Is the "Ay" Marker in Tagalog the Same as the English Verb "To be"?

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One of the most common markers in the Tagalog language is ay. It may appear as if ay  is the equivalent of the English verb "to be", because, for example, the literal translation of a phrase like ako ay Pilipino is "I am  Filipino". However, in reality, far from being a verb, let alone the verb "to be", which doesn't really exist in Tagalog, the function of ay is simply to invert the order of a phrase, and in the example above ako ay Pilipino is merely the inverted form of Pilipino ako. In other words, because in Tagalog there is no such thing as the verb "to be", such phrases as "I am Italian", "she is beautiful" or "Mario is a doctor" in Tagalog have no verb and are literally rendered as "Italian I" ("Italiano ako"), "beautiful she" ("maganda siya") and "doctor Mario" ("doktor si Mario"). The "ay" marker simply switches the order of such phr
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Nouns in Tagalog and "Panlaping Makangalan"

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As I said in my previous post about "affixes" in Tagalog, depending on the affix that you stick to the "root word" you can turn a root-word into an adjective, a verb or a noun.

In Tagalog there are nouns that don't need an affix, such as, for example:

Silya

Mesa

Aparador

Palengke

Kotse

Other nouns are formed by sticking one or more "panlaping makangalan" or "noun affixes".

Here is a list of the most common "panlaping makangalan"

NOUN AFFIXES OR PANLAPING MAKANGALAN

ka-indicating a companion or colleague

ex kainuman:drinking buddy, katrabaho: work colleague

ka-....-an or ka-...-han: collective or abstract noun.
Example: kagandahan=beauty, kaalaman=knowledge, kaunawaan=insight

Pan-: denoting instrumental use of the noun.
Example: pantulong=aid

"-an" and "-han"

1. A place where you can find many of the things described by the root word.

Example: aklatan (a place with many aklat or books=library), bigasan=rice shop

2. Place where the action described by the root word takes place
Example: aralan (place where the aral or lesson takes place), lutuan (place where luto or cooking is made), laruan, labahan

3. time in which the action indicated by the root word takes place to a large extent
Example: pistahan=time for celebration, anihan=harvesting time

4. actions done for revenge
Example: barilan=shooting, suntukan=punching

5. something numerous or very large
Example: duguan=bloodshed

"in or hin"

1. relationship
Example: tiyuhin=uncle, inapo=offspring

2. something that has the same shape as the thing defined by the root-word
Example: sinampalok=something having the shape of sampalok or tamarind

"ka"

1. part of a group
Example: kabayan=fellow countryman

2. relationship
Example: kalaro=fellow player

"ka – an"

1. group of things described by the root word
Example: kabahayan=group of houses

2. the climax of a situation
Example: kainitan=under the sun, in a very hot environment

"mag"

1. family relationship
Example: mag-ama=father and son

2. mag- + repetition of the first syllable of the root word=profession
Example: manggagamot=someone who works in the field of medicine

"tag"

1. season
Example: tag-ulan=rainy season

"taga"

1. one who does the job indicated by the root word
Example: tagalinis=cleaner

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