less formal than poStudy how polite language is used.
RALPH : Kumusta po kayo? How are you?
MR. TOLENTINO : Mabuti. Ikaw? Fine. And you?
RALPH : Mabuti po. Ako ho si Ralph. Fine. I am Ralph.
MR. TOLENTINO : Ako si Richard Tolentino. I am Richard Tolentino.
RALPH : Ikinagagalak ko pong makilala kayo. Pleased to meet you.
MR. TOLENTINO : Ikinagagalak kong makilala ka. Pleased to meet you.
Practice using polite language when introducing yourself.
GRAMMAR
Using Honorifics
You have learned two words that express politeness and respect: po and ho. While po is considered to be more formal than ho, these two words are interchangeable in conversations.
In general, po/ho is inserted after the first word of a sentence. For example,
| Ako po si Ralph. | I am Ralph. |
| Ralph po ang pangalan ko. | My name is Ralph. |
| Ano po ang pangalan ninyo? | What is your name? |
However, there are two exceptions.
• First, when the pronoun ko (singular object pronoun I) follows the verb, po is placed after ko. For example, Ikinagagalak ko pong makilala kayo. Pleased to meet you.
• Second, when po follows a set phrase used together, we put po after the full greeting instead of inserting it between magandang and gabi. For example, Magandang gabi po (Good evening po).
Pronouns
In the dialogues above, pronouns were introduced. Here is a chart of subject pronouns and singular possessive pronouns. Other pronouns will be introduced in later chapters.
| 1st person | Singular subject pronouns | Plural subject pronouns | Singular possessive pronouns |
| ako | kami (exclusive) ustayo (inclusive) us or we + you | ko my | |
| 2nd person | Ikaw, ka you | kayo you | mo your |
| 3rd person | siya he/she | sila they | niya your |
Here are some reminders for using Tagalog pronouns:
1. Use ikaw only at the beginning of a sentence. Elsewhere, use ka. They mean the same thing.
2. When using po, use the second person plural pronoun kayo and not ka. For example, “Kumusta po kayo?” and not “Kumusta po ka?”
3. There are two pronouns that are the equivalent of the English first person plural subject pronoun “us.” One is kami. This is called an “exclusive” pronoun because it refers only to the people speaking and not to the person or people being addressed. The second is tayo. This is called an “inclusive” pronoun because it refers to everyone—the people speaking and the people being addressed.
Study the following sentence patterns.
| Ako si Ralph. | I + si + Ralph. I am Ralph. |
| Ikaw si Sarah. | You + si + Sarah. (You Sarah.) |
| Si Sarah ka. | Si + Sarah + you. You are Sarah. |
| Siya si Mr. Tolentino. | He + si + Mr. Tolentino. He is Mr. Tolentino. |
Here are some examples of sentences with possessive pronouns. The pronouns ko, mo, and niya always follow the word they modify—pangalan (name), in this case.
| Ralph ang pangalan ko. | Ralph + ang + name + my. My name is Ralph. |
| Sarah ang pangalan mo. | Sarah + ang + name + your. Your name is Sarah. |
| Mr. Tolentino ang pangalan niya. | Mr. Tolentino + ang + name + niya + his. His name is Mr. Tolentino. |
Let us learn words we can use to form sentences with plural subject pronouns.
| mga (pronounced)/mɐ'ŋa/) | (used to make any common noun plural) |
| pangalan | name |
| mga pangalan | names |
| sina | subject marker for plural proper nouns |
| at | and |
| sina Ralph at Melissa | sina + Ralph + and + Melissa |
To illustrate the difference between the plural pronouns kami (exclusive) and tayo (inclusive), let us study the following examples.
If Ralph and Melissa are speaking to Mr. Tolentino, they can say:
| Kami sina Ralph at Melissa. | We (the speakers) + sina + Ralph + and + Melissa. We are Ralph and Melissa. |
| Tayo sina Ralph, Melissa, at Mr. Tolentino. | We (the speakers + person being addressed) + sina + Ralph + Melissa + and + Mr. Tolentino.We are Ralph, Melissa, and Mr. Tolentino. |
QUESTION AND ANSWER PRACTICE
Answer and ask questions.
1. Question: Ano ang pangalan mo?
Answer: ___________________ ang ___________________ ko.
2. Question: Sino siya?
Answer: Siya si _____________________________________________.
3. Question: Ano _______________________________________________?
Answer: Mr. Tolentino ang pangalan niya.
4. Question: Ano ang ____________________ mo?
Answer: Ako si Sarah.
Introducing Another Person and Common Greetings
Now,
