Ilokano grammar, akin to many of the Philippine languages, is very different in many respects from Indo-European languages such as English.
Ilokano is agglutinating. New words can be created from a simple root. This agglutinating characteristic is most apparent in its verbal morphology which has a Philippine-type voice system.
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Ilokano has two subsets of determiners. Articles are similar to the and a/an in English. Demonstratives are those words that point out something, this and that, whether what is being referred to is in space or in time, or is something previously mentioned.
Ilokano determiners show only two cases, core and oblique, unlike Ilokano pronouns which show three: absolutive, ergative, and oblique. In fact, core can function as absolutive or ergative.
Ilokano has two sets of articles, common and personal. Personal articles are used with persons, names, and titles of persons. 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 | kenni | 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. On the other hand, preceded by a personal article, the reference is more specific. The speaker refers to a member of his or her family.
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) Nakitak ti maestra idiay padaya. I saw a teacher at the party. (any teacher)
Similar to the articles, demonstratives distinguish two cases (core and oblique) and two numbers (singular and plural). Like Spanish or Japanese, Ilokano has a three-way distinction regarding space. But, Ilokano has another set that refers to object or events not visible to either the speaker or the listener. In total, Ilokano demonstratives have a five-way distinction.
Ilokano distinguishes the following levels of proximity:
| Number | Case | Proximal | Medial | Distal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Core | daytoy ('toy) | dayta ('ta) | daydiay ('diay) [1] |
| Oblique | iti daytoy
kadaytoy |
iti dayta
kadayta |
iti daydiay
kadaydiay |
|
| Plural | Core | dagitoy | dagita | dagidiay |
| Oblique | kadagitoy | kadagita | kadagidiay |
The temporal series refers to objects and events in time as opposed to space. This series concerns with past time, whereas the spatial series concerns with present time. In any case, the objects or events are not visible to either speaker or listener.
| Number | Case | Recent | Remote |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Core | daytay ('tay) | daydi ('di) |
| Oblique | iti daytay
kadaytay |
iti daydi
kadaydi |
|
| Plural | Core | dagitay | dagidi |
| Oblique | kadagitay | kadagidi |
Demonstratives are linked to their noun or noun phrases with the ligature a/nga.
Daytoy a lalaki This man Lalaki a daytoy This man (with more emphasis on his spatial relation to the speaker) Daytoy a dakkel a balay This big house Dayta nga immay nga ubbing Those children who came
The forms in parentheses above do not require a ligature. But, they may not follow their nouns.
'Ta lalaki That man Lalaki 'ta DOES NOT OCCUR
Examples:
Nagtagtagainepak iti daydi nga apong. I dreamt of grandmother. (grandmother had passed away) Nabirukam 'tay kuartam? Did you find your money?
Ilokano 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 [4] | -ta | -ta | kadatá |
| 2nd person singular | siká [4] | -ka | -m(o) [6] | kaniam, kenká |
| 3rd person singular | isú(na) | -Ø [8] | -na | kaniana, kenkuána |
| 1st person plural inclusive | datayó, sitayó [4] | -tayó | -tayó | kaniatayo, kadatayó |
| 1st person plural exclusive | dakamí, sikamí [4] | -kamí | -mi | kaniami, kadakamí |
| 2nd person plural | dakayó, sikayó [4] | -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) Dakami ti napan idiay Laoag. "It was us who went to Laoag." 3) Sikayo 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, sikayo virtually stands 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!" Adda kadakuada. "He is at their house."
Enclitic personal pronoun sequences occur with goal oriented or transitive verbs, verbs that take both an agent and an object to complete its meaning. Enclitic personal pronouns may or may not combine when they occur in sequence, in the order of agent (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 Sing. | [9] | -ka | -k(o)Ø [8] | - | - | - | -kayo | -k(o) ida |
| 2nd Sing. | -nak | [9] | -m(o)Ø [8] | - | -nakami | - | - | -m(o) ida |
| 3rd Sing. | -nak | -naka | [9]/-naØ [8] | -nata | -nakami | -natayo | -nakayo | -na ida |
| 1st Dual | - | - | -taØ [8] | [9] | - | - | - | -ta ida |
| 1st Plur. Excl. | - | -daka | -miØ [8] | - | [9] | - | -dakayo | -mi ida |
| 1st Plur. Incl. | - | - | -tayoØ [8] | - | - | [9] | - | -tayo ida |
| 2nd Plur. | -dak | - | -yoØ [8] | -data | -dakami | - | [9] | -yo ida |
| 3rd Plur. | -dak | -daka | -daØ [8] | -data | -dakami | -datayo | -dakayo | [9]/-da ida |
Notes
Reflex 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 not difference in meaning between the two sets of forms.
Note that the stress for 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 |
The possessive pronouns are most commonly used in lieu of the thing possessed. It answers the question Whose is this?
Bagimi dagidiay. Those are ours. Ania kadigitoy a lugan ti nadungparan? 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 the ergative pronouns is more common, the possessive pronouns can show possession as well. They precede the noun or noun phrase the 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)
Nouns are classed as either Common or Personal. The Personal nouns are introduced by the personal article ni. Names are marked by ni, for example, ni Juan ("Juan"). Kinship terms can also be preceded by ni, ni tatang ("dad"). They may be introduced by ti, the common article, if the speaker is making a generalization or wants to refer to a concept. All other nouns, the common nouns, are introduced by ti, for example ti aso ("'the dog"), ti balay ("the house").
Nouns can be made plural by using the appropriate form of the article.
In addition, plurality can be indicated in the noun form. Plurals formed in this way have the added nuance of distribution. Plurality is indicated using open or closed reduplication of the first syllable of the root. Or, a consonantal phoneme is geminitated as occurs with nouns denoting persons. Other nouns have a plural form that does not follow either of the preceding methods and must be learned individually.
Open Syllable Reduplication kayong brother-in-law kakayong brothers-in-law Closed Syllable Reduplication ima hand im-ima hands Gemination ubing child ubbing children Other lalaki male lallaki males
Root adjectives are characterized as not having any of the common derivational affixes, such as a-, na-, etc. Many root adjectives denote physical characteristics. A great number of them, especially, denote 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 having a pot-belly (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 | sour, acidity | naalsem | sour, acid |
| gasang | spice, spiciness, heat | nagasang | spicy, hot (taste) |
Some roots have a derived adjective form that begins with ma-. A number of roots have derived adjectives both in 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 | - | maulaw to be, feel dizzy |
A fixed number of roots begin with a-, a prefix that is fossilized and 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 positive form is the "dictionary" form or plain form from which the other degrees can be derived.
The comparative form of adjectives is used when comparing at least two nouns, where one has more of the characteristic denoted by the adjective.
The comparative form is derived by reduplicating the first syllable of the root, for example, naud-udi "(the) later (one in a sequence) < naudi "last" < udi "rear".
The moderate form of an adjective denotes that what is being describe has some degree of quality. In English this would be expressed by rather or some what.
The moderate degree is formed by prefixing paN- and suffixing -en to the root. The final -N is the homoorganic nasal of the first consonant of the root, which is lost in the case of stops.
The superlative is the form that is used when something has the greatest degree of a characteristic in comparison to other items.
The superlative is formed by prefixing ka- and suffixing -an to the root.
The intensive degree denotes that what it being described is virtually the epitome of the adjective's meaning. A near parallelism is the use if -ísimo/a in Spanish or -issimo/a of Italian.
The prefix naka- is added with the reduplication of the first three phonetic segments of the root, e.g., nakabakbaknang' "very wealthy, rich".
The excessive is used to denote that the quality of the adjective is extreme.
Simply, this degree is formed using the adverb unay with the positive form of the adjective, e.g., nabaknang unay "too, extremely, overly wealthy, rich".
This form corresponds to the use of how or so in English in a phrases of wonder, admiration or surpise.
The intensive is formed by prefixing nag- to the root, for example,nagbaknang "very wealthy" < baknang "wealth, riches". Commonly, the intensive is accompanied by the enclitic -(e)n, e.g., Nagbaknangen ni Maria "Maria's very rich!"
| Degree | Form | Gloss |
|---|---|---|
| Positive | napudot | warm |
| Comparative | napudpudot | warmer |
| Moderate | pamudoten | it is getting warm already |
| Comparative Superlative | kapudotan | warmest |
| Absolutive Superlative | nakapudpudot | very warm |
| Excessive | napudot unay | too warm |
| Intensive | nagpudoten | so warm! how warm! |
Although other word classes in Ilokano are not as morphologically diverse in forms, verbs are about as morphologically complex as the classic Indo-European languages of Latin, Ancient Greek or Sanskrit. Ilokano verb forms are characterized by reduplication and heavy prefixation.
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. They can be used with nouns to specify location. In addition, they can replace a noun phrase in the oblique case that concerns location.
| Space | Form | Gloss |
|---|---|---|
| Proximal | ditoy | here |
| Medial | dita | there |
| Distal | idiay
sadiay |
there or yonder |
Examples:
Napan iti balay. He went to a house. Napan idiay balay. He went to that house (over there). He went to the house. Napan idiay. He went there.
Ilokano has a set of adverbs that reference manner. They are a combination of kas "like/as" and the abbreviated determiner forms 'toy, 'ta and 'diay.
| Space | 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 Ilokano, prefixing ag- (a verbalizing prefix) results in verbs that give a generality of the action, possibly accompanied by some 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.
Ilokano has two number systems: one, native and the other, derived from Spanish. The systems are virtually used interchangeably. Yet, the situation can dictate which system is preferred.
Typically, Ilokanos use native numbers for one through 10, and Spanish numbers for amounts of 10 and higher.
Specific time is told using the Spanish system and numbers for hours and minutes, for example, Alas dos (2 o'clock).
For dates, cardinal Spanish numbers are the norm, for example, 12 (dose) ti Julio (the twelfth of July).
Ilokano 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 various modes of possession. While adda is used as either an absolute and 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 kostem? Do you have a car? Adda asawamon? Do you have a spouse already?
It can also indicate current possession, meaning that the possessed object is currently within tangible reach of its owner. However, 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 addaddiay 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.
Saan (variant haan) no, not occupies the predicate slot of the phrase in which it occurs. As a result, personal pronouns and other enclitics will bind to it instead of the word or phrase that saan negates.
Interrogative words always are 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 for a place |
| Inton-ano | When? | Used when inquiring for a time in the future |
| Kaano | When? | Used when inquiring for present or past time |
| Kasano | How? | |
| Mano | How much? How many? | |
| Sadino | Where? | Used when inquiring where an action is performed |
| Siasino
Sino |
Who? |
There are not differences between these. Siasino, however, can denote pluratity.
Ayan is used when inquiring the location of something, for example, Ayan ti susik? 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 for time in the future; kaano, for present or past 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 of the past)
Complex interrogatives have a characteristic -ano appended. The following are a few that 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 isu? How is he related?