Cebuano Grammar

Welcome to the 8th lesson about Cebuano grammar. We will first learn about prepositions, negation, questions, adverbs, and pronouns including: personal, object and possessive pronouns.

We will start with prepositions. In general, they are used to link words to other words. For example: I speak Cebuano and English the preposition is [and] because it connects both words Cebuano and English. The following is a list of the most used prepositions in Cebuano.

Prepositions - Cebuano
and ug
above ibabaw
under ilawm
before wa pa
after humana
in front of sa atubangan sa
behind sa likod
far from layo sa
near duol
in sa
inside sulod
outside gawas
with uban
without nga wala
about unsa
between tungod
but pero
for para
from gikan
to inig

Preposition Grammar Rules

The following examples use prepositions in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.

Prepositions + Rules - Cebuano
I eat without a knife [preposition + noun] mukaon ko nga walay kutsilyo
she lives near the church [verb + preposition] nagpuyo siya duol sa kapilya
he is taller than her [adjective + preposition] mas taas pa siya kaysa niya
he came with his small dog [preposition + pronoun] niabot siya uban iya gamay nga iro
can you come with me? [preposition + pronoun] pwede ka muuban nako?

Negation in Cebuano

Now let's learn how to make a negative sentence (negation). For example: Saying no, I can't, I don't ... The following examples use negation in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.

Negation + Rules - Cebuano
I understand you [affirmative form] nakasabot ko nimu
I don't understand you [negation + verb] wa ko kasabot nimu
this is not the correct word [negation + adjective] dili ni mao nga sinultian
don't leave me [imperative negation] ayaw ko biya-e
no problem [negation + noun] way problema

Negative Sentences - Cebuano
I don't speak French [negation + present tense] di ko musulti ug French
she didn't visit Germany [negation + past tense] wala siya nibisita sa Germany
he cannot see us [negative modal verb] di siya kita nato
can't she play chess? [interrogative negation] di siya kaduwa ug chess?
we will not come late [negation + future tense] di mi muabot nga ulhi

Questions in Cebuano

Now let's learn how to ask questions (interrogative). Such as: what, why, can you ...? Here are some common examples:

English - Cebuano
how? giunsa?
what? unsa?
who? kinsa?
why? nganu?
where? asa?

More of the interrogative form, now in a sentence:

Questions + Rules - Cebuano
where do you live? [interrogative + verb] asa ka nagpuyo?
does she speak Chinese? [interrogative verb] makastorya siya ug Chinese?
how much is this? [interrogative preposition] tagpila man ni?
can I help you? [interrogative modal verb] Pwede ko makatabang ko nimu?
what is your name? [interrogative preposition] unsa imu pangalan?

Adverbs in Cebuano

It's time to learn the adverbs in Cebuano. But what is an adverb? In general, adverbs modify verbs and adjectives. For example: You speak fast. The adverb is [fast] because it describes the verb and answers the question how do you speak?. Here is a list of the most common ones:

Adverbs - Cebuano
now karon
yesterday gahapon
today karon adlawa
tonight unya gabi-e
tomorrow ugma
soon puhon
quickly paspasay
slowly Hinay-hinay
together ubana
very kaayo
almost hapit
always kanunay
usually sa kanunay
sometimes usahay
rarely panagsa
never dili jud

The following examples use the adverbs in different ways and places to demonstrate how it behaves in a sentence.

Adverbs + Rules - Cebuano
do you understand me now? [pronoun + adverb] kasabot naka nako karon?
I need help immediately [noun + adverb] nanginahanglan ko ug tabang karon dayun
she is very intelligent [adverb + adjective] utukan siya kaayo
I will always love you [verb + adverb] pirmi tika higugmaon
can we learn German together? [adverb in a question] pwede mag-uban ug kat-on ug German?

Pronouns in Cebuano

We're almost done! This time we will learn the pronouns in Cebuano. In general, a pronoun can be used instead of a noun. For example instead of saying my teacher speaks 3 languages, you can use the pronoun he, and say he speaks 3 languages. Here is a list of the most common ones:

Personal Pronouns - Cebuano
I ako
you ikaw
he siya
she siya
we kita
they sila

Object Pronouns - Cebuano
me nako
you nimu
him niya
her niya
us nato
them nila

Possessive Pronouns - Cebuano
my Ako-a
your imuha
his iyaha
her iyaha
our Ato-a
their ilaha

I think it's better to put the above example in a sentence to better assist you. The following examples use pronouns in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence. We will start with the personal pronouns.

Personal Pronouns - Cebuano
I am your friend [1st pronoun + verb] migo man ko nimu
you speak very fast [2nd pronoun + adverb] paspasa man ka musulti
he has three dogs [3rd pronoun + verb] naa siya'y tulo ka iro
she can speak German [3rd pronoun + verb] maskasulti siya ug German
we will not come late [1st plural pronoun] Di mi muabot nga ulhi
they bought milk and bread [3rd plural pronoun] nagpalit sila ug gatas ug pan

The object pronoun is used as a target by a verb, and usually come after that verb. For example: I gave him my book. The object pronoun here is him. Here are more examples:

Object Pronouns - Cebuano
can you tell me your name? [1st object pronoun] pwede ko nimu sultian sa imu pangalan?
I will give you money [2nd object pronoun] tagaan tika ug kwarta
she wrote him a letter [3rd object pronoun] nagsuwat siya ug suwat para niya
they visited her yesterday [3rd object pronoun] gibisita siya nila gahapon
can she help us? [1st pl. object pronoun] makatabang ba na siya nato?
he gave them food [3rd pl. object pronoun] gihatagaan niya sila ug pagkaon

Possessive Pronouns - Cebuano
my name is Maya [1st possessive pronoun] ako pangalan kay Maya
your brother lives here [2nd possessive pronoun] imu igsuon nga lalaki kay nagpuyo diri
her mother cooks for us [3rd possessive pronoun] iya inahan kay nagluto para namo
his hobby is reading books [3rd possessive pronoun] ang iya lingaw kay magbasa ug libro
our dream is to visit Paris [1st pl. possessive pronoun] ang amo damgo kay mubisita sa Paris
their house is not far [3rd pl. possessive pronoun] di man layo ang ila balay

One more thing you need to know is the demonstrative pronouns. They're very easy to learn.

Demonstrative Pronouns - Cebuano
this is my house ako ni balay
that restaurant is far kana nga kan-anan kay layo
these apples are delicious kini nga mga mansanas kay lami
those stars are shiny kadtong mga bituon kay sinaw

I hope you learned a lot about the Cebuano grammar in this lesson. Please check out our main menu here for more lessons: homepage. The next lesson is below, have fun!