Kailangan ang pirma mo sa dokumento bago tayo umalis.

Filipino often puts the predicate first, unlike English.

So this sentence breaks down like this:

• Kailangan = needed / necessary
• ang pirma mo = your signature
• sa dokumento = on the document / for the document
• bago tayo umalis = before we leave

A very literal outline would be:

Needed your signature on the document before we leave

Natural English then turns that into:

Your signature is needed on the document before we leave.

Here, kailangan means needed, necessary, or required.

In this sentence, it works like a predicate describing the noun phrase that follows:

• Kailangan ang pirma mo = Your signature is needed

It does not have to mean to need in the same way English does. Very often in Filipino, kailangan is used in a more impersonal way, like it is necessary or is required.

Ang marks the topic/focused noun phrase of the sentence.

In Kailangan ang pirma mo, the thing being presented as needed is ang pirma mo.

So the structure is roughly:

• Kailangan = the comment/predicate
• ang pirma mo = the topic, your signature

That is why English usually flips it around and says:

Your signature is needed

rather than

Needed is your signature, even though that is closer to the Filipino order.

In Filipino, possessive pronouns usually come after the noun.

So:

• pirma mo = your signature
• bahay ko = my house
• kaibigan niya = his/her friend

You can also use the fuller form:

• ang iyong pirma = your signature

But pirma mo is very normal and natural in everyday speech.

Sa is a very broad preposition in Filipino. Depending on context, it can correspond to English in, on, at, to, for, and more.

In this sentence, sa dokumento most naturally means:

• on the document
• or for the document

So the idea is that the signature is needed on that document.

It is sa because this phrase is giving the place or target connected with the signature, not showing possession.

Yes, pirma is a very common everyday word for signature.

You may also see lagda, which is a more native/formal Filipino word.

Very roughly:

• pirma = common in everyday speech
• lagda = often more formal or official

Both are correct, but pirma is extremely common in normal conversation.

Bago means before here.

It introduces the time clause:

• bago tayo umalis = before we leave

So it tells you when the signature is needed.

The whole last part of the sentence is a time expression modifying the main idea:

The signature is needed before we leave.

Because tayo includes the person being spoken to, while kami excludes them.

So:

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

Since the sentence means before we leave and includes the listener in that group, tayo is the correct choice.

If the listener were not leaving with the speaker, then kami would make sense instead.

This is a very common learner question.

After words like bago, Filipino often uses the infinitive-like/base form of the verb. For um- verbs, that form often looks the same as the completed form.

So:

• umalis can mean to leave in the right context
• bago tayo umalis = before we leave

This does not mean the leaving already happened. Filipino does not work like English tense in a one-to-one way. Context tells you the time.

You can compare:

• Gusto kong umalis = I want to leave
• Bago tayo umalis = Before we leave

In both cases, umalis is not past in meaning.

Because Filipino often allows an impersonal way of expressing necessity.

Instead of saying We need your signature, the sentence says, more literally:

Your signature is needed

That keeps the focus on the requirement itself, not on the person who needs it.

If you wanted to name the people who need it, you could say something like:

• Kailangan namin ang pirma mo = We need your signature

But the original sentence is perfectly natural because Filipino often leaves that unstated when it is obvious or unimportant.

Yes, Filipino word order is somewhat flexible, but the original sentence is a very natural, neutral way to say it.

Original:

• Kailangan ang pirma mo sa dokumento bago tayo umalis.

You might also hear other arrangements for emphasis, but changing the order can shift what sounds most prominent.

For a learner, the original version is a good model because it is clear and natural:

• predicate first
• topic marked by ang
• extra information after that

So unless you have a special reason to emphasize a different part, it is best to keep this order.

Yes. That is a very natural English translation.

The Filipino sentence is slightly more impersonal in structure, closer to:

Your signature is needed on the document before we leave.

But in real translation, English speakers often say:

We need your signature on the document before we leave.

Both express the same practical meaning. The difference is mainly in how the sentence is framed, not in the basic message.