Close
 


Filipino Question Words in Plural Forms

Mark Complete

Filipino question words are also subject to plurality rule. The plural forms of question words are used when the expected answer or subject being referred to is more than one or in plural form as well.

There are two basic rules to remember in forming the plural forms of the question words. The first rule is to duplicate the whole question word if the question word that is used is composed of two syllables only (anó, sino, alín, saán, ilán).
Markup
Examples:
What are the colors of the rainbow?
Anó-anó ang mga kulay ng bahagha? Play audio #5492
What are your ages?
Anó-anó ang mga edád ninyó? Play audio #5493
Who are the ones going later?
Síno-sino ang mga sasama mamayâ?Play audio #5489
Who are the leaders of the group?
Síno-sino ang mga lider ng grupo? Play audio #5490
Which are the shoes that you like?
Alín-alín ang mga gustó mong sapatos? Play audio #5485
Which are the ones that are not yours?
Alín-alín ang mga hindí sa iyó?Play audio #5487
Where (plural) did you go?
Saán-saán ka nagpuntá? Play audio #5482
Where are the stations of the train?
Saán-saán ang mga istasyón ng tren? Play audio #5483
Markup
Examples:
What are the colors of the rainbow?
Ano-ano ang mga kulay ng bahaghari? Play audio #5492
What are your ages?
Ano-ano ang mga edad ninyo? Play audio #5493
Who are the ones going later?
Sino-sino ang mga sasama mamaya?Play audio #5489
Who are the leaders of the group?
Sino-sino ang mga lider ng grupo? Play audio #5490
Which are the shoes that you like?
Alin-alin ang mga gusto mong sapatos? Play audio #5485
Which are the ones that are not yours?
Alin-alin ang mga hindi sa iyo?Play audio #5487
Where (plural) did you go?
Saan-saan ka nagpunta? Play audio #5482
Where are the stations of the train?
Saan-saan ang mga istasyon ng tren? Play audio #5483
Keep In Mind:
These days, you will rarely hear someone say "kaí-kailán." This is mostly used in certain Tagalog areas.

The second rule in pluralizing question words is to duplicate the first two syllables of the question word if the question word is used is composed of three or more syllables (kanino, magkano, kailán). Kaí-kailan is rarely used and took on a distinct meaning on its own. These days, kaí-kailan would mean "recently" as in, "I just arrived recently."
Markup
Examples:
Whose (plural) vehicles are those?
Kaní-kanino ang mga sasakyán na iyón? Play audio #5476
Whose (plural) computers are these?
Kaní-kanino ang mga kompyuter na itó? Play audio #5477
How much are these breads (referring to different types)?
Magká-magkano ang mga tinapay? Play audio #5473
How much are these slippers (referring to different pairs)?
Magká-magkano ang mga tsinelas? Play audio #5474
Markup
Examples:
Whose (plural) vehicles are those?
Kani-kanino ang mga sasakyan na iyon? Play audio #5476
Whose (plural) computers are these?
Kani-kanino ang mga kompyuter na ito? Play audio #5477
How much are these breads (referring to different types)?
Magka-magkano ang mga tinapay? Play audio #5473
How much are these slippers (referring to different pairs)?
Magka-magkano ang mga tsinelas? Play audio #5474
Sínu-sino and anú-anó used to be the plural forms of sino and anó respectively. Changing the letter O in the first word into letter U is an outdated rule for these question words. However, people still say and may prefer using this rule. The diffence between sínu-sino and síno-sino is barely noticeable in an actual conversation. In a grammatical sense, however, these are considered erroneous and out-of-date.

Násaan and Bakit do not have plural forms for the simple fact that nothing can be in the same place at the same time nor can there be a more than one explanation for a particular thing or event.
Mark Complete

Next: Filipino Question Words in Plural Forms Transcription Drill

Section Home:
Filipino Words to Use When Asking Questions
See more of Tagalog.com by logging in
Join for the free language discussion group, flash cards, lesson tracking and more.