Learn Hardcore Filipino: Masaya ang suki kapag sariwa ang prutas sa palengke. - The regular customer is happy when the fruits are fresh at the market.

suki refers to a regular or loyal customer—someone who repeatedly buys from the same vendor at the market. It implies a friendly, ongoing buyer‑seller relationship.

Why does the sentence begin with Masaya instead of the subject?

Tagalog often uses predicate fronting: placing the adjective Masaya (“happy”) at the start to emphasize the state before mentioning the subject. The more neutral word order would be Ang suki ay masaya kapag…, but fronting the adjective is common and stylistically smooth in everyday speech.

What role does ang play in Masaya ang suki?

ang is the subject marker that precedes suki, marking it as the noun being described by the predicate Masaya. Think of ang as serving a function similar to “the” in English when it flags the subject.

Why doesn’t the sentence include ay after ang suki?

In formal inverted Tagalog you could say Ang suki ay masaya…, where ay marks the inversion of predicate and subject. However, in everyday and conversational Tagalog, ay is often dropped, especially when the adjective is already fronted.

What does kapag mean, and how is it different from kung?

kapag is a conjunction meaning “when” in a habitual or repeated sense (“whenever”). kung can mean “if” or “when” for a single or hypothetical condition. Here kapag indicates a recurring situation: every time the fruit is fresh at the market.

Why is sariwa placed before ang prutas in the clause kapag sariwa ang prutas?

Similarly to the main clause, sariwa (“fresh”) is used predicatively and fronted to describe ang prutas. The structure is Adjective + ang + Noun, literally “fresh is the fruit.”

Could we instead say sariwang prutas? How would that change the structure?

Yes. sariwang prutas is the attributive form (adjective + -ng link) meaning “fresh fruits.” To use it in a time clause, you’d add an existential verb: Kapag may sariwang prutas sa palengke… (“When there are fresh fruits at the market…”). That turns sariwang prutas into a noun phrase rather than a predicate.

What does sa palengke mean, and why is sa used?

sa palengke means “at” or “to the market.” sa is a locative preposition indicating the location where the fruit must be fresh.

How do you indicate plurality in Tagalog? Should mga be used before prutas?

Tagalog nouns aren’t inflected for number; prutas can mean “fruit” in general or “fruits” depending on context. Adding mga makes it explicitly plural: mga prutas = “fruits.” You could say kapag sariwa ang mga prutas sa palengke for “when the fruits at the market are fresh,” but it’s not required for a general statement.

Is prutas in this sentence singular or plural?

Here prutas functions as a generic or mass noun, covering fruit in general. It doesn’t specify singular or plural; context (the market setting) tells us it refers to fruits collectively.