Mamaya, puntahan natin ang bahay ni Juan.

Later, let us go to Juan's house.

Breakdown of Mamaya, puntahan natin ang bahay ni Juan.

• Juan: Juan
• bahay: the house
• mamaya: later
• natin: we
• ni: of
• puntahan: to go to

Questions & Answers about Mamaya, puntahan natin ang bahay ni Juan.

What does Mamaya mean exactly? Is it always “later today”?

Mamaya means “later,” usually later today (before the day ends). It’s vague by itself.

• To be specific: mamayang umaga/hapon/gabi = later this morning/afternoon/evening.
• For “a little later/soon”: maya-maya or mamaya-maya.
• For “later (not now), please”: mamaya na lang or mamaya na. For “some other day,” don’t use mamaya; use sa susunod or a date/time phrase.

Why is it puntahan and not pumunta?

Tagalog uses voice/focus. Puntahan is the locative/goal-focus form of the root punta (“to go”), making the location the grammatical subject.

• Puntahan natin ang bahay ni Juan. → The place (Juan’s house) is the focus/subject.
• Actor-focus counterpart: Pumunta tayo sa bahay ni Juan. → The doer (“we”) is the focus; the place is marked with sa. Both mean essentially the same thing, but they highlight different parts of the event.

Why is it natin and not tayo?

Because the verb is not actor-focus. In non-actor-focus clauses (like with puntahan), the actor uses the genitive form natin (“we, inclusive”) instead of the ang-form tayo.

• Locative-focus: Puntahan natin ang bahay ni Juan.
• Actor-focus: Pumunta tayo sa bahay ni Juan.

What’s the difference between natin and namin?

• natin = we (including the listener) → “let’s/we (you and I)”
• namin = we (excluding the listener) So changing natin to namin would exclude the person you’re talking to:
• Puntahan namin ang bahay ni Juan. → “We (not you) will go to Juan’s house.”

Why ang bahay ni Juan and not sa bahay ni Juan?

Because with puntahan (locative focus), the location is the subject and takes the ang marker: ang bahay ni Juan. When the verb is actor-focus (pumunta), the location is oblique and takes sa: Pumunta tayo sa bahay ni Juan.

Can I say pupuntahan natin instead of puntahan natin?

Yes, but there’s a nuance.

• Puntahan natin... is hortative/imperative-ish: “Let’s go (there).”
• Pupuntahan natin... is future indicative: “We will go (there).” With mamaya, both are natural:
• Mamaya, puntahan natin ang bahay ni Juan. → suggestion/invitation
• Mamaya, pupuntahan natin ang bahay ni Juan. → plan/commitment statement

Where can I place mamaya in the sentence?

It’s flexible:

• Mamaya, puntahan natin ang bahay ni Juan. (initial, with a pause)
• Puntahan natin mamaya ang bahay ni Juan.
• Puntahan natin ang bahay ni Juan mamaya. Initial or final is the most natural. Middle is okay but slightly heavier.

Is the comma after Mamaya required?

It’s optional but common in writing because mamaya functions as a fronted adverbial. In speech, you naturally pause there.

Could I say Punta tayo sa bahay ni Juan mamaya instead?

Yes. That’s the casual actor-focus version:

• Mamaya, punta tayo sa bahay ni Juan.
• Mamaya, pumunta tayo sa bahay ni Juan. (more formal) Colloquial speech often uses the bare root punta for imperatives/suggestions.

What does ni do in bahay ni Juan?

ni marks a proper-name possessor. So bahay ni Juan = “Juan’s house.”

• Common noun possessor: bahay ng bata (“the child’s house”)
• Multiple proper names: bahay nina Juan at Pedro (“Juan and Pedro’s house”) In oblique phrases with sa, you use kay/kina: sa bahay ni Juan, but kay Juan/kina Juan when referring to a person/household.

Could I say kay Juan or kina Juan instead of bahay ni Juan?

Yes, when you mean “Juan’s place/household,” kay/kina is common in oblique phrases (often with actor-focus):

• Pumunta tayo kay Juan/kina Juan. → go to Juan/ Juan’s household For the locative-focus construction with puntahan, you’d typically keep the noun “house”:
• Puntahan natin ang bahay ni Juan. If you made Juan the subject with a “visit” verb: Dalawin/Bisitahin natin si Juan.

How do I say “Let’s visit Juan later” (focusing on the person, not the house)?

Use a patient-focus verb for visiting a person:

• Mamaya, dalawin natin si Juan.
• Mamaya, bisitahin natin si Juan. Here, si Juan is the ang-phrase (patient/subject).

What are the aspect forms of puntahan?

From the root punta:

• Imperative/Hortative: puntahan (Puntahan natin…)
• Completed (perfective): pinuntahan (Pinuntahan namin ang bahay.)
• Incomplete/progressive: pinupuntahan (Pinupuntahan nila araw-araw.)
• Contemplated/future: pupuntahan (Pupuntahan namin bukas.) You’ll also hear napuntahan (“managed to get to/been to”).

How do I make the suggestion softer or more polite?

Add polite particles:

• Mamaya, puntahan natin ang bahay ni Juan, ha?
• Mamaya, puntahan na natin ang bahay ni Juan. (let’s go ahead and…)
• Mamaya, puntahan muna natin ang bahay ni Juan. (let’s first…)
• Mamaya, puntahan natin ang bahay ni Juan, please. Also common: Tara, punta tayo sa bahay ni Juan mamaya.

Why not say si Juan after puntahan?

Because puntahan focuses on a location/goal. The ang-phrase is expected to be a place/goal, not a person. If you want Juan (a person) as the ang-phrase, switch to a verb that targets a person:

• Dalawin/Bisitahin natin si Juan.

Do I need ang before bahay ni Juan?

Yes, in this sentence the focused subject is the location, so it must be marked with ang: ang bahay ni Juan. Dropping ang (…puntahan natin bahay ni Juan) is ungrammatical in standard Tagalog.

How are tayo and natin used with these two voices again?

• Actor-focus: Pumunta tayo sa bahay ni Juan. (ang-form actor = tayo; place with sa)
• Locative-focus: Puntahan natin ang bahay ni Juan. (genitive actor = natin; place with ang) Both can express “Let’s go to Juan’s house (later),” but they differ in which element is grammatically in focus.