Learn Hardcore Filipino: Ayaw kong maiwan sa bahay. - I don't want to be left at home.

ayaw is more natural and common when talking about an action you don’t want to happen (Ayaw kong umalis – I don’t want to leave).
hindi ko gusto sounds more like disliking something as a fact or preference (Hindi ko gusto ang lugar na ito – I don’t like this place).

So for “I don’t want to be left at home,” ayaw is the natural choice.

Why is it kong and not just ko? What does the -ng do in kong?

Kong is actually ko + -ng, where:

ko = “my / I / me” (genitive pronoun, “I” as the doer or experiencer)
-ng = the linker (also called ligature) that connects words, often like “to” or “that” in English in this kind of structure.

Structure:

Ayaw kong maiwan…
- ayaw = don’t want
- ko = I (the one who doesn’t want)
- -ng = links ayaw ko to the verb maiwan

So literally it’s like:

“The not-want of mine to be left at home.”

You must put the linker -ng there when a word like ayaw is followed by another word that completes its meaning (often another verb):

Gusto kong kumain. – I want to eat.
Ayaw kong umalis. – I don’t want to leave.
Plano kong mag-aral. – I plan to study.

Because ko ends in a vowel, the linker appears as -ng and attaches directly: ko + -ng → kong.

Where is the subject “I” in this sentence? Why don’t we use ako?

The “I” is expressed by ko, not by ako.

ako = “I / me” in nominative (subject) form
ko = “my / I / me” in genitive form (the doer/owner linked to a verb or noun)

In Ayaw kong maiwan sa bahay:

ayaw – not want
ko – I (the one who doesn’t want)
maiwan – be left behind
sa bahay – at home

So the sentence already says “I” via ko, so you do not add ako.

Wrong:

✘ Ayaw ako kong maiwan sa bahay.
Right:
✓ Ayaw kong maiwan sa bahay.

Tagalog often uses ko instead of ako when “I” is linked to a verb like gusto, ayaw, kailangan, etc.:

Gusto kong matulog. – I want to sleep.
Kailangan kong umalis. – I need to leave.
Ayaw kong sumama. – I don’t want to come along.

What does maiwan mean exactly, and how is it formed from iwan?

The root here is iwan, which means “to leave (someone/something behind)”.

Maiwan is formed with the prefix ma-:

ma- + iwan → maiwan

In this context, maiwan means “to be left (behind)”, focusing on the person/thing that ends up left behind rather than on the person doing the leaving.

So:

iwan – to leave (something/someone)
- Iiwan kita sa bahay. – I will leave you at home.
maiwan – to be left (behind)
- Ayaw kong maiwan sa bahay. – I don’t want to be left at home.

The ma- prefix often:

shifts focus to the undergoer (the thing/person affected), and/or
gives a sense of ending up in a state, often not fully under one’s control.

Why is it maiwan and not maiiwan or naiwan? How would those forms change the meaning?

Tagalog verbs change form to show aspect (completed, ongoing, about to happen). With maiwan, common forms are:

naiwan – completed aspect: was left behind / got left behind
maiiwan – incompleted / ongoing aspect: will be (getting) left behind / is being left behind
maiwan – contemplated / infinitive-like form: to be left behind (about an event that has not happened yet)

In Ayaw kong maiwan sa bahay, maiwan is the contemplated form:

It expresses something you don’t want to happen, generally in the future.

If you changed it:

Ayaw kong maiiwan sa bahay.
– “I don’t want to end up being (the one) left at home / I don’t want to be getting left at home.”
(More emphasis on the process or the possibility.)
Ayaw kong naiwan sa bahay.
– This sounds odd, because naiwan is “was left,” and ayaw kong naiwan would mix “I don’t want” with something already completed.
You would normally say instead:
- Ayaw kong maiwan (ulit). – I don’t want to be left (again).
- Ayaw kong mangyaring maiwan ako sa bahay. – I don’t want it to happen that I get left at home.

So maiwan is the natural choice here for “I don’t want to be left (at home).”

Could I say Ayaw kong iwan sa bahay instead? What’s the difference between iwan and maiwan?

You generally cannot just say Ayaw kong iwan sa bahay if you mean “I don’t want to be left at home.”

Key difference:

iwan = “to leave (someone/something)”
→ You normally have to say who leaves whom:
- Ayaw kong iwan *ang anak ko sa bahay.* – I don’t want to leave my child at home.
- Ayaw kong iwan *ang bag ko dito.* – I don’t want to leave my bag here.
maiwan = “to be left (behind)”
→ Focuses on the person/thing left behind:
- Ayaw kong maiwan sa bahay. – I don’t want to be (the one) left at home.

So:

If you are the one being left:
→ Ayaw kong maiwan sa bahay.
If you are the one doing the leaving:
→ Ayaw kong iwan ang aso sa bahay. – I don’t want to leave the dog at home.

Why do we use sa before bahay? Could we say ng bahay or just bahay?

Sa is a preposition/marker that often means “in / at / to / on”.

sa bahay = “at home / in the house”

In this sentence, sa is required to mark the location where the “leaving behind” happens:

Ayaw kong maiwan sa bahay. – I don’t want to be left at home.

You would not say:

✘ Ayaw kong maiwan ng bahay. – ungrammatical/incorrect for this meaning.
✘ Ayaw kong maiwan bahay. – missing the location marker.

Other examples of sa as a place marker:

sa trabaho – at work
sa eskuwela / sa school – at school
sa tindahan – at the store

So sa bahay is the correct and necessary form here.

Can I change the word order, like Ayaw ko sa bahay maiwan or Ayaw maiwan ko sa bahay?

The natural, standard word order is:

Ayaw kong maiwan sa bahay.

Some rewordings are possible, but the ones you suggested are not natural:

✘ Ayaw ko sa bahay maiwan. – sounds wrong/awkward.
✘ Ayaw maiwan ko sa bahay. – also wrong; breaks the usual pattern.

For this pattern (with ayaw/gusto/kailangan + ko + verb), the usual orders are:

Ayaw kong maiwan sa bahay. – most natural.
Ayaw ko na maiwan sa bahay. – adds na (“anymore / now”) for extra nuance.
In very casual speech you might hear slight variations, but “Ayaw kong + [verb phrase]” is the safest pattern.

So for a learner, you should stick to:

Ayaw kong maiwan sa bahay.

In conversation, people sometimes say Ayoko instead of Ayaw ko. How does that work here? Are forms like Ayokong maiwan sa bahay or Ayoko maiwan sa bahay correct?

Yes, in everyday speech, Ayaw ko is very commonly contracted to Ayoko.

Forms you might hear:

Ayokong maiwan sa bahay.
- This is Ayoko + -ng + maiwan
- Fully grammatical; just a contracted version of Ayaw kong maiwan sa bahay.
Ayoko maiwan sa bahay.
- Many people say this in casual speech, omitting the linker -ng.
- It’s common in conversation but less “textbook-correct.”
Ayaw kong maiwan sa bahay.
- More formal / careful speech, fully standard.

So:

For writing or careful Filipino:
→ Ayaw kong maiwan sa bahay. or Ayokong maiwan sa bahay.
In informal speech:
→ All three (Ayaw kong…, Ayokong…, Ayoko… + verb) will be understood, but it’s good to learn the version with the linker (Ayokong / Ayaw kong) as your base pattern.

How would I say the opposite, like “I want to be left at home” or “I don’t mind being left at home”?

To say the opposite idea, you mainly change ayaw to gusto (want/like) or use a phrase meaning “don’t mind.”

“I want to be left at home.”

Gusto kong maiwan sa bahay.

Breakdown:

gusto – want / like
kong – I (linker)
maiwan – be left behind
sa bahay – at home

“I don’t mind being left at home.”

There isn’t a single fixed phrase, but good natural options are:

Okay lang sa akin na maiwan sa bahay.
– It’s just okay with me to be left at home.
Wala akong problema kung maiwan ako sa bahay.
– I have no problem if I get left at home.

Notice that:

maiwan sa bahay stays the same (the “being left at home” part),
you change the verb/phrase that shows your attitude (ayaw, gusto, okay lang, wala akong problema, etc.).