Filipino: Gramatika at Palaugnayan

The CSE Professional exam is bilingual. A large block of verbal items is written entirely in Filipino, and most of those items test gramatika: choosing the correct pronoun, the correct verb aspect, the correct linker, or spotting the one flawed sentence among four. Examinees who grew up speaking Filipino often lose points here because conversational habits ("pumasok ng maaga", "mas pinakamaganda") are exactly what the exam punishes. This lesson teaches the formal rules with English scaffolding so you can see the logic, then drills them with Filipino examples, since the actual exam items will be fully in Filipino.

Panghalip (Pronouns)

Filipino pronouns change form depending on their role in the sentence, roughly the way English shifts between "I", "me", and "my".

Uri	Halimbawa	English parallel
Panao (personal)	ako, ikaw/ka, siya, kami, tayo, kayo, sila	I, you, he/she, we, you, they
Paari (possessive)	akin/ko, iyo/mo, kaniya/niya, amin/namin, atin/natin	my/mine, your/yours
Pamatlig (demonstrative)	ito, iyan, iyon; dito, diyan, doon	this, that, that over there
Pananong (interrogative)	sino, ano, alin, kanino	who, what, which, whose

Two distinctions the exam loves:

• Kami vs tayo. Both mean "we", but kami excludes the listener while tayo includes the listener. "Kami ang maglilinis; magpahinga ka na" (you are not part of the cleaning crew). "Tayo ang maglilinis" (you are cleaning with us). English has no such distinction, so watch for it.
• Kita. This is a fused pronoun replacing ko + ikaw. Correct: "Nakita kita sa palengke." Wrong: "Nakita ko ikaw sa palengke."

For pamatlig, distance decides the word: ito (near the speaker), iyan (near the listener), iyon (far from both). "Ito ang lapis na hawak ko" but "Iyon ang gusali sa kabilang kalye."

Pandiwa: Ang Tatlong Aspekto (Verb Aspects)

Filipino verbs mark aspect (whether the action is finished, ongoing, or not yet started) rather than tense. There are three aspects:

Aspekto	Kahulugan	Halimbawa (luto)	Halimbawa (sulat)
Perpektibo (naganap)	Completed action	nagluto, niluto	sumulat, isinulat
Imperpektibo (nagaganap)	Ongoing or habitual	nagluluto, niluluto	sumusulat, isinusulat
Kontemplatibo (magaganap)	Not yet started	magluluto, lulutuin	susulat, isusulat

Notice the patterns: the imperpektibo usually repeats the first syllable of the root after the affix (nag-lu-luto), while the kontemplatibo repeats the first syllable but drops the completed-action affix form (mag-lu-luto, su-sulat).

Time words in the sentence tell you which aspect to use, exactly as "yesterday" forces past tense in English:

• kahapon, noong isang linggo, kanina -> perpektibo: "Sumulat si Ana ng ulat kahapon."
• ngayon, tuwing, araw-araw -> imperpektibo: "Naglilinis ang mga kawani tuwing Biyernes."
• bukas, mamaya, sa isang buwan -> kontemplatibo: "Maglalakbay sina Ben bukas ng umaga."

Pang-uri at Pang-abay (Adjectives and Adverbs)

A pang-uri describes a noun or pronoun ("masipag na kawani"); a pang-abay describes a verb, adjective, or another adverb ("mabilis na tumakbo"). The same root word can be either, so identify what it modifies. In "Maingat na sinuri ng kawani ang dokumento", maingat modifies the verb sinuri, so it is a pang-abay na pamaraan (adverb of manner).

Adjectives have three degrees of comparison (kaantasan), parallel to English "tall, taller, tallest":

Kaantasan	Pananda	Halimbawa
Lantay (positive)	walang pananda	matalino si Liza
Pahambing (comparative)	mas, kaysa, kasing-	mas matalino si Liza kaysa kay Ben; kasingtalino ni Ana si Liza
Pasukdol (superlative)	pinaka-	pinakamatalino si Liza sa klase

Rule to burn in: never combine mas and pinaka-. "Mas pinakamataas" is always wrong, the same way "more tallest" is wrong in English. If the comparison covers a whole group ("sa lahat", "sa klase"), use pasukdol; if it compares two, use pahambing.

Pangatnig (Conjunctions)

Pangatnig connect words, phrases, or clauses. Group them by meaning, just like English connectors:

Gamit	Pangatnig	English parallel
Pagdaragdag	at, at saka, pati	and, also
Pagsalungat	ngunit, subalit, datapwat, kahit	but, although
Sanhi	sapagkat, dahil, kasi	because
Bunga	kaya, kung kaya	so, therefore
Layunin	upang, para	so that, in order to
Kondisyon	kung, kapag	if, when
Pagpili	o, o kaya	or

Worked example: "Nag-aral nang mabuti si Diwa, ____ nakapasa siya sa pagsusulit." The second clause is the result of the first, so the answer is kaya. If the blank showed an unexpected outcome ("Nag-aral siya, ____ bumagsak pa rin"), the answer would be ngunit.

Wastong Ayos ng Pangungusap (Sentence Order)

Filipino has two sentence orders:

• Karaniwang ayos (natural order): predicate first. "Naglalaro ang mga bata sa parke."
• Di-karaniwang ayos (inverted order): subject first, linked by ay. "Ang mga bata ay naglalaro sa parke."

The ay appears only once and only between the fronted subject and the predicate. "Nagsasanay ang mga mag-aaral ay para sa paligsahan" is wrong because ay has no fronted subject before it.

Pagwawasto ng Mali: Ang Mga Klasikong Pares

Most "piliin ang wastong pangungusap" items hide one of these confusable pairs:

Ng vs nang. Use ng to mark objects and possession ("bumili ng tinapay", "bahay ng lola"). Use nang (1) before adverbs of manner: "Tumakbo siya nang mabilis"; (2) to mean "noong/when": "Umuwi na sila nang dumating ang bagyo"; (3) for repeated action: "Kumain siya nang kumain." Quick test: if you can replace it with "noong" or it answers "paano?", it is nang.

Din vs rin, daw vs raw. Use rin and raw when the preceding word ends in a vowel or in w/y ("Pupunta rin ako", "Maganda raw"). Use din and daw after consonants ("Aalis din si Diwa", "Malinis daw... wait, malinis ends in s, so daw is correct there").

May vs mayroon. May is followed directly by a noun, adjective, or verb: "May pasok bukas", "May dalang payong si Ana." Mayroon stands alone or is followed by a word with the linker -ng, usually a pronoun: "Mayroon akong dalawang kapatid", "Mayroon ba?"

Kina vs kila, kay vs ke. Formal Filipino uses kay (singular) and kina (plural): "Ibigay mo ito kay Carlo", "Pumunta kami kina Aling Rosa."

Fully Worked Exam-Style Examples

Halimbawa 1. "____ ni Ben ang maghahanda ng silid; ikaw naman ang mag-aayos ng mga upuan." (a) Tayo (b) Kami (c) Sila (d) Kayo. The speaker assigns a separate task to the listener ("ikaw naman"), so the listener is excluded from the first group. With "ni Ben", the fused form "Kami ni Ben" means "Ben and I". Sagot: (b) Kami.

Halimbawa 2. "Alin ang nasa aspektong kontemplatibo?" (a) nagdala (b) nagdadala (c) magdadala (d) dinala. Kontemplatibo means the action has not started. Nagdala and dinala are completed; nagdadala is ongoing. Sagot: (c) magdadala.

Halimbawa 3. "Piliin ang wasto: 'Dumating ang sasakyan ____ maaga kaya naabutan pa namin ang flag ceremony.'" (a) ng (b) nang (c) na (d) mga. Maaga answers "paano/kailan dumating?", an adverbial use, so nang is required. Sagot: (b).

Halimbawa 4. "Alin ang pangungusap na walang mali?" (a) "Si Carlo ang mas pinakamahusay sa tanggapan." (b) "Pumasok ng maaga ang mga kawani." (c) "Mayroon pagkain sa mesa." (d) "Naglakad sila nang mabilis papunta sa terminal." Letter (a) stacks mas on pinaka-; (b) needs nang maaga; (c) needs may pagkain. Sagot: (d).

Halimbawa 5. "Sasama ____ si Liza sa seminar sa Lungsod ng Quezon." (a) rin (b) raw (c) din (d) man. The preceding word sasama ends in the vowel a, so the correct enclitic is rin. Sagot: (a).

Common Traps

• Mas + pinaka- stacking. Any choice containing "mas pinaka-" is automatically wrong.
• Conversational ng. "Kumain ng mabilis" sounds normal in speech but is wrong in formal grammar; the exam expects nang mabilis.
• Tayo/kami swap. Read for the listener's role. If the sentence later addresses "ikaw/ka" with a different task, the pronoun is kami.
• Aspect vs time word mismatch. A choice may be a real word (susulat) but clash with kahapon. Match the aspect to the time expression first.
• Ay in the wrong slot. Ay belongs only in inverted order, right after the fronted subject.

Exam Strategy

1. Read the whole sentence before the blank; time words (kahapon, bukas, tuwing) decide verb aspect instantly.
2. For ng/nang and din/rin items, apply the mechanical tests (replaceable by "noong"? previous word ends in vowel?) instead of relying on what "sounds right".
3. In "pagwawasto" items, scan all four choices for the classic errors above before judging style; the flawed ones usually contain a rule violation, not just awkward phrasing.
4. Budget under 45 seconds per grammar item. These are rule-based points; bank them quickly and save time for reading passages.