2. Because…

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Not the word ‘because’ but the answer to a question. You haven’t asked it, yet, but you will, so I’ll answer it now. The question will be, “Why are the grammar rules so…fluid??” And my answer: because. I get it, grammar rules that ebb and flow make it difficult to learn a language.

That said, think about English. Our rules of grammar often seem made to be broken. For that and other reasons, English is one of the hardest languages to learn. We don’t even think about it, because we already speak it. Cebuano is a language that primarily is spoken, not written. If you think about spoken English, you will admit that the rules apply a lot less when speaking than when writing. I will give an example of the fluidness of Cebuano in this post. I suggest an alternative to considering it annoying. Think of it as an opportunity to get things wrong and most often still being understood and forgiven the grammar errors.

Gústo ka ug ítlog?
Do you want eggs?

Oo, gústo ko ug ítlog.
Yes, I want eggs.

Píla ka ítlog? Gústo kog dúha ka ítlog?
Píla ka ítlog? Gústo ko ug dúha ka ítlog?
Píla ka ítlog? Gústo nímo dúha ka ítlog?
How many eggs? Do you want two eggs?

Gusto ko ug túlo ka ítlog.
I want three eggs.

Ok ra. Gústo kog dúha ka ítlog.
Ok ra. Gústo ko ug dúha ka ítlog.
Ok ra. Gústo nímo túlo ka ítlog.
Ok. You want three eggs.

Vocabulary

Gústo
want (v – present)

ka
You (pron – singular)

ka
Is also a particle that comes before a quantity, such as coming before ‘three’ in ‘three eggs’.

ko
I (pron)

ug
Particle preceding the direct object.

ítlog
eggs (n)

oo – pronounced ‘oh’
yes (adv)

píla
how many (int det)

dúha
two (adv)

túlo
three (adv)

Grammar Notes

Gústo ka ug ítlog?

1. Here ‘ka’ is the short form of ‘íkaw’, you. When using the short form, it follows the verb. The long form precedes the verb. So, ‘Íkaw gústo ug ítlog?’ means the same thing.
2. ‘Ug’ (sometimes written as ‘og’) can mean ‘and’, but in this context is simply marking the coming of a direct object…’ítlog’. As a reminder, a direct object is the ‘what’ upon which a verb is focused. So, you want…what? You want eggs.
3. In English we would ask, “Do you want eggs?” or “Do you want an egg?” Cebuano does not differentiate between singular and plural when the noun is indefinite, meaning a noun that isn’t preceded by ‘the’, which would make it definite. Jumping ahead a bit, just to make this more clear:
Ítlog: egg/eggs
Ang ítlog: the egg
Ang mga ítlog: the eggs

Oo, gústo ko ug ítlog.

4. Oo is pronounced ‘oh’ … sometimes ‘ohh’. In Tagalog, ‘yes’ is pronouced ‘oh-oh’.
5. ‘Ko’ is the short form for ‘I’, so comes after the verb. The long form is ‘áko’, which would come before the verb, ‘Áko gústo ug ítlog.’

Píla ka ítlog? Gústo kog dúha ka ítlog?
Píla ka ítlog? Gústo ko ug dúha ka ítlog?
Píla ka ítlog? Gústo nímo dúha ka iitlog?

All three mean the same. Some explanation is needed, though.
6. ‘kog’. It is common for ‘ko ug’ to be made into a contraction (think ‘I am = I’m). There is a rule that, with ‘ko’, a contraction only happens if the next word is a noun, which it is not in this case, so … ‘because’.
7. The ‘ka’ before ‘ítlog’ is not the word meaning ‘you’. It is a particle that signifies a quantity, in this case tying together dúha and ítlog…two eggs.
8. ‘Nímo’. This is a little harder to explain for this context. It is the ergative form of ‘íkaw’. Technically, literally, it makes the sentence passive, so, ‘two eggs are wanted by you’, but no one unpacks it like that. It is considered just another way of saying the same thing.
9. When ‘nímo’ is used, because of the literal change to the structure of the sentence, there is no longer a direct object, so ‘ug’ is not needed between ‘nímo’ and ‘dúha’.
10. It’s typical, but not required, that the ergative form is used when asking for verification…’Do you want two eggs?’ and the active form, in this case the one with ‘ko ug’ or ‘kog’, when making a statement…’You want two eggs.’
11. Typically, the Cebuano words for numerals are used for 1-10, after which Spanish is used.

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