Learn Hardcore Filipino: Si Nanay naman ay naiwan sa probinsya kasama si Ate ko. - Mother, on the other hand, stayed in the province with my older sister.

Nanay, gutom na ako.
“Mom, I’m hungry.”
→ Nanay is like her name; capitalize it.
Ang nanay ko ay nasa probinsya.
“My mother is in the province.”
→ nanay is used as a common noun; usually not capitalized.

In Si Nanay naman ay naiwan..., Nanay functions like saying “(My) Mom” as a proper name, so it’s capitalized and takes si.

What’s the difference between si Nanay, ang nanay ko, and nanay ko?

All can refer to “my mom,” but they differ in formality and nuance:

si Nanay
- Sounds more affectionate/intimate, like a name.
- Often used when the speaker’s mom is obvious from context.
- Example: Si Nanay ay nasa probinsya. – “Mom is in the province.”
ang nanay ko
- More explicit: literally “the mother of mine.”
- Slightly more formal/neutral.
- Example: Ang nanay ko ay nasa probinsya. – “My mother is in the province.”
nanay ko (without ang or si)
- Used more in flexible word orders, or after prepositions:
  - Kasama ko ang nanay ko. – “I’m with my mother.”
- Often, if there’s no article, it’s less “topic-y” and more just part of the predicate.

In your specific sentence, you could also say:

Ang nanay ko naman ay naiwan sa probinsya kasama si Ate ko.
Same meaning, just slightly more explicit/neutral than Si Nanay...

What does naman mean here, and what nuance does it add?

Naman is a particle that:

Adds a sense of contrast, “on the other hand”, or “as for…”
Can also soften the tone, making it more conversational.

In your sentence:

Si Nanay naman ay naiwan sa probinsya kasama si Ate ko.

You can feel it as:

“Mom, on the other hand, stayed behind in the province with my older sister.”
Or: “As for Mom, she stayed behind in the province with my older sister.”

It usually doesn’t change the core meaning, but without it, the sentence sounds more flat and less like you’re contrasting her with someone else (for example, other family members who went to the city).

What is ay doing in this sentence? Can I leave it out?

Ay is a linking word often used in a topic–comment sentence structure. It’s like saying:

[Topic] – [Comment about that topic].

Here:

Si Nanay naman = topic
ay naiwan sa probinsya kasama si Ate ko = comment/predicate

So the structure is:

Si Nanay naman ay [naiwan sa probinsya kasama si Ate ko].

Yes, in everyday speech you can drop ay and change word order:

Naiwan sa probinsya si Nanay kasama si Ate ko.
More natural in casual conversation.

Sentences with ay can sound:

More formal, written, or story-like
Common in news, storytelling, or careful speech

What exactly does naiwan mean, grammatically and in terms of tense/aspect?

Naiwan comes from the root iwan (to leave, to leave behind).

na- prefix + iwan root → naiwan

Grammatically:

Aspect: completed/perfective – the action is already done.
Voice: patient focus in traditional grammar terms (emphasis on what/who is left behind).

Meaning in context:

naiwan ≈ “was left behind” / “stayed (while others went)”

So the idea is:

Others presumably went somewhere.
Nanay did not go; she ended up staying/being left in the province.

Other related forms:

iiwan – will leave (future)
iniwan – left (someone/something)
naiiwan – is/gets left behind (ongoing or habitual)

What is the literal, word-by-word breakdown of the sentence?

Si Nanay naman ay naiwan sa probinsya kasama si Ate ko.

Si – personal marker (for a single person)
Nanay – Mom / Mother (used like a name)
naman – contrastive/softening particle (“on the other hand,” “as for…”)
ay – linker between topic and comment
naiwan – was left behind / stayed (completed aspect)
sa – in/at/to (location marker)
probinsya – province / countryside
kasama – with / together with
si – personal marker
Ate – older sister (used like a title/name)
ko – my

Very literal feel:

“As for Mom, (she) was left behind in the province with my older sister.”

Why is it sa probinsya and not ng probinsya? What does sa do here?

Sa is a general preposition that often marks:

Location: in, at, on
sa probinsya – in the province
Direction: to
Pupunta ako sa probinsya. – I’m going to the province.

In naiwan sa probinsya, sa marks the place where she was left / where she stayed. Using ng here would be ungrammatical, because ng does not mark location like that.

Common patterns:

sa + place
- sa bahay – at home
- sa Maynila – in Manila
- sa probinsya – in the province

What does kasama mean in this sentence? Is it a verb or a preposition?

In this sentence, kasama means “with” or “together with” and functions like a preposition-ish noun.

Patterns:

kasama + person marker + person
- kasama si Ate ko – with my older sister
- kasama ang kaibigan ko – with my friend
- kasama niya ang nanay niya – he/she is with his/her mother

It can also be used more verbally:

Kasama ko siya. – I am with him/her.
(Literally, “He/she is my companion.”)

Here, it attaches to the location phrase:

naiwan sa probinsya kasama si Ate ko
“(she) was left behind in the province with my older sister.”

What does Ate mean, and why is it capitalized?

Ate is:

A kinship term meaning older sister.
Also used as a respectful address for a slightly older female (even if she’s not your real sister), similar to “big sis” or “Miss.”

It’s capitalized when:

Used like a title or name:
- Si Ate ko – my older sister (used like her “role-name”)
- Ate, pahingi naman. – “Sis, can I have some?”

Lowercase is often used when you’re talking about the role more generally:

Ang ate ko ay nag-aaral pa. – My older sister is still studying.

In your sentence, Ate works like a title/name (your specific older sister), so capitalizing it is natural.

Why is it Ate ko and not Ate ng ko or something like that? How does possession work here?

In Filipino, possession with pronouns is often done by simply putting the possessive pronoun after the noun, without a separate “of.”

Pattern:

[Noun] + [possessive pronoun]

Examples:

ate ko – my older sister
nanay ko – my mom
tatay ko – my dad
kaibigan ko – my friend

There is no extra word like “of” (no “ng ko”). So:

Ate ko literally = “older-sister my” → “my older sister”

In kasama si Ate ko, we have:

si – personal marker
Ate – older sister
ko – my
→ “(with) my older sister”

Could I change the word order to something like Naiwan si Nanay sa probinsya kasama si Ate ko? Would it still be correct?

Yes, you can change the word order, and it’s still correct. Common options:

With ay (more formal/story-like):
- Si Nanay naman ay naiwan sa probinsya kasama si Ate ko.
Without ay (more conversational):
- Naiwan si Nanay sa probinsya kasama si Ate ko.
- Naiwan sa probinsya si Nanay kasama si Ate ko.

All are grammatical. The differences are in style and emphasis, not basic meaning. Using ay highlights Si Nanay naman as the topic in a more formal way; dropping ay sounds more like everyday spoken Tagalog.