Ilocano grammar is the study of the morphological and syntactic structures of the Ilocano language, a language spoken in the northern Philippines by ethnic Ilocanos and Ilocano communities in the US, Saudi Arabia and other countries around the globe.
Ilocano is an agglutinative language. This agglutinating characteristic is most apparent in its verbal morphology, which has a Philippine-type voice system.
Ilocano has two subsets of determiners. Articles are similar to "the" and "a" or "an" in English. Demonstratives point out something ("this" or "that"), whether what is being referred to is in space, in time or is something previously mentioned.
Ilocano determiners have only two forms (core and oblique) — unlike Ilocano pronouns, which have three distinct forms: absolutive, ergative and oblique. The core form may function for either the absolutive or ergative cases.
Ilocano has two sets of articles, common and personal. Personal articles are used for people, names, and personal titles. Common articles are used with all other nouns (including names of countries and cities).
| Case | Singular | Plural | |
| Core | ti[1] | dagiti | |
| Oblique | iti | kadagiti |
| Case | Singular | Plural | |
| Core | ni | da | |
| Oblique | ken ni | kada |
Kinship terms such as "mother" or "uncle" can take either set of articles. Preceded by the common article, the term is more generalized or conceptual; preceded by a personal article, the reference is more specific (the speaker refers to a member of his or her family or a specific antecedent).
Napan ti ama idiay eskuelaan ti anakna. The father went to his child's school. Napan ni ama idiay eskuelaan ni kabsat. Father went to sister's/brother's school.
The same can also be said of titles or offices.
Nakitak ni maestra idiay padaya. I saw teacher at the party. (referring to the speaker's teacher in school) Nakakitaak iti maestra idiay padaya. I saw a teacher at the party. (any teacher)
Similar to articles, demonstratives has two forms (core and oblique) and two numbers (singular and plural). Like Spanish or Japanese, Ilokano has a three-way distinction regarding space. In addition, Ilokano has another set, which refers to objects or events not visible to either the speaker or the listener and occurred or existed before the current time frame. Therefore, Ilokano demonstratives have a five-way distinction relative to time and space.
Demonstratives are linked to their noun (or noun phrases) with the ligature a/nga. Daytoy a lalaki This man Lalaki a daytoy This man (here) (with more emphasis on his spatial relation to the speaker) Daytoy a dakkel a balay This big house Dagita nga immay nga ubbing Those children who came The forms in parentheses below do not require a ligature and act as an article. they may not follow their nouns as the full forms. Ta lalaki That man ("Lalaki 'ta" does not occur, since "ta" is contraction of "dayta" which mean "that.")
Examples: Nagtagtagainepak iti daydi apong. I dreamt of grandmother. (Grandmother has died.) Nabirukam 'tay kuartam? Did you find your money?
Ilocano distinguishes the following levels of proximity:
| Case | Proximal | Medial | Distal | ||
| Singular | Core | daytoy ('toy) | dayta ('ta) | daydiay ('diay) | |
| Oblique | iti daytoykadaytoy | iti daytakadayta | iti daydiaykadaydiay | ||
| Plural | Core | dagitoy | dagita | dagidiay | |
| Oblique | kadagitoy | kadagita | kadagidiay | ||
| Adverbial | itoy | ita | idiay |
This series refers to objects and events in times other than the present (as opposed to space, physical or mental). The referents may not be visible to either speaker or listener at the time of the utterance.
| Case | Recent | Remote | ||
| Singular | Core | daytay ('tay) | daydi ('di) | |
| Oblique | kadaytay | kadaydi | ||
| Oblique (Common) | iti daytay | iti daydi | ||
| Oblique (Personal) | ken daytay | ken daydi | ||
| Plural | Core | dagitay | dagidi | |
| Oblique | kadagitay | kadagidi | ||
| Adverbial | itay | idi |
This series of demonstratives can be used with the future particle -(n)to if the noun will come into existence or will be used in the future.
Dagitayto annakmo ket mapanaganan iti 'Maria' ken 'Juan'. Your (future) children will be named 'Mary' and 'John'.Adverbial forms can set the temporal frame of the clause it introduces and usually corresponds to "when" or "before" referring to the past.
Examples: Nagawiden ni Juan itay simmangpet ni Maria. John had already gone home when Maria arrived. (Maria had just arrived earlier today.)
Nagawiden ni Juan idi simmangpet ni Maria. John had already gone home when Maria arrived. (Someone is relating a story from a long time ago.)
The demonstrative inton, intono, tono, ton is used with reference to the future (< i- + (n)to "FUT" (+ no "CONJ")). It does not share the same morphology of the other demonstratives. It is commonly found in fixed time phrases and acts adverbially. It functions to subordinate clauses referring to future time.
Examples: intono bigat tomorrow (lit. future morning) intono rabii tonight (lit. future night/evening) intono sumaruno a tawen next year (lit. future year) intono sumaruno a dua a tawen in the next two years (lit. in the future two years) Mapan agbakasion intono dumakkel ti sueldona. He will go on vacation when his salary increases (in the future).
Ilocano personal pronouns distinguish three cases: absolutive, ergative and oblique. They also distinguish three numbers: singular, dual and plural.
Accent marks in the following table are not written, but given here for pronunciation purposes:
| Absolutive | Ergative | Oblique | |||
| Disjunctive | Enclitic (-ak)[2] | Enclitic (-ko)[3] | Disjunctive | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person singular | siák[4] | -ak[5] | -k(o)[6] [7] | kaniák | |
| 1st person dual | datá, sitá | -ta | -ta | kadatá | |
| 2nd person singular | siká | -ka | -m(o) | kaniam, kenká | |
| 3rd person singular | isú(na) | -Ø[8] | -na | kaniana, kenkuána | |
| 1st person plural inclusive | datayó, sitayó | -tayó | -tayó | kaniatayo, kadatayó | |
| 1st person plural exclusive | dakamí, sikamí | -kamí | -mi | kaniami, kadakamí | |
| 2nd person plural | dakayó, sikayó | -kayó | -yo | kaniayo, kadakayó | |
| 3rd person plural | isúda | -da | -da | kaniada, kadakuáda | |
Examples of independent absolutive personal pronouns: 1) Siak ti gayyem ni Juan. "I am Juan's friend."
2) Sikami/Dakami ti napan idiay Laoag. "It was us who went to Laoag."
3) Sikayo/Dakayo ngay? "What about you? (plural) "
In 1 and 2 above, siak and dakami are the only words in the "topic" slot. The rest of the sentence is the "comment". There is no copula "to be" (as in English). In 3 sikayostands alone, as ngay (a particle) only adds to the sentence.
Examples of enclitic absolutive personal pronouns: Gumatgatangak iti saba. "I am buying bananas."
Agawidkayonto kadi intono Sabado? "Are all of you going home on Saturday?"
Examples of possessive use of the enclitic personal pronouns: Napintas ti balaymo. "Your house is beautiful."
Ayanna daydiay asok? "Where is my dog?"
Examples of ergative enclitic personal pronouns: Basbasaenda ti diario. "They are reading the newspaper."
Intedna kaniak. "He gave it to me."
Examples of oblique personal pronouns: Imbagam kaniana! "You told her!"
Ibagam kadakuada. "Tell them."
Enclitic personal-pronoun sequences occur with goal-oriented (transitive) verbs: verbs that take both a subject and object to complete its meaning. Enclitic personal pronouns may (or may not) combine when they occur in sequence, in the order of subject (in the ergative case, or -ko series) and goal (in the absolutive case, or the -ak series).
| Agent | Patient | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Sing. | 2nd Sing. | 3rd Sing. | 1st Dual | 1st Plur. Excl. | 1st Plur. Incl. | 2nd Plur. | 3rd Plur. | |
| 1st Singular | [9] | -ka | -k(o)Ø | – | – | – | -kayo | -k(o) ida |
| 2nd Singular | -nak | -m(o)Ø | – | -nakami | – | – | -m(o) ida | |
| 3rd Singular | -nak | -naka | /-naØ | -nata | -nakami | -natayo | -nakayo | -na ida |
| 1st Dual | – | – | -taØ | – | – | – | -ta ida | |
| 1st Plur. Excl. | – | -daka | -miØ | – | – | -dakayo | -mi ida | |
| 1st Plur. Incl. | – | – | -tayoØ | – | – | – | -tayo ida | |
| 2nd Plural | -dak | – | -yoØ | -data | -dakami | – | -yo ida | |
| 3rd Plural | -dak | -daka | -daØ | -data | -dakami | -datayo | -dakayo | /-da ida |
Reflexive pronouns consist of the word bagi (/ba.'gi/), "body" and the appropriate ergative enclitic. (Note that the stress falls on the ultima of the word.)
| Person | Form | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sing. | bagik | myself | |
| 2nd sing. | bagim | yourself | |
| 3rd sing. | bagina | himself herself itself | |
| 1st dual | bagita | ourselves | |
| 1st plu. inc. | bagitayo | ourselves | |
| 1st plu. ex. | bagimi | ourselves | |
| 2nd plu. | bagiyo | yourselves | |
| 3rd plu. | bagida | themselves |
Possessive pronouns consist of either the word bagi /'ba:.gi/ ("share") or kukua ("ownership") and the appropriate ergative enclitic. There is no difference in meaning between the two sets of forms.
Note that the stress in bagi falls on the penult, instead of the ultima (as in bagi, /ba.'gi/ above). As stress is not normally written, context will clarify which of the two types of pronouns is being used.
| Person | Bagi | Kukua | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sing. | bagik | kukuak | mine | |
| 2nd sing. | bagim | kukuam | yours | |
| 3rd sing. | bagina | kukuana | his hers its | |
| 1st dual | bagita | kukuata | ours | |
| 1st plu. inc. | bagitayo | kukuatayo | ours | |
| 1st plu. ex. | bagimi | kukuami | ours | |
| 2nd plu. | bagiyo | kukuayo | yours | |
| 3rd plu. | bagida | kukuada | theirs |
A possessive pronoun is most commonly used in lieu of the thing possessed. It answers the question "Whose is this?" Bagimi dagidiay. Those are ours. Ania kadagitoy a lugan ti nadungpar? Bagida. Which of these cars was hit? Theirs. Husto ti pagtugawam idiay lamesa. Nangato la unay met ti kukuak. Your chair at the table is just right. Mine is too high. Kinnannan ti sorbetesna. Ngem, dita met pay kinnan ti bagita. She already ate her ice cream. But, we haven't yet eaten ours (or our share).
Although use of ergative pronouns is more common, possessive pronouns can show possession as well. They precede the noun (or noun phrase) they modify, and are linked with a/nga. Using this construction adds the nuance that the noun (or noun phrase) is particular to the possessor. Nabirokanna ti kukuana nga libro. She found her book. She found her own book. Nabirokanna ti librona. She found her book. (It could have been another girl's book she found.)
Indefinite pronouns are formed with the appropriate interrogative and the particle man.
An alternate form is with uray preceding the interrogative. These forms, however, can stand alone.
| Interrogative | Gloss | Indefinite w/ man | Indefinite w/ uray | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| siasino | who? | siasino man, siasinoman | uray siasino | anyone, anybody, whoever | |
| ania | what? | ania man, aniaman | uray ania | anything, whatever | |
| kaano | when? | kaano man, kaanoman | uray kaano | anytime, whenever | |
| inton-ano | when? (in the future) | inton-ano man, inton-anoman | uray inton-ano | anytime, whenever (in the future) | |
| kasano | how? | kasano man, kasanoman | uray kasano | however, anyhow | |
| sadino | where? | sadino man, sadinoman | uray sadino | wherever, anywhere |
Examples: Ania ti kayatmo? What do you want? Uray ania. Anything. BUT, NOT... *Ania man.
Nouns are classed as either common or personal; personal nouns are introduced by the personal article ni. Names of people or anthropomorphized nouns are marked by ni (ni Juan, Juan). Kinship terms and titles can also be preceded by ni (ni tatang, ni kaeskuelam). They may be introduced by ti (the common article) if the speaker is making a generalization. All other nouns (the common nouns) are introduced by ti; for example, ti aso ("the dog") and ti balay ("the house").
Ilokano has two ways to indicate plurality: the noun accompanied by a plural form of the article, or morphologically. Plurality can be indicated simply by the appropriate plural form of the article without any change in the noun, e.g. dagiti aso, "the dogs" or kadagiti balay, "(among) the houses".
To indicate the plural morphologically, the first syllable of the root is reduplicated or a consonant phoneme is geminated. This type of pluralization occurs commonly with nouns denoting people. Other nouns have a plural form which does not follow either preceding method, and must be learned individually.
Plurals formed morphologically, however, have the added nuance of distribution, e.g. babbalasang ("each/every young woman"). Neither method of pluralization is exclusive. Plural articles commonly occur with morphological plurals.
kayong, brother-in-law
kakayong, brothers-in-law
ima, hand
im-ima, hands
ubing, child
ubbing, children lalaki, male
lallaki, males
Root adjectives do not have any of the common derivational affixes such as a-, ma-, na- or any other derivational affix. Many root adjectives denote physical characteristics (especially physical abnormalities).
Example bassit small dakkel big baro new daan old (applied to inanimate objects) baket old (applied to animate females) lakay old (applied to animate males) buttiog pot-bellied (applied to men) tuleng deaf pangkis cross-eyed/cock-eyed
The most common prefix for deriving adjectives. The na- prefix denotes the descriptive quality of the root.
| Root | Gloss | Adjective | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| alsem | sourness, acidity | naalsem | sour, acid | |
| gasang | spice, spiciness, heat | nagasang | spicy, hot (taste) | |
| pait | bile, bitterness | napait | bitter, acrid | |
| uyong | severity, harshness | nauyong | harsh, mean, severe |
Some roots have a derived adjective form that begins with ma-; a number have derived adjectives in both ma- and na-. The chief difference is that ma- prefix denotes a condition or an experience.
| Root | Gloss | na- | ma- | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| sakit | sickness, pain, disease | nasakit painful | masakit ill, sick | |
| lam-ek | chill | nalam-ek cold (weather) | malam-ek to be, feel cold | |
| ulaw | dizziness, nausea | – | maulaw to be, feel dizzy |
A fixed number of roots begin with a-, an archaic prefix which is no longer productive (e.g. atiddog, "long"; as a result, the prefix no longer has a meaning of its own.
| Root | Gloss | Adjective | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| tiddog | length | atiddog | long | |
| baba | lower part | ababa | short (height) |
The prefix naka- is added with the reduplication of the first three phonetic segments of the root (e.g. nakabakbaknang, "very wealthy, rich".
| Degree | Form | Gloss | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positive | napudot | warm | ||
| Comparative | napudpudot | warmer | ||
| Moderate | pamudoten | rather warm | ||
| Comparative Superlative | kapudotan | warmest | ||
| Absolutive Superlative | nakapudpudot | very warm | ||
| Excessive | napudot unay | too warm | ||
| Intensive | nagpudoten | so warm! how warm |
See main article: Ilokano verb.
Although other word classes in Ilokano are not diverse in forms, verbs are morphologically complex inflecting for grammatical distinctions such as tense/aspect, number and focus.
Ilokano has a morphosyntactic alignment that shares characteristics of both Nominative–accusative and Ergative–absolutive known as the Austronesian alignment.
Demonstrative adverbs are similar to demonstrative adjectives and pronouns. Each series uses spatial reference, and shows the same degrees of proximity: proximal, medial and distal.
Locatives correspond to "here" and "there". They have a three-way distinction similar to the demonstratives: proximal, medial and distal, and can be used with nouns to specify location. In addition, they can replace a noun phrase in the oblique case which concerns location.
| Form | Gloss | ||
| Proximal | ditoy | here | |
| Medial | dita | there | |
| Distal | idiaysadiay | there or yonder |
Examples: Immay ditoy balay. He came to our house (here). Napan dita a balay. He went to that house (just over there). He went to the house. Napan idiay. He went there.(referring to a far place)
Ilocano has a set of adverbs referring to manner. They are a combination of kas ("like/as") and the abbreviated determiner forms toy, ta and diay.
| Form | Gloss | ||
| Proximal | kastoy | like this, this way | |
| Medial | kasta | like that, that way | |
| Distal | kasdiay | like that, that way |
Examples: Kinitak a kastoy. I looked at him like this.
Apay sinuratmo a kasta? Why did you write it that way?
Nagsala a kasdiay. She danced like that (over there, like she is dancing).
As with many word categories in Ilocano, prefixing ag- (a verbalizing prefix) results in verbs expressing the generality of the action (possibly accompanied by an imitating gesture).
Examples: Nagkastoy. He went like this/He did this.
Agkasta kunana. She said that she would go like that/do that.
Nagkasdiayak. I went like that/do that (over there) (pointing to someone who is in the midst of the action in question).
Adding pa- (a directional prefix), direction is implied.
Examples:
Nagpakastoy. He went/came here. He went/came through here.
Agpakasta kunana. She said that she would go/come there. She said she would go/come through there.
Nagpakasdiayak. I went/came (over) there. I went/came through (over) there.
See main article: Ilocano numbers. Ilocano has two number systems: one native and the other derived from Spanish. The systems are used interchangeably; however, the situation can dictate which system is preferred. Typically, Ilocanos use native numbers for one through ten and Spanish numbers for amounts of ten and higher. Time is told using the Spanish system and numbers for hours and minutes; for example, alas dos (two o'clock). For dates, cardinal Spanish numbers are the norm; for example, 12 (dose) ti Julio (the twelfth of July).
See main article: Ilokano particles.
Ilocano employs a predicate-initial structure: verbs and adjectives occur in the first position of the sentence, then the rest of the sentence follows.
Two existential particles, adda and awan, are used in Ilokano to express modes of possession and existence. While adda is used as either an absolute or current existential, awan is used as a negative existential.
Adda can indicate absolute possession, which signifies that the possessor owns the possessed object regardless of whether or not the object is with him at the moment.
Adda kadi kotsem? Do you have a car?
Adda kadi asawamon? Do you have a spouse already?
It can also indicate current possession, meaning that the possessed object is within reach of its owner. This requires the possessor to be in the oblique case (e.g. kaniák).
Adda ti tulbek kaniak. I have the key (on me now).
For emphasis, possessors may also precede the possessed objects.
Adda kaniak ti tulbek. I (am the one) who has the key.
Adda can combine with the spatial demonstrative adverbs to produce addadtoy, "is/are here"; addadta, "is/are there" and addadiay, "is/are there (yonder)".
Awan is used as the negative of adda. Awan ti luganko. I don't have a car.
Awan ti aso ni Maria. Maria does not have a dog.
Awan kaniak. I don't have it.
Indefinite phrases (phrases including words such as "someone", "somebody" or "something") are introduced by adda. If the indefinite phrase is the actor, the intransitive form of the verb is used; if the indefinite is the goal (or patient) of the verb, a goal-focused form of the verb is used.
Adda ti immay. (Actor) Someone came. (lit. "There is (someone) who came.")
Adda ti pinatayda. (Goal) They killed somebody. (lit. "There is (someone) who was killed by them.")
Adda ti linabaak idi kalman. (Goal) I washed something yesterday. (lit. "There is (something) that I washed yesterday.")
Whereas adda is used for indefinite phrases, awan is used for negative phrases, e.g. "nobody came", "no one is here".
Awan ti immay No one came.
Awan ti pinatayda. They killed nobody.
Awan ti linabaak idi kalman. I washed nothing yesterday.
The double negative in English (where the above examples are "no one didn't come", "they didn't kill nobody" and "I didn't wash nothing yesterday") is common in colloquial speech. In other languages such as in Romance languages, it is mandatory. In Ilocano, however, the use of the negative saan or di in conjunction with awan results in something absolute.
Awan ti saan nga immay. There isn't anybody who didn't come. (i.e. "Everyone came.")
Awan ti saanda a pinatay. There wasn't anybody that they didn't kill. (i.e. "They killed everyone.")
Awan ti saanko a linabaan idi kalman. There isn't anything I didn't wash. (i.e. "I washed everything.")
Saan (and its variant, haan) and di (no, not) occupy the predicate slot of phrases in which they occur. As a result, personal pronouns and other enclitics will bind to it instead of the word or phrase that saan or di negates. The combination of the ergative first person pronoun (i.e. ko) does not combine with di in the expected *diko. Instead, diak is used. Saan requires the use of the ligature a/nga with verbal predicates; di does not.
Examples: Verb predicate + Napanak idiay tiendaan. (I went to the store.) – Saanak a napan idiay tiendaan. (I did not go to the store.) – Diak napan idiay tiendaan.
Noun predicate + Estudianteka. (You are a student.) – Saanka nga estudiante. (You are not a student.)
Adjective predicate + Nalaingak. (I am intelligent.) – Saanak a nalaing. (I am not intelligent.)
Interrogative words are always the first constituents of a sentence or phrase.
The following table contains common simple interrogatives:
| Interrogative | Gloss | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ania | What? | ||
| Apay | Why? | ||
| Asino | Who? | ||
| Ayan | Where? | Used when inquiring about a place | |
| Inton-ano | When? | Used when inquiring about a time in the future | |
| Kaano | When? | Used when inquiring about a present or past time | |
| Kasano | How? | ||
| Sagmamano | How much? | Used when inquiring about a price. | |
| Mano | How many?/How much? | ||
| Sadino | Where? | Used when inquiring where an action is performed | |
| Siasino Sino Sinno | Who? |
There are no differences between these; siasino, however, can denote pluratity.
Ayan is used when inquiring the location of something; for example, Ayan ti tulbekko? "Where are my keys?" Sadino, on the other hand, is used in conjunction with verbs, e.g. Sadino ti papanam? "Where are you going?".
Inton-ano is used when inquiring about a time in the future, kaano about a past or present time. Compare the following examples:
Inton-ano ti misa? (When is the mass? When will the mass be?) Kaano ti misa? (When is the mass?) Kaano daydi misa? (When was that mass? Note how the use of daydi adds emphasis on the past)
In addition to the locative interrogatives, Ayan? and Sadino, the locative form of the verb can be used alone with a change in intonation.
Examples: Panganam? Where are you eating? Nangalaanyo? Where did you get it?
Complex interrogatives have the characteristic -ano appended. The following are a few which occur (or are possible):
| Interrogative | Gloss | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agpaano? | In which direction? To where? | ag-, pa- (directional morpheme) and -ano | |
| Maikamano? | In what order? | maika- (ordinal prefix) and mano (how much, many?) | |
| Mamin-ano? | How many times? | mamin- (multiplicative prefix) and -ano | |
| Taga-ano? | From where? | taga- (prefix of origin) and -ano | |
| Kapin-ano? | How related? | kapin- (prefix of kinship relation) and -ano |
Examples: Agpaanoka? (Where are you going to? Which way are you going?) Taga-anoda? (Where are they from?) Kapin-ano isuna? (How is he related?)