Mahalaga ang pokus sa silid-aralan.

Focus in the classroom is important.

Breakdown of Mahalaga ang pokus sa silid-aralan.

• sa: in
• mahalaga: important
• silid-aralan: the classroom
• pokus: the focus

Questions & Answers about Mahalaga ang pokus sa silid-aralan.

What part of speech is mahalaga and what does it mean in this sentence?

Mahalaga is an adjective (more specifically, a predicate adjective) that means important or valuable. In this sentence, it describes the importance of the subject that follows.

What does ang pokus represent here, and why is ang used?

Ang is the Filipino topic/subject marker. It indicates that pokus (which means focus) is the subject of the sentence. So ang pokus literally means the focus (as the topic being talked about).

Why is sa silid-aralan used, and what does it translate to?

Sa is a preposition that can mean in, at, or on depending on context. Silid-aralan is a compound of silid (room) and aral (study), so together it means classroom or study room. Thus, sa silid-aralan translates to in the classroom.

Could this sentence be rephrased as Ang pokus sa silid-aralan ay mahalaga? If so, is there any change in meaning?

Yes, you can say Ang pokus sa silid-aralan ay mahalaga. This flips the order to Subject–Linker–Predicate, which is a more formal or neutral construction, but the meaning (“Focus in the classroom is important”) remains exactly the same.

Why not use ng instead of sa before silid-aralan?

Ng marks a genitive relationship, roughly equivalent to of or a possessive. Here, you’re specifying where the focus is important, so you need the location marker sa to mean in or at.

Is pokus a native Filipino word?

No, pokus is a borrowing (loanword) from English focus. It’s widely understood and used in Filipino, especially in educational or formal contexts.

Can you use an alternative to silid-aralan, like klase or klasehan?

You can say sa klase (in class), which is perfectly natural and more casual. Klasehan is not common. If you want a one-word synonym for silid-aralan, you could also use klase or even the borrowed klasrum, but silid-aralan remains the most formal/native.

How do you pronounce silid-aralan correctly?

Break it into syllables: si-lid-a-ra-lan. The stress usually falls on the second-to-last syllable: si-lid-a-RÁ-lan.

Are there other words for important besides mahalaga?

Yes. A common borrowed synonym is importante, but mahalaga is the native Tagalog term and often preferred in formal or literary contexts.