Ito ang paraan ng mekaniko.

Ito means this. It is used for something near the speaker.

In sentences like this, Filipino often starts with the demonstrative or topic being identified:

• Ito ang paraan ng mekaniko.
  = This is the mechanic’s method / way.

So ito comes first because the sentence is identifying what this is.

Ang is a very common Filipino marker. Here it marks the noun phrase paraan ng mekaniko as the focused or identified part of the sentence.

So:

• Ito = this
• ang paraan ng mekaniko = the method/way of the mechanic

A useful way to think of it is that ang often marks the main noun phrase in the sentence.

Because mekaniko is not the main focus noun here. It is part of a possessive or descriptive relationship:

• paraan ng mekaniko = the mechanic’s method
• more literally, method of the mechanic

Here, ng links mekaniko to paraan and shows a relationship like of, by, or possession, depending on context.

Compare:

• ang mekaniko = the mechanic as the main noun/topic
• ng mekaniko = of the mechanic / the mechanic’s

It can suggest any of those depending on context. In this sentence, the most natural English idea is:

• the mechanic’s method
• the mechanic’s way

That is because paraan is something associated with how a person does something. So ng mekaniko most naturally describes whose method it is.

Paraan means way, method, or means.

Depending on context, you might translate it as:

• way
• method
• approach
• procedure

In this sentence, way or method both work well.

Filipino and English organize sentences differently.

English says:

• This is the mechanic’s method.

Filipino says:

• Ito ang paraan ng mekaniko.

A very literal breakdown would be:

• This
  • the method
    • of the mechanic

This is normal Filipino structure. You should not expect Filipino to match English word order exactly.

Grammatically, learners often imagine that structure, but the natural standard form is:

• Ito ang paraan ng mekaniko.

In Filipino equational sentences, ay can appear, but when it does, the structure is usually rearranged:

• Ang paraan ng mekaniko ay ito.
  = The mechanic’s method is this.

So for your original sentence, Ito ang ... is already complete and natural without ay.

Mekaniko is a borrowed word, ultimately from Spanish and related to English mechanic. Borrowed words are very common in Filipino.

So:

• mekaniko = mechanic

Even though it is borrowed, it behaves like a normal Filipino noun in the sentence.

Yes, in translation there often is.

Filipino does not use articles in exactly the same way English does. In English, we often need the or a/an, but Filipino usually relies more on markers and context.

So:

• ang paraan often becomes the method or the way
• ng mekaniko often becomes of the mechanic or the mechanic’s

The English article is usually supplied in translation, not matched word-for-word.

In ng, the pronunciation is usually like the ng sound at the end of English sing.

So:

• ng mekaniko is approximately nang me-ka-ni-ko in connected speech, though exact pronunciation varies a bit by speaker and speed.

Important note:

• ng as a word is different from the letter name ng in the Filipino alphabet.
• In this sentence, it is the grammatical marker ng.

Yes, if the distance changes.

These demonstratives differ by distance:

• ito = this near the speaker
• iyan = that near the person being spoken to
• iyon = that over there, farther from both

So you could say:

• Ito ang paraan ng mekaniko. = This is the mechanic’s method.
• Iyan ang paraan ng mekaniko. = That is the mechanic’s method.
• Iyon ang paraan ng mekaniko. = That over there is the mechanic’s method.

Not naturally in this sentence.

If you want to say for the mechanic, Filipino would more naturally use something like:

• para sa mekaniko

So:

• paraan ng mekaniko = the mechanic’s method / method of the mechanic
• paraan para sa mekaniko = a method for the mechanic

Those are different meanings.

Yes. This is a complete and normal Filipino sentence.

Filipino often has sentences where English would use is, but no separate verb is needed. This kind of sentence is very common.

So:

• Ito ang paraan ng mekaniko.

is fully complete, even though English translates it with is.