Cebuano language

Cebuano is spoken in the Philippines by about 20 million people. It is the most widely spoken member of the Visayan Languages; a language closely related to other Filipino languages, and malay and Indonesian. It has the largest native language speaking population of the Philippines despite not being taught formally in schools and universities. It is the lingua franca of the Central Visayas  and Mindanao.

Interrogative Pronouns

Unsa - What

Asa - Where

Kinsa - Who

Kanus-a - When

Unsa-on - how

Example

* Unsa ang Generman sa " Kumusta" ?  - What is the German for " How are you " ?

* Kinsa ni tag-iya ? - Who owned this one ?

* Asa ka paingon ? - Where are you going ?

* Kanus-a imong Birthday ? - When is your Birthday ?

* Unsa-on nako pagsarado ang bintana ? - How can  I close the window ?

Si and Ni

" Si "- Marker for Proper Noun

" Ni " -Marker for Personal Pronoun


Example

 Si Aquino ang bag-ong Presidente. - Aquino is the new President.

Si Maria kay guwapa. - Maria is beuatiful.

Note : It is not necessary that the marker " Si " is always in the beginning of the sentence.

Ang bag-ong Presidente kay si Aquino. - The new President is Aquino.

Asa ni nimo nakuha ? - Where did you get it ?

Dili ni ako ! - This is not mine !

" Ba " Marker

" Ba " - is a marker for Yes or No Question


                      Statement  to Question

German ako. - I am German.
* German ba ako ? - Am I German ?

German siya. - He is German.
* German ba siya ? - Is he German ?

German ka. - You are German.
* German ka ba ? - Are you German ?

# Note : Ka is shorter form for Ikaw.
            German ba ka ? is not good for Cebuano´s ears.

German kita. - We are Germans.
* German ba kita ? - Are we Germans ?

German kami. - We are Germans.
* German ba kami? - Are we Germans?

German kamo. - You are Germans.
*German ba kamo? - Are You Germans ?

German sila. - They are Germans.
German ba sila? - Are they Germans ?

Note :
When the Pronouns is not the first word of the sentence, the short form is more commonly used than the full form.

Ako - ko            Ikaw - ka (kaw)           Kita - ta

Kami - mi          Kamo - mo                  Siya - sya

Example

German ba ako? - Am I German?
* German ba ko ? - Am I German ?

German ba siya ? - Is he German ?
* German ba sya ? - Is he German ?

German ba kamo ?- Are they Germans?
*German ba mo ? - Are they Germans?

Cebuano Personal Pronouns 1.7

II - Plural

4.) 3rd Person

                        Nominative  --- Objective  --- Possessive
                            Sila´                  Nila´                 Ila´
                           ( They )            ( Them )        ( Their )


Example

* Nominative

Sila akong mga amigo. --- They are my friends.

* Objective

Ganahan ba ka nila? --- Do you like them ?

* Possessive

Ila ba tong sala´? --- Is that their mistakes ?


Vocabulary

Amigo - Friends

Ganahan - like

sala´- mistakes

Cebuano Personal Pronouns 1.6

II - Plural

3.) 2nd Person

                        Nominative  ---  Objective  --- Possessive
                             Kamo              Ninyo               Inyo
                           ( You )             ( You )           ( Your )


Example

* Nominative

Pag-amping kamo. --- Take care both of you.

* Objective

Asa ninyo ge-butang ang bugas ? --- Where did you put the rice?

* Possessive

Nindot inyong lugar. --- Your place is nice.

Vocabulary

Amping - take care

ge-butang - put

Asa - where

bugas - rice

Nindot - nice / wonderful

Lugar - place

Cebuano Personal Pronouns 1.5

II - Plural

2.) 1st Person Exclusive

                                  Nominative  ---  Objective  ---  Possessive
                                     Kami                   Namo             Amo
                                     ( We )                 ( Us )             ( Our )


Example

* Nominative

Kami ang mi-daog. --- We are the one who won.

* Objective

Maka-tabang ka namo. --- You can help us.

* Possessive

Amo ning kariton. --- This is our cart.


Vocabulary

Daog - won

Tabang - help

Kariton - cart