Learn Hardcore Filipino: Wala pang asawa si Juan, pero may anak ang kapatid niyang babae. - Juan does not have a spouse yet, but his sister has a child.

wala pang asawa = “no spouse yet” (there is an expectation or possibility of having one in the future because of pa “yet/still”).
walang asawa = “no spouse” (neutral about whether that might change).
wala nang asawa = “no longer has a spouse” (used with na “already/no longer” to signal a change from having one before).

Why does it look like pang after wala? Is that the prefix pang-?

No. It’s just the clitic pa (“yet/still”) followed by the case marker ng. In writing, pa + ng becomes pang here: wala pa + ng asawa → wala pang asawa. This is not the derivational prefix pang- (as in pangluto “for cooking”).

Why is the word order predicate-first (e.g., Wala pang asawa si Juan), instead of starting with “Juan”?

Tagalog is typically predicate-initial. The structure is:

Predicate: wala pang asawa
Topic: si Juan (marked with si, a proper-name marker)

A more formal option with “ay” inversion puts the topic first:

Si Juan ay wala pang asawa, pero ang kapatid niyang babae ay may anak.

How does possession work in may anak ang kapatid niyang babae without a verb meaning “to have”?

Tagalog uses the existential may to express possession. The common pattern is:

may + possessed item + ang + possessor
Example: May kotse ang guro. “The teacher has a car.” So here, may anak (has a child/children) and the possessor is ang kapatid niyang babae (his sister).

Why is it si Juan but ang kapatid niyang babae?

si marks a personal name as the topic (e.g., si Juan).
ang marks a common noun (e.g., ang kapatid). You cannot use si with common nouns. In the second clause, the possessor in a may sentence is introduced by ang: may anak ang [possessor].

What does kapatid niyang babae literally mean, and what is -ng doing on niyang?

Literally: “his sibling that is female.”

kapatid = sibling (gender-neutral)
niya = his/her (3rd person genitive)
babae = female
-ng is the linker that connects modifiers; since niya ends in a vowel, it becomes niyang. So kapatid niyang babae = “his female sibling.”

Can I instead say ang kapatid na babae niya or ang kanyang kapatid na babae?

Yes, both are fine:

ang kapatid na babae niya (uses the linker na before the adjective)
ang kanyang kapatid na babae (uses the longer possessive kanyang; a bit more formal) All three mean “his sister.” The version in the sentence (ang kapatid niyang babae) is very common and idiomatic.

Is babaeng kapatid niya also acceptable?

It’s grammatically acceptable (ang babaeng kapatid niya), but the more idiomatic phrasing is ang kapatid niyang babae or ang kapatid na babae niya.

Who does niya/niyang refer to here? Is it definitely Juan?

niya is a third-person singular pronoun that’s gender-neutral (“his/her”). In this context, it most naturally refers to the previously mentioned third person, Juan. Without broader context, Tagalog pronouns can be ambiguous, but the discourse default points to Juan.

Does may anak mean exactly one child?

Not necessarily. may anak is number-neutral: “has a child/children.” To be specific:

One child: may isang anak
Plural/unspecified count: may mga anak
Exact number: may dalawang anak, may tatlong anak, etc. Gender of the child can be specified with anak na lalaki (son) or anak na babae (daughter).

What’s the difference between wala pang asawa and hindi pa kasal?

wala pang asawa focuses on not having a spouse yet (possession/relationship).
hindi pa kasal focuses on marital status (“not yet married”). In many everyday contexts they imply the same thing, but the perspective differs.

Can I add na in the second clause to emphasize “already”?

Yes. Pero may anak na ang kapatid niyang babae. The na contrasts nicely with pa in the first clause:

Wala pang asawa si Juan, pero may anak na ang kapatid niyang babae.

Is pero the only word for “but”? Are there more formal options?

pero is the most common, conversational “but.”
More formal: ngunit, subalit
Very colloquial/nuanced: kaso (“but/the catch is…”)

Can I front the topic and still be natural, e.g., starting with “Si Juan…”?

Yes. Two natural options:

Si Juan ay wala pang asawa, pero ang kapatid niyang babae ay may anak. (formal “ay” inversion)
Si Juan, wala pa siyang asawa, pero may anak ang kapatid niyang babae. (topic dislocation with a resumptive pronoun siya)

What’s the difference between ng and nang in forms like walang/wala pang?

ng is the genitive/marker used after wala/may before the following noun: walang pera, wala pang asawa.
-ng is also the linker after a vowel, as in niyang.
nang is a different word used for adverbs, “when/as,” and some fixed patterns (e.g., before numbers/adverbs). Don’t write nang in wala pang or niyang. Note: wala nang X (with na + ng → nang) means “no longer has X,” which is different from walang X (“has no X”).