in one syllable, as in "nya."
Sa Pronouns
When the pronoun is receiving something, you would use the Sa form of the pronoun.
In the sentence "She will give the rock to you," the word "you" is receiving the rock. Therefore, you would use the Sa form of "you," which is "sa imo." In this sentence, "sa imo" would mean "to you."
Marking the Focus
For nouns, you would normally indicate the focus of a sentence with Ang. With pronouns, however, you show that it's a focus by using its Ang form.
Nagkaon ang karabaw sang paho. (The karabaw ate a mango.) - The focus is "karabaw", so it is marked with "ang."
Nagkaon siya sang paho. (He ate a mango.) - The focus is "he," so the Ang form "siya" is used. No need for the "ang" marker here.