In English, there are plenty of ways to change nouns into their plural forms.
In Tagalog, there is only one, and that is by adding the word “mga” in front of the noun.
Let’s take a look at some examples:
1. Pakilagay ang mga libro sa lamesa. (Please place the books on the table.)
Paki = used as a prefix to indicate a polite request
lagay = place
mga = changes a noun from singular to plural
sa = on
lamesa = table
2. Manonood kami ng mga kaibigan ko ng pelikula mamaya. (My friends and I will watch a movie later.)
Manonood = will watch
kami = we
ng = of
mga = changes a noun from singular to plural
kaibigan = friend
ko = I/me/my
pelikula = movie
mamaya = later
Tagalog Adjectives and Plural Forms
The examples above illustrate how to change nouns from their singular forms into their plural forms; however, aside from nouns, Tagalog adjectives are also modified to reflect the change from singular to plural.
To do this, we take the first syllable of the root word then sandwich it between “ma” and the former.
e.g.
1. Magaganda lahat ang mga anak nila. (Their children are all beautiful.)
Magaganda = beautiful
lahat = all
mga = changes nouns from singular to plural
anak = child
nila = their
In the example above, the adjective is “maganda” which means “beautiful.” “Maganda” came from the root word “ganda” which means “beauty.” To change the adjective to its plural form, we’ll take the first syllable of the root word which is “ga” and place it between “ma” and “ganda,” making it “magaganda.”
2. Nakakatuwang makita ang masasaya nilang mga mukha. (It is fun to see their happy faces.)
Nakakatuwa = fun
makita = be able to see
ang = the
masasaya = happy
nila = their
mga = changes nouns from singular to plural
mukha = face
In the second example, the adjective is “masaya” which means “happy.” It came from the root word “saya” which means “happiness.” To change “masaya” from singular to plural, we’ll take “sa” and place it between “ma” and “saya,” giving us “masasaya.”
Note:
I’m not sure if there are other languages that also change adjectives from singular to plural, but if you’re wondering why we change the adjective along with the noun, you can think of it as a subject-verb agreement of some sort. Only in this case, the adjective must also reflect the change from singular to plural, so if the noun is in its plural form, the adjective must be in its plural form too or there will be no symmetry.
That more or less sums it up, though. If you’ve got questions or if there is any particular topic that you’d like me to cover next time, feel free to tell me so. I’m actually running out of things to write, so I’ll be happy to accept suggestions. (^_^)
