Ako ay isang mag-aaral

Thank you Marie !! ^ ^ You help me a lot !
I want to ask you...
"Ako ay labinsiyam na taong gulang."
What is ''na'' mean ? like was/ were in English ?
"Ako ay isang mag-aaral sa unibersidad."
Is" sa unibersidad" like "of university " in English ?

You're welcome. I'm glad to be of help. :)


"Na" can mean several things, but in this case, it loosely translates to "that is/who is."

It connects the subject and the direct object or the direct object and indirect object.

It is usually placed after adjectives or adverbs and answers questions such as who is, what kind, how many, and in what way or manner.

e.g.

labingsiyam "na" taon
labingsiyam = nineteen, taon = year
Q: How many years?
A: labingsiyam na taon (year that is nineteen)

Dahan-dahan "na" inilagay sa lamesa (Gently placed on the table)
Dahan-dahan = gently, inilagay = placed/put, lamesa = table
Q: How was it placed?
A: Dahan-dahan

Mansanas "na" hinog = ripe apple
mansanas = apple, hinog = ripe

Q: What kind of apple?
A: The ripe kind/ The kind that is ripe.

"Sa" is like an all-around preposition in Tagalog. It can mean "in," "on," or "at."

"Sa unibersidad" literally means "in university"

The Tagalog word for "of" is "ng"

e.g.

Mag-aaral ng Unibersidad ng Harvard (Student of the University of Harvard/Student of Harvard University)

I'm sorry for the long explanations and examples. I'm not a professional teacher or linguist, so I'm not really good at explaining rules of grammar and such. If you have any further questions, feel free to let me know. (^^)

Thank you Marie for your easy-to-understand and clear explanation ! I do learn a lot ! I want to learn Tagalog because I think it is a beautiful language. I am waiting for my Tagalog book recently, it is difficult to get Tagalog book in Taiwan. But I found some in a library near my house, so I booked it and looked forward to get them! Philippine is a nice place ^^ I went to Boracay last summer vacation and went to Manila and Palawan this winter vacation. I enjoy the food and natural scenery there!

You're welcome. I'm relieved to hear that.

Thank you. It's nice to know someone who appreciates our language. I see. That's great then. :)

Oh, you've been here twice? I'm glad you enjoyed your stay. Which food were you able to try, by the way? If you don't mind me asking, that is. (^^)

I tried seafood, BBQ and some sweets there. Halo halo and Iced tea are so good.


And also Jolibee ^^ The pineapple juice is very fresh and cool,
and foods there are great. I hope there will be a Jolibee in Taiwan in the future because I really like it.


By the way, fruit shakes are my favorite !! Especially mango
If you don't mind me asking,
what food do you like in the Philippine ? :)

Really? Cool! I also love halo-halo and mangoes.

Wow. That's nice. I hope so too, then. :)

I love to eat, so there are a lot, but I love adobo, sinigang, menudo, and sisig the most. For dessert, I love halo-halo and leche flan. :D

Adobo
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_d9RcbVoy6w4/SmWK7rugxmI/AAAAAAAAA2E/sVWhxxRidcA/s400/porkadobo+(1)_timestamp.JPG

Sinigang
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/21/sinigangnababoy.jpg/sr=1

Menudo
http://www.pinoyrecipe.net/wp-content/gallery/pinoy-favorite-foods/menudo.jpg

Sisig

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Use7Y22AwEY/TOiTh1SvqJI/AAAAAAAAAA8/vqVblTP8Y-M/s1600/sizzling-sisig.jpg

Leche Flan
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9DYrIby9qQI/TZ_kxYpc9ZI/AAAAAAAAABM/sO2XyqEga48/s1600/leche_flan.jpeg

Have you tried any of them? (^^)

The food we like are so similar, it's so nice !

I have tried Sinigang and Leche Flan ! ^^

Is sinigang taste sour? I remember eating a kind of sour seafood soup
It tastes great! I love the sour taste !!!

Leche Flan ... it's so good, especially in halo-halo

In Taiwan, there is food like Leche Flan, but people call it "pudding".

I think Leche Flan is more sweet, and also yummy.

In Taiwan, there are food looks very similar to Adobo,Menudo, and Sisig
so I think I will love it !

I will try these food when I go to Philippine next time :D

Yup. It's really nice to find someone who likes the same things you do. :)

Cool! Yup. Sinigang is sour. There is pork sinigang, sinigang made from fish, and sinigang made from shrimp, but I like pork sinigang and the one made from shrimp the best. Me too. The sourer it is, the better. ^^

I agree. I always save the leche flan for last when I'm eating halo-halo. :D

Oh, it does look a lot like leche flan. I hope I can try it someday. :)

Really? What are they called? ^^

I'll be looking forward to hearing how it turned out. :)

I am also the one who leave leche flan for last to enjoy !! =D

Haha, it is very cool and fantastic to share the same experience together !

I think Adobo is called 菲氏燉豬肉, which means"filipino stew pork" .
Sisig is probabaly called 菲式炒碎肉.菲式is filipino, and 炒 means fried. 碎肉 is sliced meat. Menudo...I can't find it chinese name but it looks like 紅燒肉. =)
紅燒 is a way to cook food. Cook meat and vegetables with soy sauce, it is very yummy !

Haha! We really are alike. ^^

Yup. I agree. :)

I see. Nice. I guess I won't go hungry if I ever find myself in Taiwan. ^^

Sure sounds like it. Makes me hungry. :D