Ang damit ay nasa ilalim ng silya.

The clothes are under the chair.

Breakdown of Ang damit ay nasa ilalim ng silya.

• ay: to be
• silya: the chair
• nasa ilalim: under
• damit: the clothing

Questions & Answers about Ang damit ay nasa ilalim ng silya.

What does each word in the sentence do?

• Ang: topic marker for common nouns, roughly “the.”
• damit: clothing/garment; can mean “clothes” in general or “a piece of clothing.”
• ay: inversion/linking marker used in a formal word order; not the verb “is.”
• nasa: locative marker meaning “is/are at/in/on.”
• ilalim: a noun meaning “underside/bottom;” used to express “under/beneath.”
• ng: genitive marker meaning “of,” linking ilalim to the reference object.
• silya: chair.

So the structure is literally: “The clothing [topic] ay [link] is-at underside of chair.”

Where is the verb “is”?

Filipino often doesn’t use a separate “to be.” Here, location is expressed by nasa, which functions like “is/are at/in/on.” The particle ay is not “is”; it just marks the formal inverted order.

Do I need the word ay here?

No. Ay marks a formal/written inversion. The everyday, neutral order is: Nasa ilalim ng silya ang damit. Both mean the same thing. In casual speech, people might even omit ay and say: Ang damit nasa ilalim ng silya, though the non-inverted version is more natural.

Why is it ng silya after ilalim, not sa silya?

Because ilalim is a noun (“underside”). To specify whose underside, Filipino uses the genitive marker ng: ilalim ng silya = “the underside of the chair.” The preposition sa attaches to the location noun: sa ilalim ng silya = “at the underside of the chair.” With nasa, you get: nasa ilalim ng silya.

Could I say “Ang damit ay sa ilalim ng silya”?

Not as a good standalone sentence. For a predicate that’s a location, use nasa: Ang damit ay nasa ilalim ng silya. Without nasa, “ay sa ilalim…” sounds incomplete.

Is there a more natural word order for speech?

Yes: Nasa ilalim ng silya ang damit. The given sentence with ay is fine but more formal or written.

Does damit mean “dress” or “clothes”?

Primarily “clothes/clothing” (general). If you specifically mean a “dress,” use bestida. Examples:

• Ang damit ay nasa ilalim ng silya. = “The clothes/a garment is under the chair.”
• Ang bestida ay nasa ilalim ng silya. = “The dress is under the chair.”

Is damit singular or plural here?

It’s underspecified. It can mean “clothes” in general or “a piece of clothing.” To make it explicitly plural, add mga: Ang mga damit ay nasa ilalim ng silya.

How do I say “My clothes are under the chair”?

Add a possessive enclitic:

• Singular/general: Ang damit ko ay nasa ilalim ng silya.
• Explicit plural: Ang mga damit ko ay nasa ilalim ng silya. Neutral word order: Nasa ilalim ng silya ang (mga) damit ko.

What’s the difference between silya and upuan?

Both can mean “chair.” Silya (from Spanish) commonly means a chair. Upuan (from the root “upo” = sit) can mean “chair,” “seat,” or “place to sit.” In this sentence you can also say: nasa ilalim ng upuan.

How do I express other positions like “on,” “inside,” “behind,” etc.?

Use the pattern nasa + [location noun] + ng + [reference object]:

• on top of: nasa ibabaw ng silya
• inside: nasa loob ng kahon
• outside: nasa labas ng bahay
• behind: nasa likod ng pinto
• in front of: nasa harap ng kotse

What’s the difference between ng and nang? I see only ng here.

• ng marks genitive (“of”) and also marks non-topic objects. Here it’s “of”: ilalim ng silya (“underside of the chair”).
• nang is a different word used for “when/as/so that,” for comparisons, and before adverbs/adjectives. Don’t write nang silya here; it’s incorrect.

How is “ng” pronounced in ilalim ng silya?

As a separate particle, ng is pronounced like “nang.” So you can think “ilalim nang silya.” When ng is part of a word (e.g., langit), it’s the consonant sound [ŋ] as in “sing.”

How do I ask “Where are the clothes?”

Use Nasaan:

• Nasaan ang damit?
• Plural explicit: Nasaan ang mga damit? Answer with the same pattern: Nasa ilalim ng silya (ang damit).

How do I negate it: “The clothes are not under the chair”?

Say wala (“there is/are none” at a location):

• Wala ang damit sa ilalim ng silya.
• Or: Hindi nasa ilalim ng silya ang damit (less common; sounds contrastive, as in “not under the chair [but somewhere else]”).

Can I add words like “still” or “only”?

Yes. Common placements:

• Nasa ilalim pa ng silya ang damit. = “The clothes are still under the chair.”
• Nasa ilalim lang ng silya ang damit. = “The clothes are only/just under the chair.” You’ll also hear these with the everyday order: Nasa ilalim ng silya pa/lang ang damit.

Is nasa used for time too?

Mostly it’s for physical location. For time, use sa:

• “On Monday” = sa Lunes, not “nasa Lunes.”
• You can say “in the morning” as sa umaga; nasa umaga is unusual outside specific contexts.