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BeginnerLesson 5

Describing People & Things

How adjectives are built with na-, how they work in a sentence, and how to compare two things.

Building an adjective with na-

Many Ilokano adjectives are formed by adding na- to a root. pintás on its own is 'beauty'; add na- and it becomes napíntas, 'beautiful.'

  • dakkél

    big, large

    verified in this app's dictionary

  • sadút

    lazy

    verified in this app's dictionary

  • na- + píntas → napíntas

    pretty, beautiful

Describing something in a sentence

A descriptive sentence just puts the adjective first, followed by the thing it describes — no separate word for "is."

  • Naánus diáy bakét.

    The old woman is kind.

  • Nalamíis ditóy.

    It is cool here.

    weather/condition adjectives like this often have no subject at all

Comparing two things

To compare, repeat the first syllable of the adjective (napíntas → napínpíntas, roughly "more beautiful") and follow the second thing being compared with ngem 'than'.

  • Napínpíntas diáy asáwak ngem diáy asáwam.

    My wife is more beautiful than your wife.

  • Dákdakkélak ngem siká.

    I am bigger than you.

Practice these words →

Grammar: Ch. 3.2(c); Ch. 6.3; Ch. 11.3, from Constantino's Ilokano Reference Grammar (1971, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).