Filipino information questions use the same voice-and-marker system as statements. A speaker does not merely replace an English subject or object with sino “who” or ano “what.” The verb's voice determines which participant is the pivot, and the natural question commonly makes the requested core participant that pivot.
This is why “Who bought the bread?” normally uses actor voice bumili, while “What did Mara buy?” uses patient/undergoer voice binili. English keeps buy in one syntactic frame; Filipino changes the voice to match the discourse center.
The underlying principle is developed in the pivot and ang-marked phrase. A question word does not erase that pivot relation; it asks the listener to supply its value.
Question forms and roles
| Requested information | Common form | Typical voice/frame |
|---|---|---|
| human pivot | sino | Sino ang bumili...? |
| thing/undergoer pivot | ano | Ano ang binili...? |
| choice from a set | alin | Alin ang kukunin...? |
| recipient/source/possessor | kanino | role marked by verb and relator |
| place | saan/nasaan | motion, oblique, or locative predicate |
| reason/manner/time | bakit/paano/kailan | voice of the remaining clause stays intact |
Asking about an actor or a patient
Compare two statements with their natural questions:
Bumili ng pandesal si Mara sa kanto.
Mara bought bread rolls at the corner.
Sino ang bumili ng pandesal sa kanto?
Who bought bread rolls at the corner?
Actor-voice bumili selects the buyer as pivot, so human sino stands in the identifying pivot construction sino ang bumili.
Binili ni Mara ang pandesal sa kanto.
Mara bought the bread rolls at the corner.
Ano ang binili ni Mara sa kanto?
What did Mara buy at the corner?
Patient/undergoer voice binili selects the purchased thing. Actor ni Mara remains ng-marked. The question has not lost the statement's voice frame.
Alin asks for a choice
Ano asks for identity or type; alin asks which member of a known or visible set.
Alin sa mga susi ang ginamit mo sa pintuan sa likod?
Which of the keys did you use on the back door?
Patient/undergoer voice ginamit selects the chosen key; actor mo is ng-form. If the actor is the requested participant, actor voice is more natural:
Sino sa inyo ang gumamit ng ekstrang susi?
Who among you used the spare key?
The contrast is not animacy alone. It reflects which participant the verb voice selects.
Question sino itself does not take personal marker si in this construction. The answer restores the marker required by the name: Sino ang gumamit? — Si Lino. Likewise, ano is not preceded by ang; the following ang + description identifies the requested pivot. This predicate-like structure is why word-for-word English replacement fails.
Kanino and oblique roles
Not every question word is a pivot. Kanino can ask about a recipient, source, beneficiary, or possessor whose relation is supplied by the predicate and context.
Kanino mo ibinigay ang sobre pagkatapos ng pulong?
To whom did you give the envelope after the meeting?
The envelope remains the pivot of ibinigay; mo is its actor, and kanino asks for the recipient.
Kanino ka nanghiram ng hagdan?
From whom did you borrow a ladder?
Actor-voice nanghiram selects ka. Borrowing semantics make kanino the source. English preposition placement does not choose the Filipino marker.
Place questions preserve voice
Saan dinala ni Ruben ang nasirang kompyuter?
Where did Ruben take the broken computer?
Patient/undergoer voice dinala keeps ang nasirang kompyuter as pivot and actor ni Ruben. Saan requests the destination.
Saan pumunta si Ruben pagkatapos ng trabaho?
Where did Ruben go after work?
Actor-voice/intransitive pumunta selects Ruben. The same English question word where appears with different Filipino voice frames because the events have different argument structures.
Aspect and negation remain active
Bakit hindi mo tinapos ang talaan kahapon?
Why didn't you finish the list yesterday?
Bakit asks for a reason; it does not alter completed tinapos in patient/undergoer voice, actor mo, or pivot ang talaan. A habitual question would use incompleted tinatapos, and a projected one contemplated tatapusin.
Sino ang hindi pa nakakapagpasa ng pormularyo?
Who has not yet managed to submit a form?
The negative cluster hindi pa follows the requested human pivot structure. The ability/achievement form contributes its own event meaning.
A short exchange
—Sino ang nag-ayos ng bisikleta? —Si Joel. —Ano ang pinalitan niya? —Ang kadena at preno.
—Who repaired the bicycle? —Joel. —What did he replace? —The chain and brake.
The first question uses actor voice for the repairer. The second uses patient/undergoer voice for the replaced items. Short answers can omit repeated predicates because the question supplies them.
Common Mistakes
❌ Sino binili ang pandesal?
Incorrect for 'Who bought the bread rolls?' — patient/undergoer voice selects the bread, not the buyer.
✅ Sino ang bumili ng pandesal?
Who bought the bread rolls?
❌ Ano bumili ni Mara sa palengke?
Incorrect — the requested undergoer requires patient/undergoer voice and the identifying ang construction.
✅ Ano ang binili ni Mara sa palengke?
What did Mara buy at the market?
❌ Sino mo hiniram ang payong?
Incorrect — the requested source requires oblique kanino, not pivot-form sino.
✅ Kanino mo hiniram ang payong?
From whom did you borrow the umbrella?
❌ Sino ay nagpadala ng pakete?
Incorrect — ay cannot replace the identifying ang construction after sino.
✅ Sino ang nagpadala ng pakete?
Who sent the package?
Key Takeaways
- Information questions retain the marker and voice system of statements.
- Questions about actors commonly use actor voice; questions about patients or other undergoers commonly use patient/undergoer voice.
- Kanino and saan can ask oblique relations without becoming the pivot.
- Aspect and negation remain visible inside questions.
- English subject/object labels cannot replace Filipino voice analysis.
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Start learning Filipino →Related Topics
- sino: WhoA2 — Use sino for human identity and kanino for possessive or oblique roles while matching question structure to Filipino voice and markers.
- ano: WhatA2 — Use ano, anong, and ano-ano to ask about things, identities, kinds, and affected participants within Filipino voice and marker patterns.
- alin: WhichA2 — Use alin and aling to select one or more members from a known set while preserving Filipino voice, markers, and linker spelling.
- Voice and Focus: The Big PictureB1 — Understand Filipino voice as a system that aligns verb morphology with the actor, patient, location, beneficiary, or instrument chosen as pivot.
- The Pivot and ang-Marked PhraseB1 — Identify the Filipino pivot through the ang marker series, verb voice, referentiality, and clause structure.