Magwalis tayo ng sahig sa kusina bago dumating ang mga bisita.

Magwalis means to sweep or, in this sentence, let’s sweep.

It comes from:

• walis = broom or the idea of sweeping
• mag- = a common verb-forming prefix

So magwalis is an actor-focus verb meaning the subject is the one doing the sweeping.

In this sentence, because it is followed by tayo, it sounds like a suggestion or invitation: Let’s sweep.

Because Filipino is often verb-initial.

So starting with Magwalis is completely natural. A very common basic pattern is:

Verb + actor + other information

Here that gives:

• Magwalis = sweep
• tayo = we/us including the listener
• ng sahig = the floor
• sa kusina = in the kitchen
• bago dumating ang mga bisita = before the guests arrive

English usually prefers subject + verb, but Filipino very often puts the verb first.

Tayo means we/us including the person being spoken to.

That is important. Filipino distinguishes between:

• tayo = we, including you
• kami = we, but not you

So Magwalis tayo means Let’s sweep or We should sweep, with the speaker including the listener in the action.

In this sentence, it is most naturally an inclusive suggestion/command: Let’s sweep.

It is not a harsh command. It sounds more like:

• Let’s sweep the kitchen floor...
• Come on, let’s sweep...
• We should sweep...

So it is inviting the listener to join the action.

Because the verb magwalis is actor-focus.

With an actor-focus verb, the doer is the main marked participant, and the thing affected by the action is commonly marked with ng.

So:

• tayo = the doer
• ng sahig = the thing being swept

That is why you get Magwalis tayo ng sahig.

A very useful comparison is:

• Magwalis tayo ng sahig.
• Walisin natin ang sahig.

Both can mean Let’s sweep the floor, but they use different focus:

• magwalis = actor-focus
• walisin = object-focus

In the second version, the floor becomes the ang-marked item: ang sahig.

Sa kusina means in the kitchen or at the kitchen, depending on context.

Here it tells you the location of the sweeping:

• sa = a location marker, often translated as in, at, or to
• kusina = kitchen

So ng sahig sa kusina is naturally understood as the floor in the kitchen.

Here bago means before.

So:

• bago dumating ang mga bisita = before the guests arrive

This is a different use of bago from the adjective meaning new. Filipino has many words whose meaning depends on context, and this is one of them.

This is a very common learner question.

After bago (before), Filipino often uses dumating, even when the meaning is still future in English.

So:

• bago dumating ang mga bisita = before the guests arrive

Even though dumating often looks like a past/completed form in other contexts, here it does not mean the guests already arrived. The time is understood from the whole sentence.

This is similar to English in a way:

• We say before the guests arrive
• Not usually before the guests will arrive

So bago dumating is the natural Filipino pattern here.

Ang mga bisita means the guests.

Breakdown:

• ang = a marker for the focused/topic noun
• mga = plural marker
• bisita = guest / visitor

So mga bisita = guests.

Unlike English, Filipino nouns usually do not change form for plural. You do not add -s to bisita. Instead, you use mga.

Because in the clause dumating ang mga bisita, the verb dumating is an actor-focus verb, and ang marks the actor/topic of that clause.

So in:

• dumating ang mga bisita

the ones doing the arriving are ang mga bisita.

That is why ang appears there.

Mga is pronounced roughly muh-NGA.

It is often surprising to English speakers because it is not pronounced the way it looks if you try to read it letter by letter.

So:

• mga bisita sounds roughly like muh-NGA bi-SI-ta

Yes. Filipino word order is fairly flexible, especially for moving time expressions.

For example, you can also say:

Bago dumating ang mga bisita, magwalis tayo ng sahig sa kusina.

That means the same thing: Before the guests arrive, let’s sweep the kitchen floor.

The original version is still completely natural. Putting the bago... part first just gives a little more emphasis to the time condition.

Because Filipino does not use articles the same way English does.

Words like ang, ng, and sa are case/location markers, not direct equivalents of English the.

So:

• ng sahig can mean the floor or a floor, depending on context
• sa kusina can mean in the kitchen or in a kitchen, depending on context

English forces you to choose articles more often. Filipino often leaves that to context.