Kailangan kong maghintay bago pumunta sa trabaho.

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Breakdown of Kailangan kong maghintay bago pumunta sa trabaho.

• maghintay: to wait
• sa: to
• kailangan: to need

Questions & Answers about Kailangan kong maghintay bago pumunta sa trabaho.

Why do we say kong instead of ko?

In Filipino, when ko (meaning I/my) is directly followed by a verb, it typically links to that verb with the particle ng. Written together, ko + ng becomes kong. So instead of saying Kailangan ko maghintay, we use Kailangan kong maghintay to show that I need to wait.

What does the verb maghintay signify here?

Maghintay is the root verb hintay (to wait) in its infinitive form with the prefix mag-, which indicates an action that the speaker will do. It conveys the idea of waiting as an action you need to perform.

Can we say Kailangan ko na maghintay or does it have a different meaning?

Yes, you might hear Kailangan ko nang maghintay, which still means I need to wait now. The word nang here is a shortened form of na + ng, implying now/already. However, Kailangan kong maghintay is more neutral and simply states that you need to wait before doing something else.

Why do we use bago in this sentence?

Bago means before. It indicates that the action of waiting must happen prior to going to work. So it connects two actions in a sequence: waiting first, then going to work.