Dalhin mo ang reseta sa botika bago bumili ng gamot.

Because dalhin is the object-focus form of dala (to bring / carry).

In this sentence, the thing being highlighted as the main object is ang reseta. So Filipino uses:

• dalhin mo ang reseta = bring the prescription

If you used magdala, the structure would change:

• Magdala ka ng reseta = Bring a prescription

That version focuses more on the doer of the action, while dalhin fits the pattern where ang reseta is the focused noun.

Mo means your / you here, but more specifically it marks the actor of the action in this kind of sentence.

So:

• Dalhin mo = You bring it / Bring it

In Filipino, short pronouns like mo, ko, niya often come after the verb, especially in simple clauses.

Compare:

• Dalhin mo ang reseta.
• literally: Bring you the prescription

That word order sounds unusual in English, but it is normal in Filipino.

Ang marks the noun that is in focus in the sentence.

Here, ang reseta is the thing being brought, and because the verb is in object focus (dalhin), the prescription gets marked with ang.

So:

• dalhin = object-focus verb
• ang reseta = the focused object

This is a very common pattern in Filipino grammar.

Sa is the marker used for locations, destinations, and directions.

So:

• sa botika = to the pharmacy / at the pharmacy

In this sentence, the pharmacy is the destination of the action dalhin.

Examples:

• sa bahay = to/at the house
• sa paaralan = to/at school
• sa botika = to/at the pharmacy

Bago means before.

It introduces an action that happens earlier than the main action or serves as a time condition.

So:

• bago bumili ng gamot = before buying medicine

It connects the first action and the later action:

1. bring the prescription to the pharmacy
2. buy medicine

After bago, Filipino often uses the basic completed-looking or infinitive-like verb form to mean something like before doing.

So:

• bago bumili ng gamot = before buying medicine

Even though bumili can also mean bought in another context, here the presence of bago makes the meaning clear: it is not past tense here.

Compare:

• bumili ako = I bought
• bago bumili = before buying

This is one of those places where context matters a lot in Filipino.

Because gamot is the object of bumili in an actor-focus construction.

With bumili, the thing being bought is usually marked by ng:

• bumili ng gamot = buy medicine

If you changed the focus of the verb, the marking could change too. But in this sentence, bumili ng gamot is the normal pattern.

Yes. It is an imperative sentence.

• Dalhin mo ang reseta... = Bring the prescription...

It sounds like a direct instruction. It is natural and common, but not especially polite or formal by itself.

To make it more polite, speakers might say things like:

• Pakidala ang reseta sa botika...
• Dalhin ninyo po ang reseta...

So the original sentence is a straightforward command, suitable in many everyday situations.

Yes, reseta means prescription in Filipino.

It does look similar to recipe, and that is not a coincidence: both are historically related through Spanish influence. But in modern Filipino, reseta commonly means a doctor’s prescription.

So in this sentence, it definitely refers to a medical prescription, not a cooking recipe.

Yes, Filipino word order is somewhat flexible, but not every change sounds equally natural.

The original:

• Dalhin mo ang reseta sa botika bago bumili ng gamot.

is very natural.

You could also move some parts around for emphasis, for example:

• Bago bumili ng gamot, dalhin mo ang reseta sa botika.

This still means the same thing, but it emphasizes the before buying medicine part first.

However, the markers like ang, ng, sa are very important, because they show each word’s role in the sentence.

Usually, it is understood to be the same person being addressed by mo.

So the sentence is understood as:

• Bring the prescription to the pharmacy before you buy medicine.

Filipino often leaves out the subject when it is already clear from context. That is why there is no separate word for you in the second part.

Yes. Dalhin can often be translated as bring or take, depending on the situation and the point of view in English.

English chooses between bring and take based on direction relative to the speaker, but Filipino dala / dalhin does not always make that distinction as strictly.

So both of these can work in context:

• Bring the prescription to the pharmacy before buying medicine.
• Take the prescription to the pharmacy before buying medicine.

It is a very common and natural word. Botika is widely understood and used in everyday Filipino.

You may also hear:

• parmasya = pharmacy
• drugstore = drugstore

But botika is perfectly normal and very common in health-related everyday speech.

The root is bili, which means buy.

Bumili is formed with the infix -um-:

• bili → bumili

This is a very common actor-focus verb pattern in Filipino.

Other examples:

• pasok → pumasok
• kuha → kumuha
• tawag → tumawag

So bumili ng gamot literally follows a common -um- verb pattern.

Because ka and mo are used in different grammatical roles.

In this sentence, the verb is object-focus (dalhin), so the actor is marked by mo.

• Dalhin mo ang reseta.

If you used an actor-focus verb, then ka would be more likely:

• Magdala ka ng reseta.

So the choice between mo and ka depends on the verb pattern and sentence structure, not just on meaning.