Essential Tagalog Grammar: Introduction

Essential Tagalog Grammar offers:

• clear, simple and concise explanations
• lots of practical examples focusing on everyday, informal Tagalog
• accurate definitions and translations
• pronunciation marks, with all long vowels (stress) and glottal stops indicated
• audio recordings of Tagalog sounds (downloadable from learningtagalog.com)
• extensive cross-referencing and a comprehensive index
• a simple well-organized format

Essential Tagalog Grammar includes:

• extensive alphabetical lists of noun, verb and adjective affixes with plenty of examples, useful for building vocabulary
• meanings of enclitic particles in context
• tables of markers and pronouns, question words, rules for indicating aspect, irregular verbs, numbers, time expressions and more
• lists of opening and closing particles and interjections
• clear explanations of the Point of Departure (the Tagalog “subject,” “topic” or “focus”) and the News (the Tagalog “predicate” or “comment”), markers and pronouns (Ang, Ng and Sa phrases), enclitic words and more

Essential Tagalog Grammar is recommended for:

• learners of Tagalog who want to understand how the language works and have a quick reference handy
• native speakers who want to gain insights into their own language
• anyone who wants to gain a deeper understanding of Tagalog grammar

Essential Tagalog Grammar is the ideal companion to Learning Tagalog: Fluency Made Fast and Easy (the title of the first edition was Learning Tagalog: A Complete Course with Audio). The course is available at: learningtagalog.com

How to use this book

You can use this book purely as a reference, reading only the topics that interest you. The cross-references and the comprehensive index will guide you to related topics.

You can also read it from cover to cover, for instance, by doing one small section a day. After reading the book, you will have covered all the essential grammar points you need to speak and understand everyday Tagalog.

For a summary of the pronunciation symbols used in the book, see p. 20.

Exercises

After reading a section with one or more tables containing Tagalog and English phrases, you can do the following exercises:

• Cover up the column containing the English phrases and say the meaning of the Tagalog phrases.
• Cover up the Tagalog column, read the English phrases and say the Tagalog phrases.

What’s new in this edition?

• improved explanations, definitions, translations and examples
• new example sentences and verb forms (aspects) added to all verb affixes
• new verb affixes, enclitic particle combinations and describing words
• a new section on the Tagalog POD vs. the English subject
• new example sentences added to some noun affixes and adjective affixes, and other topics
• new translations added to the chapters on pronunciation, forming and connecting words, and other topics
• new cross-references and index entries
• reorganized sections
• and more

Navigation tips for the ebook version

• In the Contents, click on a page number to go directly to a specific section.
• In the main text, click on a link or a page number to jump to a specific section.
• Click Alt+Left Arrow (Windows/Unix) or Command+Left Arrow (Mac OS) to return to the page you previously viewed.
• Click Ctrl+F/Command+F to search the ebook for a word or a phrase.

Contact

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, you can contact the author at: teamlearningtagalog.com

Maraming salamat po’!

Please respect copyright. Learn more