Ngunit hindi siya masaya ngayong gabi.

he/she

Breakdown of Ngunit hindi siya masaya ngayong gabi.

• ay: to be
• masaya: happy
• gabi: the night
• hindi: not
• ngayon: now
• ngunit: however

Questions & Answers about Ngunit hindi siya masaya ngayong gabi.

What does Ngunit mean, and how does it compare to other words for "but" in Filipino?

Ngunit translates to but or however in English. It sounds a bit more formal or literary compared to pero, which is more commonly used in everyday conversation. Another synonym is subalit, which is also somewhat formal. All of these words introduce a contrasting idea, so you’d generally use Ngunit in situations where you want to add a more formal tone.

Why do we use hindi here, and how do we form negations in Filipino?

Hindi is the standard word for negation in Filipino. You put hindi before the verb, adjective, or noun phrase you want to negate. In this sentence, we place hindi before siya to negate the idea of being happy. If you want to say He/She is not happy, you simply say Hindi siya masaya. If you wanted to negate a verb, for example, He/She is not eating, you would say Hindi siya kumakain.

What does siya refer to in Filipino? Is it masculine or feminine?

In Filipino, siya is a gender-neutral pronoun that means he, she, or even they in singular usage. There is no separate form for masculine or feminine. To clarify the gender of a person, you’d usually rely on context or outright specify lalaki (male) or babae (female) if needed.

Can you explain ngayong gabi and how to form phrases about time in Filipino?

Ngayong gabi means tonight or this evening. Ngayong is the Filipino word for now or this (time period), and gabi means night or evening. To talk about a different timeframe, you’d just replace gabi with words like umaga (morning), tanghali (noon), or hapon (afternoon). For example, Ngayong umaga would be this morning.

Is the word order flexible here? Could I say Hindi siya masaya ngayong gabi, ngunit…?

Filipino word order is generally quite flexible, but it also depends on the clarity and emphasis you want to convey. You could certainly place hindi at the beginning, as in Hindi siya masaya ngayong gabi, ngunit…. However, you’d need to finish that with the contrasting clause (what is happening or another idea). The current sentence Ngunit hindi siya masaya ngayong gabi focuses first on the contrast (Ngunit) before introducing the negation. Either arrangement is grammatically acceptable, though style-wise, you’ll often see it as Ngunit hindi siya masaya ngayong gabi in written form.