May maliit kaming problema sa proyekto, pero hahanapin namin ang solusyon bukas.

No. Filipino may in this sentence does not mean possibility.

Here, may is an existential word that means “there is / there are” and is often translated as “have / has” when used with a pronoun:

• May problema kami. → We have a problem. / There is a problem (that we have).

So in May maliit kaming problema, may means “there is / we have”, not “may” in the English sense of “might / maybe.”

Literally, may maliit kaming problema is something like:

• There is a small problem (that belongs to us).

The breakdown:

• may – there is / have
• maliit – small
• kaming – kami
  • linker -ng, “we (our)” modifying problema
• problema – problem

Natural English: “We have a small problem.”

You can rearrange it in a few acceptable ways:

• May maliit na problema kami.
• May problema kaming maliit. (less common, but possible)
• May maliit kaming problema. (very natural)

All of these are understood as “We have a small problem.”

Why is there no na after maliit here? Because the structure is a bit different:

• May maliit na problema kami. → maliit na problema is a single noun phrase “small problem.”
• May maliit kaming problema. → kaming problema is functioning like “problem of ours,” and maliit describes that.

For most learners, the main takeaway is:
May maliit kaming problema is a very natural, idiomatic way to say “We have a small problem.”

Kaming is kami plus the linker -ng:

• kami – “we / us” (excluding the listener)
• kami + -ng → kaming – used when kami directly modifies a following noun.

In Filipino, when a word modifies a noun (like an adjective or a “possessor”), it usually takes a linker -ng / na:

• maliit na problema – small problem
• kaming problema – problem that belongs to us / our problem
• kaming mga estudyante – we students / we who are students

So in:

• May maliit kaming problema.

kaming is linked to problema, roughly “our problem / the problem we have.”

That’s why it’s kaming problema, not just kami problema.

Filipino has different pronoun forms depending on their grammatical role.

• kami – “we” as the topic / subject (nominative)
• namin – “our / by us” as a non-topic actor / possessor (genitive)

1. May maliit kaming problema…

   Underneath, this is like:

   • May maliit na problema kami.
     → “There is a small problem (and the one with the problem is kami, we).”

   Here, kami is the topic (who has the problem), so the nominative form kami is used → kaming problema.

2. …pero hahanapin namin ang solusyon bukas.

   • hahanapin – an object‑focus verb; the topic is ang solusyon (the thing searched for).
   • namin – is the actor (we), but not the topic, so the genitive form namin is used.

So:

• May problema kami. → we (kami) are the ones with the problem → kami.
• Hahanapin namin ang solusyon. → the solution (ang solusyon) is the topic; we are just the actor → namin.

In short: kami when “we” is the main topic; namin when “we” is just the doer or possessor in an object‑focused structure.

Yes, but the meaning changes in an important way.

• kami / namin – exclusive “we” (we, but not you the listener)
• tayo / natin – inclusive “we” (we, including you the listener)

Original:

• May maliit kaming problema sa proyekto…
  → “We (not including you) have a small problem with the project…”

If you said:

• May maliit tayong problema sa proyekto, pero hahanapin natin ang solusyon bukas.

it would mean:

• “We (including you) have a small problem with the project, but we (you and I) will look for the solution tomorrow.”

So:

• Use kami / namin if the problem and the solution search involve the speaker’s group only.
• Use tayo / natin if you want to include the listener in the group.

Sa proyekto literally means “in the project” or “with the project.”

In May maliit kaming problema sa proyekto, it’s best translated as:

• “We have a small problem with the project.”

Sa is a very flexible preposition that can mark:

• location – sa bahay (at home)
• direction – sa trabaho (to work)
• target / area concerned – problema sa pera (problem with money), problema sa proyekto (problem with the project)

If you used ng:

• problema ng proyekto – would sound more like “the project’s problem” or “the problem that belongs to the project,” which is a bit stiffer and less natural for this context.

For everyday speech, problema sa proyekto is the natural way to say “problem with the project.”

The root is hanap – “to look for / search.”

From that root you get a patient‑focus (object‑focus) verb: hanapin – “to look for (something).”

Filipino marks aspect (completed / ongoing / not yet started), not strict tense. With hanap / hanapin:

• hinanap – completed aspect
  
  • They looked for (it).
• hinahanap – ongoing / habitual aspect
  
  • They are looking for (it). / They keep looking for (it).
• hahanapin – not‑yet‑completed (future‑oriented) aspect
  
  • They will look for (it).

hahanapin is formed by:

1. Taking the patient‑focus base: hanap + -in → hanapin
2. Reduplicating the first syllable of the root ha‑ to mark the not‑yet‑completed aspect:
   
   • ha + hanapin → hahanapin

So hahanapin basically means “will look for” (with focus on the thing being looked for).

Yes, both are grammatical, but there is a focus and nuance difference.

1. Hahanapin namin ang solusyon bukas.

   • hahanapin – patient/object‑focus verb
   • ang solusyon – the topic/focus (the thing being looked for)
   • Rough meaning: “We will look for the solution tomorrow.”
     (Emphasis on the solution as a specific thing.)

2. Maghahanap kami ng solusyon bukas.

   • maghahanap – actor‑focus verb (based on hanap)
   • kami – the topic/focus (we are the ones doing it)
   • ng solusyon – the thing we are looking for, not topicalized
   • Rough meaning: “We will look for a solution tomorrow.”
     (Emphasis on our action, more like “we’re going to look around for some solution.”)

Subtle difference in English:

• hahanapin… ang solusyon – “We will look for the solution (the one we have in mind).”
• maghahanap… ng solusyon – “We will look for a solution (some solution, not specified).”

In many everyday contexts, both could be used, but hahanapin namin ang solusyon sounds a bit more like a clear plan to find that solution.

Pero is a conjunction meaning “but / however.”

In:

• May maliit kaming problema sa proyekto, pero hahanapin namin ang solusyon bukas.

pero contrasts the first clause (there’s a problem) with the second (we’ll deal with it):

• “We have a small problem with the project, but we’ll look for the solution tomorrow.”

Register:

• pero – neutral, very common in everyday speech and writing
• ngunit – more formal / literary “but”
• subalit – even more formal / literary
• kaso / kaya lang – informal, conversational “but / the thing is”

You could say, for example:

• May maliit kaming problema sa proyekto, ngunit hahanapin namin ang solusyon bukas. (more formal)
• May maliit kaming problema sa proyekto, kaso hahanapin na lang namin ang solusyon bukas. (very colloquial)

Bukas can mean two different things in Filipino:

1. tomorrow (time expression)
2. open (adjective)

In this sentence:

• bukas clearly means “tomorrow”, because it is used as a time expression with a future‑oriented verb hahanapin:

  • …hahanapin namin ang solusyon bukas.
    → “…we will look for the solution tomorrow.”

You can move bukas around:

• Bukas, hahanapin namin ang solusyon.
• Hahanapin namin bukas ang solusyon.
• Bukas pa namin hahanapin ang solusyon. (adds “only / not until” nuance with pa)

All are grammatical; Filipino word order is flexible, especially with time expressions. Placing bukas at the end (…ang solusyon bukas) is very common and natural.

Filipino does not have a mandatory article exactly like English “a/an.”

The word may already suggests indefiniteness, similar to “there is a…” or “there is some…”. So:

• May maliit kaming problema.
  → We have a small problem.

If you add isang (“one”), it becomes more specific:

• May isang maliit kaming problema.
• May isang maliit na problema kami.

Both would be understood as “We have one small problem” or “We have a single small problem,” which can sound a bit more pointed or contrastive (e.g., “It’s only one small problem.”)

So:

• Without isang – just “a small problem” (usual, neutral).
• With isang – “one small problem”, often with a sense of number or emphasis.

Maliit is pronounced with three syllables: ma-li-it.

• ma – like mah
• li – like lee
• it – like it (with a glottal stop before it in careful speech)

The double i indicates that there is a syllable break between li and it: li‑it, not just meet or leet.

So you do not say it as “mah‑leet.”
Instead, it’s closer to “mah‑lee‑it”, with the stress usually on the last syllable: ma-li-ÍT.

You’ll see this pattern in other words too, like kaunti (a little, some) → ka‑un‑tí.