Ito ang biro ko.

this

Breakdown of Ito ang biro ko.

• ko: I
• ang: subject/topic marker
• biro: a joke

Questions & Answers about Ito ang biro ko.

What does each word in Ito ang biro ko do?

A simple breakdown is:

• Ito = this
• ang = a marker that points to the focused noun or noun phrase
• biro = joke, tease, or sometimes prank
• ko = my

So the structure is roughly:

• Ito = this
• ang biro ko = my joke

Together: This is my joke.

Why is ang used here?

Ang marks the noun phrase biro ko.

In this sentence, ang biro ko is the thing being identified, and ito points to it. A very useful pattern in Filipino is:

• Ito ang ... = This is ...
• Iyan ang ... = That is ... (near the person you are talking to)
• Iyon ang ... = That is ... (far from both speakers)

So in Ito ang biro ko, ang helps mark biro ko as the thing being equated with ito.

Why is ko after biro instead of before it?