Tagalog-When to use ng

[ash0247]

Kumusta, ako si Andrew at estudyante ako sa CHS. I am just learning tagalog and in my textbook it talks about ng, na, and nang and explains that they connect words with phrases but doesn't really specify how to use it. Should I just ignore it and keep writing out and saying the sentences in the book so I can get used to the word order or should I know how to use it so I can form sentences?

[DulceAmor]

Kumusta Andrew? I'll try to explain when to use each word. Let's start with NA.

NA
There are 2 common uses of NA. The more common one is its use as a connector of a noun/word and an adjective/adverb. Examples:

hinog na mangga (ripe mango)
makislap na sahig (shiny floor)
mainit na gabi (warm night)

If the word preceding NA ends with either a vowel or the letter N, the NA becomes a suffix -NG and is attached to the word. For the word ending in N, just drop the -N in -NG, and attach the -G to the word. Examples:

malaki na bahay = malaking bahay (big house)
maaga na natapos = maagang natapos (finished early; maaga=early, natapos=finished)
maganda na babae = magandang babae (beautiful girl)
mahiyain na bata = mahiyaing bata (shy kid)
matulin na sasakyan = matuling sasakyan (fast vehicle)

NA (and its equivalent suffix -NG) can also be used as THAT or WHICH/WHO.

asong tumalon (dog that jumped)
batang naglaro ng sipa (child who played sipa)
nahulog na lapis or lapis na nahulog (pencil that fell)

Take note of the following sentences:

ang nahulog na lapis mula sa mesa (the pencil that fell from the table)

ang nahulog kong lapis (the pencil that I dropped) ---- which is the same as:
ang lapis na nahulog ko (the pencil that I dropped)

ang lapis kong nahulog mula sa mesa (my pencil that fell from the table) ---- which is the same as:
ang aking lapis na nahulog mula sa mesa (my pencil that fell from the table)

ang aking lapis na nahulog ko mula sa mesa (my pencil that I dropped from the table)

The second use of NA is to denote that an action is already done. It is equivalent to "now" or "already". Examples:

Kumain ako. (I ate.)
Kumain na ako. (I already ate.)

Gumising ka. (Wake up.)
Gumising ka na. (Wake up now.)

Gabi na. Matulog ka na. (It's already night time. [You] sleep now.)
Handa na ako. Tayo na. (I'm [already] ready. Let's go [now].)
(Note: Tara is the shortened form of tayo na.)

However, take note of the following sentences:

Aalis na lang ako mamaya. (I'll just leave later.)
Uuwi na lang ako. (I'll just go home.)
Mamaya na lang. ([Just] later.)

The word pair NA LANG is equivalent to the word "just".

I hope this helps. I'll post the uses for NG and NANG later.

[DulceAmor]

NG and NANG

NG

NG is generally used as a possessive/genitive marker. It is equivalent to the word "of".

damit ng babae (clothes of [a] girl; [a] girl's clothes)
utos ng hari (command of the king; the king's command)
buntot ng aso (tail of the dog; the dog's tail)
Inayos niya ang pinto ng sasakyan. (He/She fixed the door of the car. -- the car's door; the car door)

*Note: If the owner is a person, use NI instead of NA.
Example: mga anak ni Victoria (children of Victoria; Victoria's children)

It is also used to connect a verb to its direct object.

Bumili ako ng damit. (I bought clothes.)
Kakain ako ng kanin. (I will eat rice.)
Uminom sila ng kape. (They drank coffee.)
Magdala ka ng damit bukas. ([You] bring clothes tomorrow.)

NANG

NANG is used as equivalent of the following words:

1. as a shortened form of "noong" or a time marker such as WHEN

Nang makilala kita, nagbago ang buhay ko. (When I saw you, my life changed.)
*from noong makilala kita

Tanghali na nang magising kami. (It was already noon when we woke up.)
*from noong magising kami

2. as a combination of NA and -NG (the 2 uses of NA, as I mentioned in the previous post)

Malapit nang maluto ang biko. (The rice cake is almost done.)
*from malapit na = literally means already near; in this case, already near the end of cooking/almost done cooking

Sobra nang kaguluhan ang dulot nito. (The chaos caused by this is already too much.)
*from sobra na = already too much; sobrang kaguluhan = too much chaos

3. as an equivalent of "upang" and/or "para" which mean SO THAT

Kailangan mong uminom ng gamot nang gumaling ka. (You need to take medicine so that you'll get well.)
Pagsabihan mo siya nang hindi siya maphamak. (Talk to him so that he won't get in trouble.)

4. as a word that joins a repeated word

Takbo nang takbo ang kuneho. (The rabbit ran and ran. / The rabbit kept on running.)
*takbo = base word for run

Saktan mo man ako nang saktan, mamahalin pa rin kita. (Even if you keep on hurting me, I will still love you.)
*saktan = to hurt someone (from the word sakit = pain; sakit+an = to inflict pain)

5. as a word that describes how something is done or to what extent [is something done]

Minahal niya si Juan nang buong puso. (She loved Juan with all her heart.)
*She loved Juan. How? With all her heart.

Lumangoy siya nang patalikod. (He swam backwards.)
*patalikod = backwards

Sad to say, most FIlipinos cannot determine the difference between the uses of NG and NANG, probably because they are spoken the same way. Anyway, to answer your question, I think it's always wise to know when to use each word (NA/NG/NANG) especially in writing, so as to avoid confusion. I hope I was able to help. Good luck and have fun learning Tagalog.

[Pinta77]

So if I wanted to say "chocolate milk", it would be "tsokolate na gatas" ?

[DulceAmor]

Yes, chocolate milk is "tsokolate na gatas". Although strictly, it should be tsokolateng gatas (because tsokolate ends in a vowel), tsokolate na gatas is the more acceptable and widely used term.

This reminds me of a commercial of a milk brand some years ago: choco na gatas or gatas na choco. You might wanna check it out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ig4jfKws_Hg

Cheers!