Malapit nang magsara ang restawran, kaya umorder na tayo ng panghimagas.

The restaurant is about to close, so let's order dessert now.

Breakdown of Malapit nang magsara ang restawran, kaya umorder na tayo ng panghimagas.

• ay: to be
• na: already
• tayo: us
• panghimagas: dessert
• kaya: so
• umorder: to order
• malapit: near/soon
• magsara: to close
• restawran: the restaurant

Questions & Answers about Malapit nang magsara ang restawran, kaya umorder na tayo ng panghimagas.

What is the basic word order in Malapit nang magsara ang restawran, and which part is the subject?

The basic pattern here is Verb/Predicate–Subject, which is very common in Filipino.

• Malapit nang magsara = the predicate (what is being said about the subject)
  • Literally: “about to close soon”
• ang restawran = the subject (the one being talked about)

So, a more English-like order would be:

• Ang restawran ay malapit nang magsara.
  = “The restaurant is about to close.”

But in natural Filipino, it’s more common to put the predicate first:

• Malapit nang magsara ang restawran.

What does malapit mean here, and how does it work with magsara?

Malapit literally means “near/close” (usually for distance), but it’s also used for time to mean “soon / about to”.

The pattern is:

• malapit nang + [verb in infinitive form]

So:

• malapit nang magsara
  = “(it is) about to close soon”
  
  • malapit – near / soon
  • nang – linker/adverbial marker
  • magsara – to close

Other examples:

• Malapit na akong umalis. – I’m about to leave.
• Malapit nang umulan. – It’s about to rain.

Why is it nang in malapit nang magsara and not ng or na?

In this sentence, nang is functioning as a linker/adverb marker connecting malapit to the verb magsara.

Very roughly:

• nang (with a) is used:
  • to connect an adverb/adjectival idea to a verb
  • e.g. malapit nang umalis, handa nang kumain
• ng (without a) is most often:
  • an object marker (for direct objects)
  • or a possessive marker
  • e.g. umorder ng panghimagas, libro ng guro

You will also see malapit na (with na) when there is no verb right after it:

• Malapit na ang pasko. – Christmas is near.
• Malapit na kami. – We’re almost there.

But when it’s malapit na + verb, you’ll usually see it as malapit nang + verb:

• Malapit nang magsara ang restawran.
• Malapit nang mag-umpisa ang palabas. – The show is about to start.

What is the nuance of magsara here? Why not sasara or nagsara?

Magsara is in the infinitive / contemplated actor-focus form with the prefix mag-.

• magsara – to close / will close (general or near future, neutral aspect)
• sasara – will close (future form of sumara, not usually used with mag-)
• nagsara – closed / has closed (completed)

In the phrase:

• Malapit nang magsara ang restawran.
  the idea is “The restaurant is about to close.”
  The focus is on an event that is about to happen very soon, not one that is already done.

If you say:

• Malapit nang nagsara ang restawran. – ungrammatical/odd.
• Kakagsara lang ng restawran. – The restaurant just closed.
• Nagsara na ang restawran. – The restaurant has already closed.

So magsara fits best for something imminent but not yet done.

What does kaya mean in this sentence, and how is it different from kasi or dahil?

In this sentence, kaya means “so / therefore / that’s why.”

• Malapit nang magsara ang restawran, kaya umorder na tayo ng panghimagas.
  = “The restaurant is about to close, so let’s order dessert now.”

Compare:

• dahil / kasi – “because” (introduces a reason)

  • Umorder na tayo ng panghimagas dahil malapit nang magsara ang restawran.
    = “Let’s order dessert because the restaurant is about to close.”

• kaya – “so / therefore / that’s why” (introduces a result)

  • Malapit nang magsara ang restawran, kaya umorder na tayo ng panghimagas.
    = “The restaurant is about to close, so let’s order dessert.”

Note: kaya can also mean “can / be able to” in another structure, e.g.:

• Kaya mo ba? – Can you (do it)?
  But in this sentence, it’s clearly a connector meaning “so/therefore.”

What kind of verb is umorder, and how is it conjugated?

Umorder is an actor-focus verb formed from the English loan order with the infix -um-:

• Root: order
• Infix: -um-
• Result: umorder (to order)

Common forms:

• umorder – infinitive / completed:
  
  • Gusto kong umorder. – I want to order.
  • Umorder na ako kanina. – I already ordered earlier.
• umoo-order / umu-order – incompleted / ongoing (colloquial spelling varies):
  
  • Umu-order pa sila. – They are still ordering.
• o-order – contemplated / future:
  
  • O-order kami mamaya. – We will order later.

In your sentence:

• umorder na tayo ng panghimagas
  can be understood as “let’s (now) order dessert” – a suggestion or invitation.

Even though umorder can be completed aspect, the na here strongly gives the sense of “let’s go ahead and order now / already” in context.

What does na add in umorder na tayo ng panghimagas?

Na is very common and flexible. Here, it gives a sense of:

• “already / now / (let’s do it) at this point.”

So:

• Umorder tayo ng panghimagas. – Let’s order dessert. (neutral)
• Umorder na tayo ng panghimagas. – Let’s order dessert now / already.
  (implies: since it’s about to close, we should do it now)

Other similar uses:

• Kain na tayo. – Let’s eat now.
• Uwi na ako. – I’m going home now.
• Tulog na siya. – He/She is already asleep.

So na often indicates that the right time to do something has arrived, or that a change of state has happened.

Why is it tayo and not kami here? What’s the difference?

Both tayo and kami translate to “we”, but:

• tayo = inclusive we – you + me (and possibly others)
• kami = exclusive we – we but *not you*

In:

• umorder na tayo ng panghimagas
  the speaker is including the listener in the action:
  • “Let’s (you and I / all of us including you) order dessert now.”

If you said:

• Umorder na kami ng panghimagas.
  That means:
  • “We have (already) ordered dessert” – and you are not part of that “we.”

So for a suggestion or invitation like “Let’s…,” you normally use tayo.

What does panghimagas mean, and what is the role of the prefix pang-?

Panghimagas means “dessert”.

It comes from:

• Root: himagas – originally a traditional term for something eaten after the main meal (like fruit, sweet course)
• Prefix: pang- – often means “for (the purpose of) _” or “used for _”

So:

• pang- + himagas → panghimagas
  literally: “for dessert / food for the dessert course.”

Other examples with pang-:

• kain (to eat) → pangkain – something for eating / food
• linis (to clean) → panlinis – cleaning agent/tool
• sulat (to write) → pangsulat – something used for writing (e.g. pen)

In the sentence:

• umorder na tayo ng panghimagas
  = “let’s order dessert.”

ng panghimagas is the object of umorder.

Why is it ng panghimagas after umorder? Could it be nang panghimagas?

After umorder, you need the object marker ng, not nang.

• umorder ng panghimagas
  = “(to) order dessert”, where:
  • umorder – verb
  • ng – object marker
  • panghimagas – object (dessert)

nang (with a) does not mark objects. In this sentence, nang appears only in malapit nang magsara, where it is an adverb/linking marker, not an object marker.

So:

• ✅ umorder ng panghimagas – correct
• ❌ umorder nang panghimagas – incorrect in standard grammar

Is restawran the same as restaurant? Are there other spellings?

Yes, restawran is the Filipino-ized spelling of English “restaurant.”

You’ll see several variants in actual usage:

• restawran – more Filipino phonetic spelling (fits the orthography)
• restoran – another adapted spelling, closer to Spanish/English
• restaurant – original English spelling, also very commonly used in the Philippines

All can be understood, but in formal Filipino writing, you’ll often see restawran or restoran. In everyday life (menus, signs, online), restaurant is extremely common because of English influence.