Question: When to use “ko” vs “ako”. - Page 2

Hi Joshua,In order to understand and learn Tagalog, one thing you have to do first is to stop finding English grammar comparisons because it will confuse you more. Take the language as it is and don't find "grammatical equivalents". There are many concepts in the Tagalog grammar that don't exist in English.Also, using the wrong pronoun can change the entire meaning totally and still be grammatically correct. So using the correct pronoun relative to the verb conjugation is very critical.Examples:Ako = I, ko = mine/I, Kinain = completed for of Kain(eat), Kumain = completed form of Kain(eat), ang/ng=markers, isda = fishKumain AKO ng isda. I ate fish, emphasis on the doer/what I did. Answers the question "What did you do for lunch?"Kinain KO ang isda = I ate the fish, emphasis on what was done to the fish. Answers the question "What did you do to the fish?"Now, take a look at this sentence: kINain AKO ng isda = the fish ate me. See how the meaning changed when AKO replaced KO in the -in- conjugation?For "possesive ko": Isda KO iyan = That is MY fish. Iyan = that.Let's change ko/ako to mo/kaK-um-ain KA ng isda. You ate fishK-in-ain MO ang isda. You ate the fishK-in-ain KA ng isda. The fish ate youIsda MO iyan. That is your fish.Also, "Ginagawa ka" and "Ginagawa mo" have different meanings. Ginagawa mo = what you are doing. Ginagawa ka = you are being made. As in "Ginawa ka na bola". You were made into a ball. It gets more complicated with other conjugations. "Ginawhan KA ng bola". A ball was made for you

@Bituingmaykinang Good advice here...

@jkos Finding equivalents just leads to many whys and further confusion. When I was finding equivalents between Spanish and English, I got more confused with the complexities of Spanish grammar. Like how in Spanish, "me baño" (literally, I bath myself) instead of just baño (I bath).

@JoshuaC the common sentence pattern in Tagalog is VSO/VOS. Verb-initial is the most common. There is the SVO pattern but it is considered "too literary". Think of it like an English speaker speaking poetic English.To an English speaker, "passive voice" is odd. To Tagalog speakers "active voice" (which is not really active, but using with inverse ay) is very odd and awkward.Tagalog verbs are so powerful that you can transform nouns into verbs; whereas in English doing so can sound awkward...like Nagtaxi (I taxied), Nageroplano(I airplained). Sounds odd in English but not in Tagalog. It actually makes expression easier, IMO

@Bituingmaykinang In my limited learning, I have had this general through cross my mind. I have thought to myself, "Oh, that's a pretty cool way of expressing [whatever is the context I am learning] that." I think my first exposure was "sa". It seems to me that there is enough in the context, written or oral, to express to sort of preposition is made explicit if said in English.

@Bituingmaykinang @Bituingmaykinang I think this is what I am slowly seeing. I am using LearningTagalog.com. I have yet been taught verbs, so the idea that pronouns have a critical relationship with verbs is unknown to me at this time. Along with other's explanations, your comments have been very helpful.

@JoshuaC Sorry it wasn't made entirely clear, but yes, the NG/ANG markers (and the respective pronouns) have a critical relationship with the verb, and mis-marking can change the meaning drastically:(kain - eat; pusa - cat; isda - fish)
Kumain ANG pusa NG isda.
The cat ate a fish.Kumain NG pusa ANG isda.
The fish ate a cat.The AFFIX of the verb is also VERY important. Compare with the previous:Kinain ANG pusa NG isda.
The fish ate the cat.Kinain NG pusa ANG isda.
The cat ate the fish.There are nuances between all the affixes, which I *tried* to reflect, but it's deeper than that.

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@JoshuaC the markers, pronouns' relationship to the verb (and the corresponding affixes) may seem an "advance" concept to learners but it's actually one if the things that learners should learn first because these are foundational in Tagalog.In English changing "the cat and the fish" and the "the fish ate the cat" is simply "rearranging" the words, but to do so in Tagalog will involve more than changing where the word is in the sentence.I know it sounds very complicated in English, but word-for-word translations won't really make things easier. So learners will really have to work on the ang/ng, focus and pronouns early on.

@Bituingmaykinang I am seeing your point. It's definitely a different way of thinking, and trying to get the right mental model is important. One of those mental models is topic of markers and pronouns. But a pretty cool thing, if you ask me. I am learning to recognize and therefore appreciate the creation of language in general. I wasn't expecting this.

It depends on the focus of the verb you're using. Every type of verb put the focus on something in particular. The subject, the object, the direction, the collectivity. There are several mode to say different things. Ako put the focus on you. Kumain ako ng adobo. Kinain ko ang adobo. Those two sentences are the same but the mode is different.