ganito, ganiyan, and ganoon as Manner Forms | Filipino Grammar

Ganito, ganiyan, and ganoon point to a manner, quality, type, or situation: “like this,” “like that by you,” and “like that in a more remote setting.” They preserve the same three deictic centers as ito, iyan, and iyon, but they answer “how?” or “what kind?” rather than “which thing?” or “where?”

English stretches this and that across entities, places, and manners. Filipino normally keeps those functions distinct: ito is this entity, dito is here, and ganito is like this. The manner forms can be predicates, adverbial expressions, or linked modifiers before a noun.

See the three-way system overview for the aligned entity, ng-form, and locative series.

The three manner forms

Center	Manner form	Linked form before a description or noun	Typical reference
speaker/current demonstration	ganito	ganitong	like this; this kind of
addressee/addressee's behavior	ganiyan	ganiyang	like that by you; that kind of
remote, recalled, or hypothetical situation	ganoon	ganoong	like that; that kind of situation

The standard spellings are ganiyan and ganoon. Reduced ganyan and ganun are extremely common (informal) in speech, messages, and conversational writing. Learners should recognize them while retaining the full forms in careful prose.

The manner series is historically and semantically related to expressions meaning “like this/that.” It is not another ang- or ng-form entity series. A sentence can contain both an entity demonstrative and a manner demonstrative because they do different jobs.

Ganito: the speaker demonstrates a manner

Use ganito when the speaker is showing, performing, or presenting the relevant manner.

Ganito mo hawakan ang walis para hindi sumakit ang kamay mo.

Hold the broom like this so your hand does not hurt.

Ganito ang tamang pagtupi ng kumot bago ilagay sa estante.

This is the correct way to fold the blanket before putting it on the shelf.

In the first clause, ganito is fronted as the manner, followed by ng-form actor mo. In the second, ganito is the predicate identifying the demonstrated method. Neither form points to a physical object.

Gawin mo ito nang ganito para hindi mapunit ang papel.

Do this in this way so the paper does not tear.

This sentence separates all roles overtly: patient pivot ito is the thing to do, actor mo is ng-form, and adverbial nang ganito specifies manner. The marker is nang, not possessive/non-pivot ng.

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Use ito for the demonstrated thing and ganito for the demonstrated way. When the manner is an adverbial phrase after the verb, the natural frame is often nang ganito.

Ganiyan: anchored to the addressee

Ganiyan commonly points to what the listener is doing, holding as a model, proposing, or displaying.

Huwag mong hawakan nang ganiyan ang baso; madulas ang labas nito.

Do not hold the glass like that; its outside is slippery.

Ayoko ng ganiyang tono kapag may pinag-uusapang problema.

I do not like that kind of tone when we are discussing a problem.

Because the medial form associates the manner with the addressee, it can sound corrective, disapproving, or emotionally pointed. That effect is pragmatic, not part of a dictionary meaning “bad.” In a craft lesson, Ganiyan, tama na iyan can approvingly confirm that the learner is doing it correctly.

A controlled comparison keeps the action constant while shifting who supplies the model:

Ganito mo itali kapag ako ang nagpapakita; ganiyan mo itali kapag sinusundan mo ang ginagawa niya.

Tie it like this when I am demonstrating; tie it like that when you are following what he/she is doing.

The speaker-centered demonstration takes ganito. The manner visible in the addressee's current activity takes ganiyan.

Ganoon: remote, recalled, or hypothetical manner

Use ganoon for a manner or situation not located in either participant's immediate sphere: something seen earlier, told in a story, imagined, or observed at a distance.

Ganoon kami namuhay noong wala pang kuryente sa baryo.

That is how we lived when the village did not yet have electricity.

Hindi ganoon kadali ang pagkuha ng permiso sa panahong iyon.

Getting a permit was not that easy at that time.

The second sentence extends manner into degree: ganoon kadali means “that easy/to that degree.” This is a conventional extension, not a locative use.

Sa ganoong sitwasyon, tatawag muna ako sa pamilya bago magpasya.

In that kind of situation, I would call the family before deciding.

Linked ganoong modifies sitwasyon. The setting is hypothetical or remote from the immediate interaction.

Questions and a short exchange

The question word paano asks about method or manner. A speaker can then test a demonstrated method with ganito.

—Paano ko isasara ang kahon? Ganito ba? —Hindi, idiin mo muna ang dalawang gilid, saka mo isara nang ganiyan.

—How do I close the box? Like this? —No, press the two sides first, then close it like that.

The learner's own demonstration is ganito from the learner's perspective. The instructor's reply uses ganiyan for the action now in the learner's sphere. Deictic forms shift with the current speaker and addressee rather than remaining permanently attached to one method.

Bakit ganiyan ka magsalita sa kapatid mo?

Why are you speaking to your sibling like that?

The question is grammatically neutral but can be strongly corrective in context. A gentler request would describe the desired behavior directly rather than merely pointing to the unwanted manner.

Manner forms before nouns

Before a noun or surviving description, the manner form takes a linker.

Ganitong lalagyan ang kailangan natin para hindi mabasa ang pagkain.

We need a container like this so the food does not get wet.

Hindi ako sasang-ayon sa ganiyang paraan ng pagtrato sa mga empleyado.

I will not agree with that kind of treatment of employees.

Mahirap magplano sa ganoong kalagayan.

It is difficult to plan in that kind of situation.

The linker forms are ganitong, ganiyang, and ganoong. A bare sequence such as ganito paraan is incomplete in standard Filipino.

Manner, entity, and location side by side

Question	Speaker-centered answer	Addressee-centered answer	Distal answer
Which thing?	ito	iyan	iyon
Where?	dito/rito	diyan/riyan	doon/roon
In what way?	ganito	ganiyan	ganoon

Dito ka tumayo, kunin mo ito, at ganito mo itaas.

Stand here, take this, and lift it like this.

The sentence deliberately uses one locative, one entity form, and one manner form. Replacing them all with a translation of English “this” would erase three grammatical distinctions.

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Ask what is being pointed to: a thing takes ito/iyan/iyon, a place takes dito/diyan/doon, and a way or type takes ganito/ganiyan/ganoon.

Common Mistakes

Omitting nang before an adverbial manner phrase

❌ Huwag mong itupi ang liham ganito.

Incorrect in the intended adverbial construction — the manner phrase needs nang.

✅ Huwag mong itupi ang liham nang ganito.

Do not fold the letter like this.

Using a manner form as a location

❌ Umupo ka ganoon habang naghihintay.

Incorrect for ‘Sit over there’ — ganoon means ‘like that,’ not ‘there.’

✅ Umupo ka roon habang naghihintay.

Sit over there while waiting.

Using an entity form for “in that way”

❌ Iyan mo ayusin ang tali para hindi kumalas.

Incorrect for the intended manner — iyan identifies a thing.

✅ Ganiyan mo ayusin ang tali para hindi kumalas.

Fix the tie like that so it does not come loose.

Omitting the linker before a noun

❌ Ganito kahon ang hanapin mo sa bodega.

Incorrect — ganito must link to the following noun.

✅ Ganitong kahon ang hanapin mo sa bodega.

Look for a box like this in the storeroom.

Key Takeaways

Ganito points to the speaker's demonstrated manner, ganiyan to the addressee's manner, and ganoon to a remote or recalled manner.
Use linked ganitong, ganiyang, and ganoong before nouns and descriptions.
Manner forms can express degree and kinds of situations, not only visible hand movements.
Ganiyan may sound approving, corrective, or distancing depending on context.
Keep entity, locative, and manner series distinct even when English uses “this/that” for all three.

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