: Taga-saan ka, Melissa? Where are you from, Melissa?
MELISSA : Taga-Los Angeles ako. Ikaw? I am from Los Angeles. And you?
RALPH : Taga-New York ako. Saan ka na nakatira ngayon? I am from New York. Where do you live now?
MELISSA : Nakatira na ako sa Quezon City ngayon. I now live in Quezon City.
Practice this dialogue.
VOCABULARY AND CULTURE TIP (The word “Na”): The word na has many meanings. In the dialogue, it is used to mean “already.” In later chapters, it will be used as a linker (a word used to link adjectives with nouns), and as a relative pronoun (used to function as who, whom, whose, which, and that). Filipinos like to use the word “already.” For example, they say “I ate already,” instead of saying “I have eaten.” This comes from the Tagalog sentence Kumain na ako (literally, Ate already I.) In English, using “already” would be wrong in a sentence like the one in the dialogue. Indeed it is a common source of mistakes when Filipinos are learning English.
QUESTION AND ANSWER PRACTICE
Read the information given in the following chart. The second column indicates where the person is from, and the third column shows where a person is living now. Use the third row to fill in your name, where you are from, and where you are living now, in each respective column. After doing this, ask and answer questions.
| Person | Where they are from | Where they are living now |
| Sarah | Pampanga | Maynila (Manila) |
| Mr. Tolentino | Nueva Ecija | Makati City |
1. Question: Taga-saan si Sarah?
Answer: ____________________________________________________.
2. Question: Saan na nakatira si Sarah ngayon?
Answer: ____________________________________________________.
3. Question: ____________________________________________________?
Answer: Taga-Nueva Ecija si Mr. Tolentino.
4. Question: ____________________________________________________?
Answer: Nakatira na siya sa Makati City ngayon.
5. Question: Taga-saan ka?
Answer: ____________________________________________________.
6. Question: Saan ka na nakatira ngayon?
Answer: ____________________________________________________.
VOCABULARY
Study the following words that describe location:
| lugar | place |
| barangay | smallest political unit in the Philippines(similar to a village) |
| bayan | town, country, people |
| lungsod | city |
| probinsiya | province |
| isla | island |
| estado | state |
| bansa | country |
| kontinente | continent |
| mundo/daigdig | world |
| uniberso | universe |
CULTURE TIP (The Word Bayan): The word bayan can mean town, country and people. Here are some examples of how the word can be used: bayan ng Santa Filomena (town of Filomena); bayang Pilipinas (country of the Philippines); maglingkod sa bayan (serve the people). Historian Damon Woods has written about bayan in his book, From Wilderness to Nation (University of the Philippines, 2011).
SENTENCE CONSTRUCTION
In the beginning of this chapter, you learned the following:
| Saan ka nakatira? | Where do you live? |
| Nakatira ako sa Quezon City. | I live in Quezon City. |
Now, let us learn another where question: Where is Quezon City? To answer this question we need to learn another equivalent of the word where: nasaan.
| nasaan | where |
| ng | of (can also mean by, from, and with; also used as an object marker) |
| lungsod ng Quezon | city + of + Quezoncity of Quezon or Quezon City |
| Nasaan ang lungsod ng Quezon? | Where + ang + city + of + Quezon?Where is the city of Quezon? |
| nasa | in (can also mean at and on) |
| nasa Metro Manila | in Metro Manila |
| Nasa Metro Manila ang lungsod ng Quezon. | In + Metro Manila + ang + city + of Quezon.The city of Quezon is in Metro Manila. |
Both saan and nasaan mean where, and both sa and nasa mean in, at and on. While these words have the same meaning, they differ in the usage:
1. Use saan only when there is a verb, for example, the verb nakatira (living) in Saan ka nakatira? (Where do you live?)
2. Use nasaan when it is followed by a noun, for example, Nasaan ang Quezon City? (Where is Quezon City?)
3. The prepositions sa and nasa have to match the question words. Saan questions should be answered by sentences with sa, and nasaan questions should be answered by sentences with nasa. Here are some examples:
Question: Saan ka nakatira? Where do you live?
Answer: Nakatira ako sa Quezon City. I live in Quezon City.
Question: Nasaan ang Quezon City? Where is Quezon City?
Answer: Nasa Metro Manila ang Quezon City. Quezon City is in Metro Manila.
Review the new words and sentence structures you have learned and study further how to ask and answer questions.
| Nasaan ang barangay Katipunan? | Where + ang + Barangay Katipunan?Where + Barangay Katipunan? |
| Nasa lungsod ng Quezon ang barangay Katipunan. | In + city + of + Quezon + ang + Barangay Katipunan. Barangay Katipunan is in Quezon City. |
| ano | what |
| anong | what (contraction of ano + na) |
| anong probinsiya | what
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