Filipino Grammar Rules for the CSE: Ng or Nang, Din or Rin, May or Mayroon

The CSC’s official scope of examination states that Verbal Ability is given in English and Filipino. Many examinees who speak Filipino every day still lose marks here, because the exam tests the standard written rules, not everyday speech. The good news is that a few rules cover most of the questions. This guide explains each one with clear examples.

1. Ng or nang

This is the most frequently tested pair.

Use “ng” before a noun that is the object of the verb, or to show possession:

• Bumili si Ana ng bigas. (Ana bought rice.)
• Ang bahay ng guro. (The teacher’s house.)

Use “nang” in these cases:

• As an adverb marker, describing how something is done: Tumakbo siya nang mabilis. (He ran fast.)
• Meaning “when”: Nang dumating ang bagyo, lumikas kami. (When the storm came, we evacuated.)
• Meaning “so that”: Mag-aral ka nang makapasa ka. (Study so that you pass.)
• Between repeated verbs: Kain nang kain. (Eating and eating.)

Quick test: if the next word answers “what?” (an object), use ng. If it answers “how?”, “when?” or links a repeated verb, use nang.

2. Din or rin, daw or raw

These follow the same sound rule.

• After a word ending in a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) or the semivowels w or y, use rin and raw:
  • Pupunta rin ako. (pupunta ends in a vowel)
  • Masaya raw siya. (masaya ends in a vowel)
  • Ikaw rin. (ikaw ends in w)
• After a word ending in a consonant, use din and daw:
  • Aalis din kami. (aalis ends in s)
  • Mabait daw ang guro. (mabait ends in t)

Remember that daw and raw report what someone else said, while din and rin mean “also”.

3. May or mayroon

• May is followed directly by a noun, a verb or an adjective:
  • May pera ako. (I have money.)
  • May sasakyan siya. (He has a car.)
• Mayroon is used when it is followed by a pronoun or a particle, or when it stands alone as an answer:
  • Mayroon siyang bagong sasakyan. (He has a new car.)
  • Mayroon pa bang tanong? (Are there still questions?)
  • “May tubig ba?” “Mayroon.”

“Meron” is the spoken form of mayroon and is not used in formal writing.

4. Kung or kong

• Kung is a conjunction meaning “if” or “whether”:
  • Sasama ako kung papayag si Inay. (I will come if Mother agrees.)
• Kong is the pronoun ko plus the linker -ng, meaning “my” or “that I”:
  • Ang sapatos kong bago. (My new shoes.)
  • Ang payong kong binili kahapon. (The umbrella that I bought yesterday.)

Quick test: if you can replace the word with “if”, use kung. If it refers to “I” or “my”, use kong.

5. Pinto or pintuan

Traditional usage distinguishes the object from the opening:

• Pinto is the door itself, the thing you open and close: Isara mo ang pinto.
• Pintuan is the doorway, the space where the door is: Nakatayo siya sa pintuan.

6. Aspects of the verb

Filipino verbs are described by aspect rather than tense:

Aspect	Meaning	Example
Perpektibo	completed	kumain (ate)
Imperpektibo	ongoing or habitual	kumakain (is eating)
Kontemplatibo	not yet begun	kakain (will eat)

The base form, such as kumain in the infinitive sense, is called the pawatas.

7. Affixes

• Unlapi (prefix): *mag-*aral, masipag
• Gitlapi (infix): kumain, sinulat
• Hulapi (suffix): kainan, sulatin
• Kabilaan (prefix and suffix together): kasipagan

8. Sentence order and parts of the sentence

• The simuno is the subject; the panaguri says something about it.
• Karaniwang ayos (normal order) puts the predicate first: Nagluto si Maria ng adobo.
• Di-karaniwang ayos (inverted order) puts the subject first and uses ay: Si Maria ay nagluto ng adobo.

9. Parts of speech worth knowing

• Pangngalang pantangi (proper noun, capitalised): Maynila
• Pangngalang pambalana (common noun): lungsod
• Panghalip panao (personal pronoun): siya, ako, kami
• Pang-abay (adverb): mabilis in Mabilis tumakbo ang kabayo
• Pangatnig (conjunction): at, ngunit, dahil, kaya

How to practise

Rules stick best when you use them. For each rule above, write two of your own sentences, then check them against the rule. After that, test yourself with our Wastong Gamit ng Salita at Gramatika set, and build vocabulary with Talasalitaan at Sawikain and Kasingkahulugan at Kasalungat. Every explanation names the rule behind the answer.