Learn Hardcore Filipino: Bumisita ako sa bahay ni Ana kahapon.

Verb form (aspect):
- bumisita = completed aspect (the action is finished)
  Other aspects of the same verb:
- bumibisita = incompleted / ongoing / habitual (“is visiting / keeps visiting”)
- bibisita = contemplated / future (“will visit”)
Time word:
- kahapon = “yesterday”

Together:

Bumisita ako … already tells you the action is completed.
kahapon specifies when in the past it happened.

Filipino relies more on aspect plus time expressions (kahapon, kanina, bukas) than on strict tense endings like English.

Why does the sentence start with bumisita? Can I move ako to the front instead?

Starting with the verb is the most natural, neutral word order in Tagalog. A typical pattern is:

Verb – Subject – Other elements

So:

Bumisita ako sa bahay ni Ana kahapon.

You can move ako to the front, but the feel changes slightly:

Ako ay bumisita sa bahay ni Ana kahapon.
- More formal or emphatic (“As for me, I visited Ana’s house yesterday.”)
Ako’y bumisita sa bahay ni Ana kahapon.
- Contraction of Ako ay; sounds literary or formal.

In everyday speech, Bumisita ako … is the most common and natural-sounding.

What exactly does ako do in this sentence? How is it different from ko?

In Bumisita ako sa bahay ni Ana kahapon:

ako = “I / me” in topic / subject position (the actor-focus “I”)
It names the doer of the visiting.

Compare with ko, which is the non-topic / genitive form of “I”:

Binisita ko ang bahay ni Ana kahapon.
= “I visited Ana’s house yesterday.”
- ko is attached to the verb, and ang bahay ni Ana becomes the focus/topic.

So:

Use ako when “I” is the main topic/subject, especially in actor-focus verbs like bumisita.
Use ko when “I” is more like “my / by me,” and something else (like the object) is being highlighted.

What does sa mean in sa bahay ni Ana, and why can’t I use ng here?

In this sentence, sa is a preposition/marker that usually covers meanings like:

“to,” “at,” “in,” “on,” “into”

So sa bahay ni Ana is:

literally: “to/at the house of Ana”
natural English: “at Ana’s house” or “to Ana’s house”

You do not use ng here because:

ng usually marks:
- direct objects (in actor-focus sentences)
- non-topic doers (in object-focus sentences)
sa is used for locations, directions, and some indirect objects.

With bumisita (to visit, actor-focus), the usual pattern is:

bumisita
- sa
  - place/person you are visiting

So:

Mali / incorrect: Bumisita ako ng bahay ni Ana.
Tama / correct: Bumisita ako sa bahay ni Ana.

Why is it sa bahay ni Ana and not kay Ana?

Because you are explicitly mentioning the house:

bahay ni Ana = “Ana’s house”
(literally “house of Ana”)

If you used kay Ana, you would be focusing on the person, not her house:

Bumisita ako kay Ana kahapon.
= “I visited Ana yesterday.”
(emphasis: you visited her, not specifically her house)

So:

sa bahay ni Ana → visited the house that belongs to Ana
kay Ana → visited Ana (as a person), typically at her place, but the house is not mentioned

Both are correct Tagalog, but they mean slightly different things.

What does ni mean in bahay ni Ana, and when do I use ni vs ng or kay?

ni is a genitive marker for a single named person when that person is not the topic, often showing possession or “of”:

bahay ni Ana = “Ana’s house” / “house of Ana”
kotse ni Mark = “Mark’s car”

Basic patterns:

ni = of one person with a proper name (non-topic)
- bahay ni Ana (Ana’s house)
nina = of several named people (non-topic)
- bahay nina Ana at Mark (Ana and Mark’s house)
ng = of a common noun or sometimes when the name is not in focus
- bahay ng guro (the teacher’s house)

kay / kina are different:

kay = “to/at/with” a single named person
- Pumunta ako kay Ana. (I went to Ana.)
kina = “to/at/with” multiple named people
- Pumunta ako kina Ana at Mark. (I went to Ana and Mark.)

So in bahay ni Ana, ni is the natural choice to mark that the house belongs to Ana.

Can kahapon go in other positions in the sentence?

Yes. kahapon (yesterday) is flexible in position. All of these are acceptable, with slightly different emphasis:

Bumisita ako sa bahay ni Ana kahapon.
- Neutral; very common.
Kahapon, bumisita ako sa bahay ni Ana.
- Emphasizes the time (“Yesterday, I visited Ana’s house.”)
Bumisita ako kahapon sa bahay ni Ana.
- Still natural; a small pause is often felt after kahapon.
Ako ay bumisita kahapon sa bahay ni Ana.
- More formal, with the same time emphasis.

Meaning doesn’t change; you mainly shift which part is stressed in the sentence.

Are bumisita and pumunta interchangeable?

Sometimes they overlap, but they are not exact synonyms.

bumisita = “to visit,” with the idea of paying a visit (social/intentional)
- Bumisita ako sa bahay ni Ana kahapon.
  → You went there specifically to visit.
pumunta = “to go (to a place),” more general
- Pumunta ako sa bahay ni Ana kahapon.
  → You went to Ana’s house, but it doesn’t say you were visiting in the social sense; you might have just passed by, delivered something, etc.

In many everyday contexts, people might understand pumunta sa bahay ni Ana as a kind of visit, but bumisita is more precise if you want to stress the idea of visiting.

Can I leave out ako and just say Bumisita sa bahay ni Ana kahapon?

Yes, grammatically that is possible, and sometimes used in context where the subject is already clear:

In a story where it’s obvious that “I” am the one doing the actions:
- Bumisita sa bahay ni Ana kahapon. Pagkatapos, umuwi rin agad.
  (Visited Ana’s house yesterday. After that, went home right away.)

However, in isolation or in normal conversation, you usually keep the pronoun:

Bumisita ako sa bahay ni Ana kahapon.

Leaving out ako can sound a bit like “diary style” / narrative shorthand or like a note, not a full normal sentence in speech.

What is the difference between Bumisita ako sa bahay ni Ana kahapon and Binisita ko ang bahay ni Ana kahapon?

They have the same basic event, but the focus is different.

Bumisita ako sa bahay ni Ana kahapon.
- Actor-focus verb (bumisita, with -um-)
- Emphasis/focus is on the doer: ako (I)
- “I visited Ana’s house yesterday.”
Binisita ko ang bahay ni Ana kahapon.
- Object-focus verb (binisita, with in)
- Emphasis/focus is on the house: ang bahay ni Ana
- Literally, “Ana’s house was what I visited yesterday.”
- Still translates naturally as “I visited Ana’s house yesterday,” but with a subtle emphasis on that house as the important element (e.g., in contrast to some other house).

Both are correct; Tagalog just has this system of voice/focus that lets you highlight different parts of the sentence.

Why is it bumisita, not nagbisita? Is nagbisita wrong?

The more standard Tagalog form for “to visit (someone/someplace)” is:

bumisita – bumibisita – bibisita

Using -um- makes it an actor-focus verb.

nagbisita also exists in some varieties and in casual speech, but:

It’s much less common in standard Tagalog.
Dictionaries and learning materials typically list bumisita as the main form.

You might hear nagbisita in some regions or idiolects, but if you’re learning standard Filipino, bumisita (and its other aspects) is the safer, more widely accepted choice.

Where would I put the politeness word po in this sentence?

po usually goes after the first word or the first clitic group. Some natural options:

Bumisita po ako sa bahay ni Ana kahapon.
Ako po ay bumisita sa bahay ni Ana kahapon. (more formal)
Kahapon po bumisita ako sa bahay ni Ana. (emphasizing “yesterday”)

The most straightforward is:

Bumisita po ako sa bahay ni Ana kahapon.

This sounds polite and natural when speaking to someone you respect (older person, stranger, someone in authority, etc.).

How do you pronounce bumisita?

Syllable breakdown and stress:

bu-mi-SI-ta

Details:

4 syllables: bu – mi – si – ta
The main stress is on SI: bu-mi-SI-ta
All vowels are short and clear:
- u as in “put”
- i as in “machine”
- a as in “father”

So you’d say it smoothly as: bu-mi-SI-ta, not BU-mi-si-ta or bu-mi-si-TA.