Learn Hardcore Filipino: Wala pa siyang oras, kaya maghintay muna tayo. - She still has no time, so let's wait first.

The -ng is the linker that connects a predicate like wala to a following personal pronoun subject. After words such as wala, marami, kaunti, ilan, etc., attach the linker to the pronoun:

Wala akong oras.
Wala siyang oras.
Wala tayong oras.

Without the linker (e.g., Wala siya oras), it sounds ungrammatical.

Is siyang here a possessive like “his/her”?

No. Siyang is siya + linker. It does not mean “his/her.” Possession would use niya or kaniyang:

Ang oras niya = his/her time.
Wala pa siyang oras = He/She doesn’t have time yet (he/she is the one lacking).
Wala pa ang oras niya = His/Her scheduled time hasn’t come yet (different meaning).

Can I say Wala pa siya ng oras?

No. That’s unnatural. The idiomatic patterns are:

Wala pa siyang oras.
May oras pa siya. / Meron pa siyang oras. Don’t insert the case marker ng before oras in this construction.

What does kaya mean here, and how is it different from kasi?

Kaya means so/therefore and introduces a result. Kasi means because and introduces a reason.

Wala pa siyang oras, kaya maghintay muna tayo. = …so let’s wait for now.
Maghintay muna tayo kasi wala pa siyang oras. = …because he/she doesn’t have time yet.

Why maghintay and not hintayin?

Maghintay (actor-focus, intransitive) is used when you just “wait” with no explicit direct object. Hintayin (object-focus, transitive) is used when you specify what/who to wait for.

Maghintay muna tayo. = Let’s wait (in general).
Hintayin muna natin siya. = Let’s wait for him/her.

What does muna add to the command?

Muna means for now/first/before doing something else. It softens the instruction:

Maghintay muna tayo. = Let’s wait for now/Let’s wait first.

Where should muna go in the clause?

Place clitic particles like muna right after the first verb or predicate word:

Correct: Maghintay muna tayo.
Also fine: Maghintay na muna tayo. (adds na = now/already)
Incorrect/unnatural: Muna maghintay tayo; Maghintay tayo muna.

What exactly does tayo mean, and how is it different from kami?

Tayo is inclusive “we” (includes the listener). Kami is exclusive “we” (excludes the listener).

Maghintay muna tayo. = Let’s (you and I) wait for now.
Maghintay muna kami. = We’ll wait for now (but not you).

How do I say “Let’s wait for him/her” using this pattern?

Use object-focus:

Hintayin muna natin siya. (natin = inclusive “we”) If you prefer an intransitive construction with a preposition:
Maghintay muna tayo sa kanya.

Can I swap the order of the clauses?

Yes. You can say either:

Wala pa siyang oras, kaya maghintay muna tayo. (reason → result)
Maghintay muna tayo kasi wala pa siyang oras. (result → reason) You can also split them into two sentences.

Is there a more colloquial synonym for maghintay?

Yes, mag-antay is common in speech:

Wala pa siyang oras, kaya mag-antay muna tayo.

How else can I say “no time yet”?

Alternatives (with slightly different nuances):

Hindi pa siya libre. = He/She isn’t free yet.
Busy pa siya. = He/She is still busy.
Hindi pa puwede/puede siya. = He/She can’t yet / isn’t available yet.

What’s the difference between Wala pa siyang oras and Wala pa ang oras?

Wala pa siyang oras = He/She doesn’t have time yet (lacks availability).
Wala pa ang oras = It’s not yet time / The time hasn’t come (speaks about “the time” itself).

Is siya gendered?

No. Siya is gender-neutral and can mean he or she. Context clarifies the gender.

Where would I put po for politeness?

Right after the verb and other clitics:

Wala pa siyang oras, kaya maghintay muna po tayo. If you add more clitics, po typically comes near the end of the clitic cluster:
Maghintay na muna po tayo.

Why is there no verb meaning “to have” here?

Tagalog typically expresses possession/existence with may/meron/wala:

May oras siya. = He/She has time.
Meron siyang oras. = He/She has time.
Wala siyang oras. = He/She has no time.