Learn Hardcore Filipino: Maraming mag-aaral ang pumapasok nang maaga para hindi mahuli. - Many students arrive early so they are not late.

Maraming means “many” or “a lot of.” It’s formed by adding the linker -ng to the adjective marami when it directly modifies a noun.
Example: marami + -ng → maraming mag-aaral (“many students”)

Why do we say maraming mag-aaral instead of using mga mag-aaral or just marami mag-aaral?

Maraming already carries the sense of plurality (“many”), so you don’t need the plural marker mga.
You can’t say marami mag-aaral because marami must take the linker -ng before a following noun.
Thus, maraming mag-aaral is the correct “many students.”

What role does ang play in Maraming mag-aaral ang pumapasok…?

Ang is the subject/topic marker in Tagalog. It marks “the many students” as the focus of the clause. In English you’d say “Many students come in…” where ang signals what or who the sentence is about.

What is pumapasok, and why does it have um inside it?

The root is pasok (“enter/attend”). The infix -um- creates the actor-focus verbal form. In the present/habitual aspect you get pumapasok, meaning “(they) come in” or “(they) are attending.”
• Past tense (completed): pumasok
• Present/future (ongoing): pumapasok

Why is nang used in pumapasok nang maaga, and how is that different from ng?

Nang (with a single vowel) links verbs to adverbs of manner or time: nang maaga = “early.”
Ng marks genitives or objects. It cannot introduce adverbs.
So for “enter early,” you must say pumapasok nang maaga, not pumapasok ng maaga.

What does para hindi mahuli mean, and why is para used here?

Para introduces a purpose clause meaning “so that” or “in order to.”
Para hindi mahuli literally means “so that (they) won’t be late.” It tells us the reason or goal for coming in early.

Why is there no pronoun in para hindi mahuli? Shouldn’t it be para hindi sila mahuli?

Tagalog often drops pronouns when the subject is clear from context. Because we’ve already mentioned “many students,” para hindi mahuli naturally refers back to them without restating sila.

Could we replace para with para sa or upang in this sentence?

Upang is a more formal synonym for “so that,” so you could say …pumapasok nang maaga upang hindi mahuli.
Para sa usually precedes a noun (para sa iyo = “for you”), so para sa hindi mahuli would be ungrammatical. Use para (without sa) before a verb phrase.