Learn Cebuano

Filipino Grammar is very different from English and any attempt to try to directly relate its structure to that of English will result in confusion.

My teacher uses a grammar method that classifies pronouns and markers into three different classes

Here are the FIRST CLASS personal pronouns:

ako ( a-ko ) / ko – I
ikaw ( i-kaw ) / ka – You
siya ( si-ya ) / s’ya – He or She
kita ( ki-ta ) / ta – We (inclusive of the person being addressed)
kami ( ka-mi ) / mi – We (exclusive of the person being addressed)
kamo ( ka-mo ) / mo – All of you (you plural)
sila ( si-la ) – They

There should only be one of these FIRST CLASS pronouns or markers (coming later) in a sentence.

They identify the topic or subject of the sentence and using more than one can be confusing as well as sounding bad to a Cebuano’s ears.

All of the above personal pronouns have a corresponding SECOND CLASS and THIRD CLASS variations.

In previous lessons we had the word balay which means house. You can not use the FIRST CLASS personal pronouns to denote ownership.  You need to use the SECOND CLASS personal pronouns.

This is the meaning when using the FIRST CLASS personal pronoun:

Balay ko – I am a house
Balay ka – You are a house
etc.

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