Nasa gitna ang counter.

Filipino often does not use a separate present-tense verb like English is/are in this kind of sentence.

Here, nasa gitna already functions as the predicate, meaning is in the middle or is located in the middle. So:

• Nasa gitna = is in the middle
• ang counter = the counter / the counter is the topic

So the sentence is complete even without a separate word for is.

In this sentence, nasa marks location. It is used when something is in, on, at, or located at a place.

So:

• nasa gitna = in the middle
• more literally, located in the middle

A few similar examples:

• Nasa kusina ang nanay. = Mother is in the kitchen.
• Nasa mesa ang libro. = The book is on the table.

So nasa is very common in location sentences.

Gitna means middle or center.

When used with sa, you get:

• sa gitna = in the middle / at the center

And with nasa, you get the full idea of location:

• nasa gitna = is in the middle

So gitna is the key word for the position middle/center.

Filipino very often puts the predicate first.

So instead of starting with the counter, the sentence starts with the location:

• Nasa gitna = the predicate
• ang counter = the topic or subject-like part

That is why the sentence is:

• Nasa gitna ang counter.

rather than the English-style order.

This predicate-first pattern is very normal in Filipino.

Not exactly. Ang is not simply the English article the.

In Filipino grammar, ang marks the noun phrase that is the topic or focused noun of the sentence. In this case, it marks counter as the thing being talked about.

So in:

• Nasa gitna ang counter.

ang counter is the main noun phrase being identified as being in that location.

Sometimes ang can line up with English the, but its job is grammatical, not just definiteness.

Yes. That is also correct.

Both mean the same thing:

• Nasa gitna ang counter.
• Ang counter ay nasa gitna.

The difference is mostly style and structure:

• Nasa gitna ang counter. = very natural, common predicate-first order
• Ang counter ay nasa gitna. = topic first, often felt a bit more formal, careful, or textbook-like

So the original sentence is perfectly natural.

Because sa gitna by itself is just a place phrase: in the middle.

To make a full location statement like is in the middle, Filipino commonly uses nasa:

• sa gitna = in the middle
• nasa gitna = is in the middle / is located in the middle

So in this sentence, nasa helps make the whole location predicate.

Yes. Counter is an English loanword, and loanwords are very common in Filipino.

So a sentence like:

• Nasa gitna ang counter.

sounds normal, especially in everyday speech, stores, restaurants, offices, or homes.

Filipino often mixes native words and borrowed English nouns quite naturally.

You usually add mga to mark plural nouns:

• Nasa gitna ang mga counter. = The counters are in the middle.

A few useful points:

• counter itself usually does not change form
• mga is the main plural marker
• ang stays there because it is still the topic marker

So:

• singular: Nasa gitna ang counter.
• plural: Nasa gitna ang mga counter.

A natural way is:

• Wala sa gitna ang counter.

This literally gives the idea that the counter is not in that location.

For location sentences, wala sa... is very common for negation.

Compare:

• Nasa gitna ang counter. = The counter is in the middle.
• Wala sa gitna ang counter. = The counter is not in the middle.

A simple approximate pronunciation is:

• NA-sa git-NA ang KAUN-ter

A few notes:

• nasa: two syllables
• gitna: usually pronounced as two syllables, git-na
• ang ends with the ng sound like in English song
• counter is a borrowed word, so pronunciation can sound somewhat English-like, though many speakers say it with Filipino rhythm

You do not need to sound perfectly native right away; the important thing is recognizing the structure and the stress pattern.