Common Uses of Tagalog Ng Pronouns

1. Showing possession or belonging.

bag niya

his/her bag

bag ko

my bag

resulta nito

result of this

picture ng asong ito

picture of this dog

2. Only for demonstrative pronouns: Marking the non-POD object of an action. A non-POD object is an object that is part of the News (p. 30) instead of the POD (p. 30). The non-POD object is often indefinite (“some of this/that”).

Kumain* nito ang babae.

The woman ate some of this.

3. Marking the non-POD doer of an action (“by”). A non-POD doer is a doer that is part of the News (p. 30) instead of the POD (p. 30).

Kinain* niya ang ice cream.

He/she ate the ice cream.

Lit. The ice cream was eaten by him/her.

Kinain ko ang ice cream.

I ate the ice cream.

Lit. The ice cream was eaten by me.

Kinain nito ang ice cream.

This (person/animal) ate the ice cream.

Lit. The ice cream was eaten by this.

Kinain ng asong ito ang ice cream.

This dog ate the ice cream.

Lit. The ice cream was eaten by this dog.

* The difference between kinain and kumain is explained in the chapter on verbs (p. 89).

See also: Common uses of Ng markers (p. 39)

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