May tanghalian pa sa lamesa, pero kakainin lang namin ito mamaya.

May is an existential marker meaning “there is/are.” In this sentence it introduces the existence of lunch on the table. It’s not a verb meaning “to have,” though English often translates it that way.

• Correct: May tanghalian pa sa lamesa. = “There’s still lunch on the table.”
• You don’t use ang after may: ✗ May ang tanghalian… is ungrammatical.
• You’ll also hear mayroon/meron (variants of the same word). Rough guide:
  • Use may before straightforward nouns: may tanghalian, may pagkain.
  • Use mayroon/meron before pronouns or when you want to pause/emphasize: Meron pa ito sa lamesa, Meron pa kami.

Pa is an enclitic meaning “still/yet/remaining” or “in addition.” Here it means “still.”

• Placement: enclitics like pa normally go in second position in the clause (after the first word or prosodic unit). That’s why it comes after tanghalian here.
• Acceptable: May tanghalian pa sa lamesa.
• Not used as: ✗ May pa tanghalian…
• With emphasis/contrast you might hear pa rin (“still (as before)”): May tanghalian pa rin sa lamesa.

You can put pa after a location phrase if that location is the first element of the clause or is the predicate:

• Nasa lamesa pa ang tanghalian. = “The lunch is still on the table.” (locative predicate)
• Starting with the location: Sa lamesa pa ang tanghalian. (possible but less common than using nasa) In an existential may-sentence, pa tends to attach early: May tanghalian pa sa lamesa (not at the very end).

Because the sentence mentions a specific object (ito, “this”), Filipino switches to the patient/object-focus form:

• kakain (actor-focus, intransitive/indefinite object): “will eat (in general).”
  • Kakain kami mamaya. = “We will eat later.”
• kakainin (patient-focus, transitive, with a specific/definite object): “will eat (it).”
  • Kakainin namin ito mamaya. = “We will eat this later.”

Root: kain (“to eat”). Patient/object-focus (-in) paradigm:

• Completed: kinain (ate)
• Incomplete/ongoing: kinakain (is eating)
• Contemplated/future: kakainin (will eat) Actor-focus (um) paradigm for comparison:
• kumain, kumakain, kakain

lang means “only/just,” often softening or limiting an action. It’s an enclitic and prefers second position within its clause:

• Correct: Kakainin lang namin ito mamaya.
• More natural alternatives moving the time word: Mamaya na lang namin ito kakainin.
• Avoid: ✗ Kakainin namin lang ito… (misplaced enclitic)
• Formal synonym: lamang (e.g., kakainin lamang).

Yes. Common, natural variants include:

• Kakainin lang namin ito mamaya. (base)
• Mamaya na lang namin ito kakainin. (time fronted; very natural)
• Ito lang ang kakainin namin mamaya. (object topicalized/emphasized) Keep lang early (second position). Placing lang after namin is generally avoided.

Both mean “we/our,” but:

• namin = exclusive “we” (does not include the listener)
• natin = inclusive “we” (includes the listener) So the sentence excludes the hearer from the action. If you want to include the hearer: kakainin lang natin ito mamaya.

Filipino distinguishes distance:

• ito = “this” (near the speaker)
• iyan = “that” (near the listener)
• iyon = “that (over there)” (far from both) Choose based on where the lunch is relative to who’s talking. In casual speech, ito/iyan/iyon often reduce to ’to/’yan/’yon.

Yes, if the object is not specific or is irrelevant, use the actor-focus form:

• Kakain kami mamaya. = “We’ll eat later.” For an indefinite object, use ng:
• Kakain kami ng tanghalian mamaya. = “We’ll eat lunch later.” (indefinite) For a definite/specific object, use patient-focus:
• Kakainin namin ang tanghalian mamaya. or Kakainin namin ito mamaya.

They’re often opposites:

• pa = still/yet/remaining
  • May tanghalian pa. = “There’s still lunch (left).”
• na = already/now/no longer (with negation)
  • Wala na ang tanghalian sa lamesa. = “The lunch is no longer on the table.”
  • Kakainin na namin ito. = “We’ll eat this now/already.” Combination you’ll hear: na lang (“just/so we’ll just”): Mamaya na lang namin ito kakainin.

Yes, topicalize it with the ang-series and keep lang close to the start:

• Ito lang ang kakainin namin mamaya. = “This is the only thing we’ll eat later.”
• Ang ito is not used; ito itself already functions as an ang-series pronoun.

Because may introduces an indefinite noun. You can’t have ang (definite marker) immediately after may. If you want ang, switch to a different structure:

• Nasa lamesa pa ang tanghalian. (locative predicate with a definite subject)

Yes. Nuance:

• tanghalian = specifically the lunch meal
• pagkain = food (more general)
• ulam = viand/main dish (as opposed to rice) Choose based on what you want to emphasize.