Learning Tagalog

Tagalog Verbs, Adjectives etc. Used as Nouns

Verbs, adjectives and other parts of speech may also be used as nouns. Examples:

verb/adjective/etc.		noun
kumain	to eat, ate	ang kumain	the one who ate
maganda	pretty	ang maganda	the pretty one
nasa school	in school	ang nasa school	the one in school
may kotse	has a car	ang may kotse	the one who has a car
akin	mine	ang akin	the one that is mine

verb/adjective/etc.	kumain
	to eat, ate
noun	ang kumain
	the one who ate

verb/adjective/etc.	maganda
	pretty
noun	ang maganda
	the pretty one

verb/adjective/etc.	nasa school
	in school
noun	ang nasa school
	the one in school

verb/adjective/etc.	may kotse
	has a car
noun	ang may kotse
	the one who has a car

verb/adjective/etc.	akin
	mine
noun	ang akin
	the one that is mine

The verb/adjective/etc. may also be preceded by ng or sa. See also: Ng markers (p. 38), Sa markers (p. 41)

ng kumain	(of/by) the one who ate
sa kumain	(to etc.) the one who ate

Examples in plural form:

verb/adjective/etc.		noun
kumain	to eat, ate	ang mga kumain	the ones who ate
maganda	pretty	ang magaganda, ang mga magaganda	the pretty ones

verb/adjective/etc.	kumain
	to eat, ate
noun	ang mga kumain
	the ones who ate

verb/adjective/etc.	maganda
	pretty
noun	ang magaganda, ang mga magaganda
	the pretty ones

See also: Plurals (p. 65)

Sentences:

Bago ang nasa school.

The one in school is new.

Bago ang akin.

Mine is new.

Lit. The one that is mine is new.

Akin ang bago.

The new one is mine.

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See notes on Terminology and Pronunciation Marks

This grammar guide is part of the Learning Tagalog Course.
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From Essential Tagalog Grammar: A Reference for Learners of Tagalog, Second Edition
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