Question: How does Tagalog denote permanence or long-term applic

“Kahulugán” is “(the) meaning“. “Nangángahulugán” is “meaning (based on logical deduction)”."Nangangahulugan ng 'I' ang 'ako'” should be “Nangangahulugan NA ‘I’ ang ‘ako’”. = (THAT) Apparently, ‘ako’ means ‘I’. - inferential"Kahulugan ng 'ako' ang 'I'" should be “ANG kahulugan ng ‘ako’ AY ‘I’” = THE meaning of ‘ako’ is ‘I’. - permanent

@Juantutri Thanks. So, trying to paraphrase your answer:
* My idea for expressing permanence (noun) vs. transientness (verb) was correct in this case. Is that a general principle?
* My wording and grammar were wrong in several places, in ways that (other than forgetting "ang" before "kahulugan") I baffle me completely:
* * "Nangangahulugan ng 'I' ang 'ako'” was along the model of "Nangangahulugan ng kaduwagan ang pagsuko" from the example sentences in www.tagalog.com/word s/mangahulugan.php#e xamplesentences. Judging by "na" and your translation, it looks like your version says "It means that 'ako' is 'I'" and not "'ako' means 'I'" as I was going for. Am I correct?
* * I thought "ay" signaled a change from comment-topic to topic-comment, but I don't see anything that would explain or indicate that change in your rewrite. What am I missing?

@pauamma I do not know if it applies a general principle. However, since nouns are fixed name words and verbs are action words with tenses that are time-based, those features might affect their permanence or transience. It might also just be independently decided by the meanings conveyed by the words. "Nangangahulugan NG kaduwagan ang pagsuko" is correct, but so is “Nangangahulugan NA kaduwagan ang pagsuko”. It depends on what is meant. With “ng”, “kaduwagan” is understood as a possible meaning only, i.e., it could have been something else, e.g., “pagkatalo” (defeat), “pag-iwas sa dagdag na pahirap” (avoiding additional hardship). With “na”, “kaduwagan” would be the only intended or understood meaning.“Nangángahulugán NA kaduwagán ang pagsukò nilá kasí ni hindí man lang silá lumaban.” = It means that cowardice was their reason for surrendering because they did not even put up a fight at all. In the case of “I” and “ako”, there is no other meaning possible and, therefore, it will not sound right to say “nangangahulugan NG ‘I’ ang ‘ako’”.On the use of “ay”:What “Ang kahulugán ng ‘ako’ ay ‘I’” is basically saying is that “ako” is “I” and it logically follows that “I” is “ako”. Therefore, the subject and object are interchangeable; because of that, the topic-comment transposition will have no use anymore. We can even restate the sentence as “ANG kahulugan ng ‘ako’ ay ANG ‘I’” or simply “ANG ‘ako” ay ANG ‘I’” without changing its meaning. The “ang” before the subject and before the object will indicate that either of them may stand as the subject of the sentence.

@Juantutri Thanks. *ponder*