English prepositions do not have stable word-for-word Filipino equivalents. English in, on, at, and to often correspond to broad sa; with may require kasama, gamit, or no separate relator; and of may correspond to ng/ni, a compound, or a completely different clause.
The reliable method is to identify the relationship first, then choose the Filipino predicate frame or relator. Translating the English preposition before analyzing the event regularly produces grammatical but unintended meanings—or no grammatical Filipino structure at all. The breadth of the central marker is mapped on sa as general relator.
A decision table, not a conversion list
| English form | Intended relation | Common Filipino strategy |
|---|---|---|
| in/on/at | general location or medium | sa; predicate location with nasa |
| to | destination or common-noun recipient | sa |
| to | recipient who is personally named | kay/kina |
| in front of/under/between | precise spatial relation | sa + relational noun + ng/ni |
| with | companion / instrument | kasama / gamit or another predicate frame |
| of | possession or association | ng/ni/nina or possessive pronoun |
| about/from/for | topic/source/intended beneficiary | tungkol sa / mula sa / para sa |
This table gives starting points, not replacements. The governing Filipino word determines which complement is licensed.
in, on, at, and to: let the predicate decide
Nasa estante sa likod ng mesa ng parmasyutiko ang gamot.
The medicine is on the shelf behind the pharmacist's desk.
Isinulat ng nars sa pisara ang oras ng susunod na konsultasyon.
The nurse wrote the time of the next consultation on the board.
Pumunta kami sa klinika bago magtanghali.
We went to the clinic before noon.
English changes among on the shelf, on the board, and to the clinic. Filipino uses a sa-series relation in all three, while nasa, isinulat, and pumunta determine whether it is static location, writing medium, or destination.
More detail is added only when useful. Nasa ibabaw ng estante means “on top of the shelving unit,” not merely “on a shelf.” Sa loob ng klinika emphasizes the clinic's interior; sa klinika normally suffices for “at/in the clinic.”
Personal recipients and reference points
Common-noun recipients use sa, while personal names use kay/kina:
Ibinigay ko kay Mila ang susi ng silid-pulong.
I gave Mila the meeting-room key.
English to Mila does not license sa Mila. However, a named person inside a spatial relational phrase takes ni/nina, because the person is the reference point of a relational noun:
Inilapag ni Mila ang bag sa tabi ni Ramon.
Mila set the bag down beside Ramon.
Compare Ibinigay ni Mila ang bag kay Ramon “Mila gave the bag to Ramon.” Kay Ramon is a recipient selected by the transfer event; ni Ramon completes tabi. The English forms to Ramon and beside Ramon do not predict the Filipino marker by themselves.
English with splits into several Filipino relations
Kasama ko si Dina sa pila para hindi siya malito.
Dina is with me in the line so she will not get confused.
Binuksan ng kusinero ang lata gamit ang maliit na kutsilyo.
The cook opened the can with a small knife.
Kasama expresses accompaniment; gamit ang introduces an instrument. A manner may instead use nang, as in sumagot nang mahinahon “answered calmly.” English uses with in “with Dina,” “with a knife,” and “with patience,” but Filipino does not treat companion, instrument, and manner as one relation.
Some Filipino predicates incorporate the participant relation into their voice and marker pattern. Tinulungan niya ako means “She helped me”; replacing pivot ako with sa akin after locative-voice tinulungan would break that frame. This is why verb valency outranks an English preposition.
of, by, and possessive relations
Nasa mesa ang payong ni Rosa at ang kuwaderno ng kaniyang kapatid.
Rosa's umbrella and her sibling's notebook are on the table.
English of and possessive 's correspond here to ni before a personal name and ng before a common-noun phrase. In sa harap ng bahay, the same possessive-like ng marks the house as the reference point of harap. It is not a universal translation of of: English “a cup of coffee” is normally isang tasa ng kape, but compounds and measure expressions have their own conventional structures.
English by is especially misleading. A patient-voice actor may take ng/ni; a means may use sa pamamagitan ng (formal) or gamit ang; a deadline may use bago or pagsapit ng; and spatial by the door may be sa tabi ng pinto. There is no general Filipino word that replaces every by.
Topics, sources, and beneficiaries
Nagpadala ang samahan ng liham tungkol sa bagong patakaran.
The association sent a letter about the new policy.
Mula sa tanggapan ng alkalde ang opisyal na anunsiyo.
The official announcement is from the mayor's office.
Naghanda sila ng tahimik na silid para sa mga magulang.
They prepared a quiet room for the parents.
Tungkol sa, mula sa, and para sa explicitly distinguish topic, source, and intended beneficiary. Yet even these phrases are not mechanically required by English. Naghintay siya nang dalawang oras “She waited for two hours” does not use para sa, because English for marks duration rather than a beneficiary.
Lexical selection is sometimes genuinely arbitrary from an English learner's perspective. Filipino says interesado sa musika, takot sa aso, sumang-ayon sa mungkahi, and tungkol sa musika. The English words interested in, afraid of, agree with/to, and about offer no dependable conversion rule. Learn frequent predicates with their normal complement.
Precision versus overtranslation
Nakasabit sa pader ang orasan, at nasa ibabaw ng pader ang lumang paso.
The clock is hanging on the wall, and the old flowerpot is on top of the wall.
The controlled pair shows why greater length is not greater accuracy. Sa pader describes attachment to the wall face. Sa ibabaw ng pader selects the wall's upper edge or surface. Likewise, nasa Maynila ordinarily means “in Manila”; nasa loob ng Maynila deliberately contrasts what lies within the city's boundary.
—Saan ang pinakamalapit na sakayan? —Sa tapat ng munisipyo, sa tabi ng botika.
—Where is the nearest pickup point? —Opposite the municipal hall, beside the pharmacy.
Natural directions combine lexical relational nouns with broad sa. English happens to use two different prepositions, but Filipino repeats a coherent sa + region + ng + landmark structure.
Register and accepted variation
Contemporary speakers sometimes choose a simple sa phrase where a more explicit relational phrase is also possible: Nasa mesa ang telepono and Nasa ibabaw ng mesa ang telepono can describe the same scene, but the latter highlights the tabletop. Katabi ng botika ang bangko and Nasa tabi ng botika ang bangko are both standard ways to describe adjacency.
Conversational sa may kanto means “around/by the corner area” (informal conversation). Careful directions may use sa bandang kanto. Such variation reflects precision and style, not free substitution among all prepositions.
Common Mistakes
Copying English to before a personal name
❌ Ipinadala ko sa Lena ang mensahe.
Incorrect — a singular personal-name recipient takes kay.
✅ Ipinadala ko kay Lena ang mensahe.
I sent the message to Lena.
Using tungkol sa after a predicate that selects sa
❌ Interesado si Nilo tungkol sa astronomiya.
Nonstandard lexical selection — interesado takes a sa complement.
✅ Interesado si Nilo sa astronomiya.
Nilo is interested in astronomy.
Tungkol sa astronomiya is correct after a suitable head, as in aklat tungkol sa astronomiya “a book about astronomy.”
Using accompaniment for an instrument
❌ Pinutol niya ang tali kasama ang gunting.
Meaning mismatch — kasama presents the scissors as a companion rather than an instrument.
✅ Pinutol niya ang tali gamit ang gunting.
She cut the string with scissors.
Overtranslating on
❌ Nakadikit sa ibabaw ng salamin ang paalala.
Meaning mismatch if the note is attached to the face of the glass; ibabaw points to its upper surface or edge.
✅ Nakadikit sa salamin ang paalala.
The note is stuck to the glass.
Adding sa to a participant already selected by voice
❌ Tinulungan niya sa akin na buhatin ang kahon.
Incorrect — with tinulungan, the person helped is the ang-form pivot.
✅ Tinulungan niya akong buhatin ang kahon.
She helped me carry the box.
Key Takeaways
- English prepositions encode many unrelated functions; Filipino chooses markers and relators from the intended relation and predicate frame.
- Broad sa covers location, destination, medium, domain, and more, while lexical relational nouns add spatial precision.
- Named recipients take kay/kina, but named reference points after relational nouns take ni/nina.
- Accompaniment, instrument, manner, possession, topic, source, and beneficiary require different Filipino constructions.
- More explicit is not always more idiomatic: sa pader and sa ibabaw ng pader describe different spatial profiles.
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Start learning Filipino →Related Topics
- sa as General RelatorB1 — Use sa for broad location, direction, time, recipient, reference, and stimulus relations without mapping English prepositions one for one.
- nasa harap, likod, ibabaw, and ilalimB1 — Locate things in front of, behind, on top of, or under a reference point with nasa or sa plus a relational noun and its complement.
- pagitan, tabi, loob, and labasB1 — Express between, beside, inside, and outside with pagitan, tabi, loob, and labas while choosing sa or nasa for their clause function.
- Compound Relators and LinkersB1 — Assemble compound Filipino relators from outer sa-based relations, relational nouns, internal modifiers, linkers, and reference-point markers.
- sa as Oblique and Locative MarkerA1 — Use sa for locations, paths, goals, recipients, and other oblique phrases while tracking how voice can promote a location to pivot.
- Translating English Prepositions One-for-OneB1 — Replace word-for-word English preposition transfer with Filipino predicate frames, markers, relators, and voice-sensitive participant structures.