Learn Hardcore Filipino: Malapit lang ang palengke sa bahay kaya dumating ako agad. - The market is just near the house so I arrived right away.

Lang means "only/just" and softens the statement: "The market is just nearby (not far at all)." You can drop it for a neutral statement: Malapit ang palengke sa bahay. With lang, there’s a slight nuance of modesty or downplaying.

Where does lang go? Is Malapit ang palengke lang sa bahay acceptable?

No. Lang is an enclitic and normally attaches right after the first content word of the clause. Keep it as Malapit lang ang palengke sa bahay. Don’t move it to the end or after the noun.

Why is there ang before palengke?

Ang marks the topic/specific thing being talked about—in this case, the market. Without ang, the sentence becomes ungrammatical in this structure. If you want an indefinite market, you’d say: May palengke na malapit sa bahay, kaya dumating ako agad.

Why is it sa bahay and not ng bahay?

Sa marks location (to/at/near). Ng often marks possession or "of." Palengke ng bahay would mean "the house’s market," which is not what you mean. So use malapit sa bahay for "near the house."

Should I use sa or nasa with malapit?

Use malapit sa + place to say "near X": Malapit sa bahay. Use nasa + place to say "at/in X": Nasa bahay ("at home"). You can’t say malapit nasa.

Can I change the word order in the first clause?

Yes. All are natural:

Malapit lang ang palengke sa bahay.
Malapit lang sa bahay ang palengke.
Ang palengke ay malapit lang sa bahay. (more formal)

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

Here kaya means "so/therefore": cause → result. The reverse with dahil means "because": result → cause.

Cause → result: Malapit lang ang palengke sa bahay, kaya dumating ako agad.
Result → cause: Dumating ako agad dahil malapit lang ang palengke sa bahay. You may also see kaya’t (more formal/literary).

What is the tense/aspect of dumating, and what are the other forms?

Dumating is perfective (completed/past). Root: dating; actor-focus with -um-.

Perfective: dumating (I arrived)
Imperfective/habitual: dumarating (I arrive/am arriving)
Contemplated/future: darating (I will arrive) Colloquially some say dumadating, but standard is dumarating.

Where can I put agad? Is it the same as maaga?

Common placements:

Dumating ako agad.
Agad akong dumating.
Dumating agad ako. (less common but heard) Agad means "immediately/right away," not "early." Maaga means "early." Variants: kaagad (same meaning), agad-agad (more emphatic).

Can I say kaya ako dumating agad instead of kaya dumating ako agad?

Yes. Kaya ako dumating agad slightly emphasizes "I" as the one who arrived quickly ("that’s why I arrived right away"). Both are natural.

Is palengke the same as merkado?

Often yes, but nuance differs. Palengke commonly refers to a traditional wet/public market; merkado (from Spanish) can be any market, sometimes sounding a bit more general or formal. In everyday speech, both can mean "market."

When do I use kay instead of sa after malapit?

Use kay before personal names and certain titles:

Malapit kay Ana (close to Ana—can be physical or relational) Use sa before common nouns/places:
Malapit sa bahay, malapit sa eskwela.

Do I need a comma before kaya?

It’s common (and recommended in writing) to put a comma before kaya when it links two independent clauses: …, kaya …. In casual writing, you’ll also see it without a comma.

Is Dumating ako agad the only natural phrasing? How about Agad akong dumating?

Both are natural. Dumating ako agad is very common. Agad akong dumating front-loads the adverb for emphasis/style and is also fine.

Why is it ako and not ko in dumating ako?

Ako is the nominative (actor) pronoun used for the subject of an intransitive verb like dumating. Ko is genitive ("my/me") and is used for possession (bahay ko) or as the actor with certain transitive verbs (kinain ko "I ate it"). Here you need ako: Dumating ako agad.