Just for laughs - "Ba; Baba; Bababa ba"? See photo.

@wbascara Ba’t?

@Diegocorry: 'Ba? Bababa ba? Bababa. Ba't? = "Really? Is it going down? Yes it's going down. Why (is it going down)?"

@wbascara Ha! Ha!

Refinements and clarifications.1. “Baba” can mean either “down” or “chin”, but they are pronounced differently.Babâ = down (This “babâ” may either be the shortened imperative form of “bumabâ” or the clipping of “i” in “ibabâ”).Babâ! = (You) Come down.
Ibabâ/Babâ mo ang boses mo. = Lower/Bring down your voice.Babà = chin (This may also mean “lowness”.)Ahitin mo ang babà mo. = Shave your chin.
Ang babà ng boses ni Mary. = Mary has a very low voice.2. “Bababà” or “bababâ” is the future tense of “bumabâ”. The more correct translation is “will come down”. “Going down” is the present tense “bumababà”.3. Although there is a glottal stop on the last syllable of “bababâ” when the word is just by itself, that glottal stop usually disappears when another word follows it. “Bababâ ba?” will most likely be pronounced as “bábaba ba?”. 4. The translation of “ `ba? ” to “really?” may not actually be correct. If you’d ask a native speaker to back translate ”Really? Will it be going down?”, you might get “Talaga?” as the translation for “Really?”.“Really?” may be expressed in Filipino as “talaga ba?” (it that really so?) or “totoo ba?” (is it really true?). The “ba” in those two expressions are there only to signify that they are questions. It is the “talaga” and the “totoo” that translate to “really”.5. When we say “ ‘ba”, it is the clipped form of “aba”, which can be an expression of surprise, of disbelief, or of warning and may at times sound confrontational. It may translate to something like “huh”, “oh”, or “hey” in English.Aba/’ba, hindi ko alam ‘yun. = Huh? I did not know that.
Aba/’ba, nandito ka na pala. = Oh, so you’re already here.
Aba/’ba, huwag ako ang sisihin mo. = Hey, don’t blame me. 5. “Ba’t?” is the clipped form of “bakit?” (why?). “Ba’t” for “bakit” is OK if another word follows it. Otherwise, it has to be the complete word “bakit”. If we hear someone just say "bat", we'd tend to assume that he meant the English "but". Bakit/Ba’t ako? = Why me?
Bakit/Ba’t ka tumatawa? = Why are you laughing?
Bakit? Saan ka pupunta? = Why? Where are you going?
Bakit/Ba’t ka pupunta doon? = Why are you going there?
Bakit/Ba’t mo ako tinatanong kung bakit? = Why are you asking me why?

@Tagamanila So great when you go step by step through the progressive pattern. Salamat.@wbascaraFun and instructive. Salamat.

@Tagamanila Another lesson we couldn't get anywhere else! Salamat po!

BTW, the use of "ba't" as "bakit" is not that often done and almost never in the written form. When we speak fast enough, there could be a tendency for us to slide through the word "bakit" that it ends up sounding like "bat". I don't think we intentionally substitute "ba't" for "bakit" though.If you encounter "ba't" in informal writing, it is most likely the contraction of "ba at".Ano ba at/Ano ba't nandito ka pa? = Why is it that you're still here? (This is an expression of irritation. It is like asking "what is your reason for sticking around?" Sino ka ba't pinakíkialamán mo ang buhay ko? = (Lit: Who are you and that you are meddling with my life) Who are you to meddle with my life?

Kanina ba't nandito si James inalók mo siya ng máiinom? = Earlier (today) while (lit: and) James was here did you offer him something to drink?

@wbascara that is quite interesting!

@Tagamanila So, while “ba” normally functions as a marker for a question with a yes/no answer, when it is paired with “at” (ba at/ba’t) it has a different function? From your examples it looks like it acts as some sort of “intensifier”:
Bakit nandito ka pa? = Why are you still here? (Simple question)
Ano ba’t nandito ka pa? = What are you still doing here? (A more accusatory question)
Is this anywhere near close?
Thanks!

Can I throw another, similar, into the mix ?
'diba is already a contracted form of Hindi Ba meaning "No?' or "Is that not correct?".
so, is 'ba ever used as a contraction of 'diba ?