alin: Which

Alin means “which one?” or “which member of a set?” It assumes that the relevant alternatives are visible, previously mentioned, or otherwise limited by context. Before a noun, final n takes linker -g, producing aling: Aling ruta ang mas mabilis? “Which route is faster?”

The central contrast is selection versus open identification. Ano asks what something is or what kind it is; alin asks the listener to choose among candidates. As with other Filipino question words, voice and marker choice continue to organize the rest of the clause.

Core forms and functions

The first five are neutral standard forms. The last is usually (informal/conversational) or a focused repair question, though it can be appropriate whenever the surrounding relation must be repeated.

Selection from an understood set

Use alin when the listener can identify the relevant candidates even if they are not physically visible.

The phrase sa dalawang ruta explicitly supplies the bounded set. Ang mas mabilis describes the member to be selected.

The set can instead come from the situation:

The visible or previously mentioned objects make bare alin sufficient. The demonstrative forms iyong stand before adjectives whose nouns are recoverable.

Aling before a noun

When alin directly modifies a following noun, use the linker allomorph -g after final n: alin + -g = aling.

Do not write alin na tren or alin tren in careful standard Filipino. The form follows the same linker pattern described on the page about linkers after n-final words.

Alin stays unsuffixed when it stands independently before ang:

Here no noun follows alin, so there is nothing for the linker to connect.

Alin versus ano

Compare an open question with a selection question:

The first allows any suitable category or drink. The second directs the listener to a contextual set. Contemporary speakers sometimes use ano where English prefers which, especially when the set is loose or the speaker is asking for a name rather than contrasting alternatives. That variation is accepted; alin makes bounded selection explicit.

Definiteness is relevant but not absolute. Alin needs an identifiable set, yet the chosen member itself is unknown. This is why translating ang as English the cannot explain the construction.

Voice identifies the role being selected

When the selected item is the affected patient, patient voice commonly aligns it with the pivot description.

The question keeps completed patient-voice kinuha and actor ni Lia. It replaces the specific pivot with a choice over mga payong.

If the selected member is the actor, actor voice is natural:

Actor-voice nagdala selects the volunteer, while ng mga kahoy is the non-pivot patient. Question words do not free the speaker to mix ni with actor voice or si with patient voice.

Oblique choices with sa alin and sa aling

When the unknown option is a location, destination, container, or another sa relation, keep that relation in the question.

Patient/conveyance-voice inilagay selects ang mga kable, while mo is the actor. The box remains an oblique location, so the whole question phrase is sa aling kahon.

With an omitted noun, use sa alin:

English can strand a preposition at the end—“Which one will it pass through?” Filipino normally keeps sa with alin at the front.

Multiple selections with alin-alin

Reduplicated alin-alin asks which several members belong in the answer. It is written with a hyphen.

The negative phase hindi pa says the expected return remains unrealized. Alin-alin invites a list; plain alin can still have a plural answer when context permits, but it does not explicitly request one.

Focus, ba, and echo uses

An information question with alin does not require ba. In conversation, alin ba can ask for clarification or show impatience:

The tone determines whether the speaker sounds merely uncertain or frustrated. Ba adds stance; it does not turn alin into a yes-no question.

An in-situ form is natural as a repair question:

This is marked (informal/conversational) because the speaker repeats the incomplete relational frame. The neutral context-free version is Sa tabi ng alin ko ilalagay ito?

A short exchange

Aling pinto asks for selection from the doors in the situation. The answers use demonstratives with the recoverable noun omitted. Ito ba? is a separate polar confirmation question.

Common Mistakes

Omitting the linker before a noun

Adding the linker when no noun follows

Standalone alin is followed directly by its ang description.

Using ano for a clearly bounded contrast

Ano is not universally impossible with contextual choices, but alin is the precise neutral form when the candidate set is explicitly bounded.

Using an ang-form actor with patient voice

The selected shoes are the patient pivot; the chooser is non-pivot actor mo.

Key Takeaways

Use alin to choose from an understood set, alin sa... to name that set, and aling + noun when the selected noun is expressed. Keep sa before an oblique choice, and use alin-alin when explicitly requesting several members. Distinguish bounded selection from open ano, but allow contemporary overlap when the set is loose. Throughout, preserve the aspect, voice, and markers required by the selected participant’s role.