Breakdown of Mahalaga ang tulong mula sa kaibigan.
ay
to be
kaibigan
the friend
mahalaga
important
mula sa
from
tulong
the help
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Questions & Answers about Mahalaga ang tulong mula sa kaibigan.
What part of speech is mahalaga, and what does it mean in English?
mahalaga is an adjective (or predicate modifier) in Tagalog. It translates to important in English. In this sentence it functions as the predicate: “X is important.”
Why is ang placed before tulong, and what function does it serve?
ang is the topic/subject marker. It highlights the noun phrase tulong mula sa kaibigan (“help from a friend”) as the topic of the sentence. In Tagalog, topics—what we’re talking about—are usually marked with ang.
The word order is different from English. Why does the sentence start with Mahalaga instead of Tulong?
Tagalog often uses a predicate–topic structure: predicate (here, the adjective mahalaga) comes first, followed by the topic marked by ang. In English we say “Help from a friend is important,” but in Tagalog the equivalent is literally “Important is the help from a friend.”
What does mula sa mean, and is there an alternative way to say “from” in Tagalog?
mula sa is a prepositional phrase meaning from. Colloquially you can also use galing sa with the same meaning. Both link the action or object back to its source.
Could I use mula kay instead of mula sa before kaibigan?
No—mula kay is used when the source is a proper noun or a person’s name (e.g., mula kay Juan). For a common noun like kaibigan (“friend”) you use mula sa kaibigan.
Can I rearrange the sentence to say Ang tulong mula sa kaibigan ay mahalaga? Is this also correct?
Yes. By using the linker ay you can invert the structure into a topic–linker–predicate order:
Ang tulong mula sa kaibigan ay mahalaga.
This is slightly more formal but means the same thing.
What is the difference between tulong mula sa kaibigan and tulong ng kaibigan?
- tulong mula sa kaibigan emphasizes the source: “help that comes from a friend.”
- tulong ng kaibigan uses ng as a genitive/possession marker: “the friend’s help.” The nuance is more about ownership than about origin.
Could I omit mula sa and just say Mahalaga ang tulong kaibigan?
No. In Tagalog you need a linker or preposition to connect tulong and kaibigan. Without mula sa (or ng), tulong kaibigan is ungrammatical. You could choose one of these:
- Mahalaga ang tulong mula sa kaibigan.
- Mahalaga ang tulong ng kaibigan.