Samantala, naghihintay ako sa talyer.

Samantala usually means meanwhile or in the meantime.

In this sentence, it connects this action to another action or situation happening at the same time. It is often placed at the beginning of the sentence, and a comma after it is very natural:

Samantala, naghihintay ako sa talyer.

So it works like an English scene-setting word such as Meanwhile, ...

Because verb-initial word order is very common in Filipino.

So instead of the English-style order I am waiting, Filipino naturally says:

Naghihintay ako
literally, something like Waiting I am

That is normal and natural in Filipino.

You can also say:

Ako ay naghihintay sa talyer.

But that sounds more formal, more deliberate, or slightly more emphatic than the original.

Naghihintay is the imperfective form of the verb based on the root hintay, which means wait.

It is formed like this:

• root: hintay
• completed: naghintay = waited
• imperfective: naghihintay = is/was waiting
• contemplated: maghihintay = will wait / will be waiting

So naghihintay shows an action that is ongoing, in progress, or not yet completed.

Not exactly in the same way as English.

Filipino verbs are usually better described in terms of aspect rather than strict tense.
Here, naghihintay is imperfective, which focuses on the action as ongoing.

Depending on context, it can mean:

• am waiting
• was waiting
• sometimes have been waiting

In this sentence, the most natural English meaning is usually am waiting or was waiting, depending on the larger context.

Because this sentence uses an actor-focus verb: naghihintay.

With actor-focus verbs, the actor usually takes the ang-set pronoun, and for I, that pronoun is ako.

So:

• naghihintay ako = I am waiting

By contrast, ko belongs to a different pronoun set and appears in other sentence patterns, such as:

• Hinihintay ko ang mekaniko. = I am waiting for the mechanic.

So in your sentence, ako is the correct form.

Sa is a very common marker that can mean at, in, on, or to, depending on context.

Here, sa talyer means at the repair shop / at the garage / at the workshop.

The word talyer usually refers to a workshop or repair shop, especially a place where vehicles or machines are repaired.

So:

• sa talyer = at the repair shop

No. Here sa talyer tells you the location of the waiting, not the thing being waited for.

So the sentence means:

• I am waiting at the repair shop

not

• I am waiting for the repair shop

If you want to say what someone is waiting for, Filipino often uses ng or a different verb pattern, for example:

• Naghihintay ako ng mekaniko. = I am waiting for a mechanic.
• Hinihintay ko ang mekaniko. = I am waiting for the mechanic.

So sa talyer answers where?, not for what?

Yes, that is grammatically correct.

Both of these are acceptable:

• Naghihintay ako sa talyer.
• Ako ay naghihintay sa talyer.

The difference is mostly about style:

• Naghihintay ako sa talyer is more natural in everyday speech.
• Ako ay naghihintay sa talyer sounds a bit more formal, careful, or emphatic.

So the original sentence is the more conversational one.

Sometimes, yes, if the context already makes it clear who the subject is.

But as a standalone sentence, leaving out ako may sound incomplete or unclear, because Filipino verbs do not change for person the way English verbs sometimes do.

So:

• Naghihintay ako sa talyer. = clear and complete
• Naghihintay sa talyer. = possible in context, but more fragment-like on its own

For learners, it is usually best to keep ako unless you are sure the context makes the subject obvious.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

• naghihintay ≈ nag-hi-hin-TAY
• talyer ≈ tal-YER

A useful note: in naghihintay, the g and h are pronounced separately. This is not like English gh spelling.

So it helps to hear the verb in parts:

• nag + hi + hintay

That makes the word easier to read and recognize.