Nasa ilalim ng lamesa ang sapatos ni Maria.

Maria's shoes are under the table.

Breakdown of Nasa ilalim ng lamesa ang sapatos ni Maria.

• Maria: Maria
• ay: to be
• lamesa: the table
• ni: of
• nasa ilalim: under
• sapatos: the shoe

Questions & Answers about Nasa ilalim ng lamesa ang sapatos ni Maria.

Why does the sentence start with the location phrase instead of the subject?

• Filipino is commonly predicate-initial. The part that gives new or important information (here, the location) often comes first.
• So Nasa ilalim ng lamesa (Under the table) is the predicate, and ang sapatos ni Maria (Maria’s shoes) is the topic/subject.
• A perfectly correct alternative is the inverted form with ay: Ang sapatos ni Maria ay nasa ilalim ng lamesa. The meaning is the same; this is a bit more formal or written style.

What does nasa mean, and how is it different from sa?

• nasa is a locative marker meaning roughly is/are at, in, on. It introduces a location predicate: Nasa bahay siya (He/She is at home).
• You will also hear sa used predicate-initial in the same function: Sa ilalim ng lamesa ang sapatos ni Maria.
• Both work here. nasa slightly emphasizes being located somewhere and is very common in this pattern.
• Don’t say nasa sa (double marking).
• Spelling tip: nasa is one word in this usage.

Why is it ng lamesa after ilalim? Why not ang lamesa or sa lamesa?

• ilalim is a relational noun (see below) that takes its reference with a genitive marker: ilalim ng X = under X.
• ng lamesa literally means of the table, which is how Filipino expresses relationships like under, on top of, inside, etc.
• ang lamesa would incorrectly mark table as the sentence’s topic.
• You don’t need sa lamesa here because nasa already supplies the locative; the full phrase is nasa ilalim ng lamesa.

What kind of word is ilalim?

• ilalim is a relational noun (sometimes called a locative noun). It behaves like a noun that requires a complement with ng/ni/kay:
  • ilalim ng lamesa = under the table
  • Other common ones: ibabaw ng (on top of), likod ng (behind), harap ng (in front of), loob ng (inside), labas ng (outside), tabi/katiabi ng (beside).
• Pattern: (nasa/sa) + relational noun + ng + reference

What does ang do here? Is it just “the”?

• ang marks the topic/pivot of the clause—the thing the predicate is talking about.
• It often corresponds to English the, but its core job is grammatical, not just definiteness.
• In the sentence, ang sapatos ni Maria is the topic being located by the predicate nasa ilalim ng lamesa.
• Related markers:
  • ang for common nouns (singular), ang mga for plural
  • si/sina for personal names as topics

Why is it ni Maria and not ng Maria, kay Maria, or si Maria?

• For possession after a noun, use the genitive marker for proper names: ni (singular) / nina (plural names).
  • ang sapatos ni Maria = Maria’s shoes
• kay/kina mark proper names in the oblique case (to/for/at someone) or when the possessor phrase is fronted/predicate:
  • Kay Maria ang sapatos. = The shoes are Maria’s.
• si/sina mark proper names as the topic/subject:
  • Si Maria (Maria as the topic)
• ng Maria is not used; ng marks genitive for common nouns, not proper names.

Does sapatos mean one shoe or a pair of shoes?

• In Filipino, sapatos is the basic word and often refers to footwear as a pair in everyday talk: Nasaan ang sapatos ko? = Where are my shoes?
• To be explicit:
  • One shoe: isang sapatos or isang pirasong sapatos
  • One pair: isang pares ng sapatos
  • Multiple pairs/shoes: mga sapatos
• So you can say: Nasa ilalim ng lamesa ang mga sapatos ni Maria.

How would I ask “Where are Maria’s shoes?” using this pattern?

• Nasaan ang sapatos ni Maria?
• nasaan is the question word for where (literally from nasa
  • saan, historically fused).

How do I negate this sentence (say the shoes are not under the table)?

• Use wala … sa for absence in a location:
  • Wala sa ilalim ng lamesa ang sapatos ni Maria.
• You generally don’t use hindi to negate location in this pattern; wala is the natural choice.

What’s the difference between ng and nang? I see ng here—how is it pronounced?

• In this sentence, ng is a case/possessive marker (genitive/ linker-like after relational nouns). It’s pronounced like nang.
• Quick guide:
  • ng = genitive marker (of), also the linker form in adjective–noun phrases (e.g., puting sapatos). It’s never stressed and pronounced “nang.”
  • nang = separate word used for when/as/so that/how (adverbial functions). Not used here.

Is there a verb “to be” here? Why no equivalent of “are”?

• Filipino often uses equational sentences without a separate “to be.”
• nasa carries the locative sense, and the topic marker ang identifies what is being located. No extra copula is needed.
• The particle ay in inverted sentences is a linker, not a verb: Ang sapatos ni Maria ay nasa ilalim ng lamesa.

Can I say this another way using everyday speech?

• Yes. All are natural:
  • Nasa ilalim ng lamesa ang sapatos ni Maria. (predicate-first; very common)
  • Ang sapatos ni Maria ay nasa ilalim ng lamesa. (with ay; formal/written)
  • Yung sapatos ni Maria, nasa ilalim ng lamesa. (colloquial; yung ≈ the)
  • Sa ilalim ng lamesa ang sapatos ni Maria. (also heard; sa predicate-initial)

How do I add adjectives like “small wooden table”?

• Place modifiers before the noun with a linker:
  • maliit na lamesa = small table
  • lamesang kahoy = wooden table (literally table-of-wood)
• Full sentence examples:
  • Nasa ilalim ng maliit na lamesa ang sapatos ni Maria.
  • Nasa ilalim ng lamesang kahoy ang sapatos ni Maria.

Is lamesa the same as mesa?

• Yes. lamesa (very common) and mesa (also acceptable) both mean table. Choose one and be consistent in a sentence.
  • Nasa ilalim ng lamesa/mesa ang sapatos ni Maria.

Can I replace “Maria’s” with a pronoun?

• Yes:
  • Nasa ilalim ng lamesa ang sapatos niya. = His/Her shoes are under the table.
  • To emphasize possession: ang kanyang sapatos (her/his shoes), or ang sapatos niya (more common).
• Remember: niya is the third-person genitive pronoun (his/her).