Nasa lamesa ang bolpen ko sa tabi ng kuwaderno.

Filipino very often uses a predicate-first word order. In this sentence, the location phrase Nasa lamesa comes first, and the topic ang bolpen ko comes after it.

So the structure is roughly:

• Nasa lamesa = is on the table
• ang bolpen ko = my pen
• sa tabi ng kuwaderno = beside the notebook

This is completely natural in Filipino. English usually prefers My pen is on the table, but Filipino often prefers On the table is my pen in structure, even though the normal English translation is still My pen is on the table...

Nasa means something like is in/on/at a place, depending on context.

It comes from na + sa:

• sa = a location marker, often meaning in, on, at, to
• nasa = a very common combined form used when stating where something is

So:

• Nasa lamesa = on the table
• Nasa bahay = at home / in the house
• Nasa bag = in the bag

You do not need to translate nasa as one single English word every time. Its exact meaning depends on the location phrase that follows.

Ang is a marker that highlights the topic of the sentence.

In this sentence, ang bolpen ko is the thing being talked about. The sentence is saying where my pen is.

So:

• ang bolpen ko = my pen, marked as the topic
• sa tabi ng kuwaderno is not marked with ang because it is just part of the location description

A simple learner-friendly way to think about ang is:

• it often marks the main noun phrase of the sentence
• it is not exactly the same as English the

In Filipino, short possessive pronouns like ko usually come after the noun.

So:

• bolpen ko = my pen
• kuwaderno ko = my notebook
• bahay ko = my house

This is one of the most important word-order differences from English.

Compare:

• English: my pen
• Filipino: pen my in literal order

That is normal Filipino grammar.

Literally, it is built like this:

• sa = at / in / on
• tabi = side
• ng = marker linking tabi to what it is beside
• kuwaderno = notebook

So sa tabi ng kuwaderno is literally something like at the side of the notebook, which naturally means beside the notebook or next to the notebook.

This is a very common Filipino pattern:

• sa tabi ng pinto = beside the door
• sa tabi ng kama = beside the bed
• sa tabi ko = beside me

Because kuwaderno is not the main topic of the sentence. It is just the noun that completes the expression tabi ng ...

In sa tabi ng kuwaderno, the notebook is the reference point: the pen is beside it.

Here, ng is the marker used after tabi to connect it to the following noun.

So:

• ang bolpen ko = the topic
• ng kuwaderno = the noun linked to tabi

A helpful way to remember this is that ang and ng often mark different roles in the sentence.

Yes, in a way. Filipino often does not use a separate word like English is in sentences like this.

English needs:

• My pen is on the table

But Filipino can simply say:

• Nasa lamesa ang bolpen ko

There is no separate copula like is here. The meaning of being located somewhere is already carried by nasa plus the sentence structure.

This is normal and very common in Filipino.

Yes. That is also grammatical.

The version with ay puts the topic first:

• Ang bolpen ko ay nasa lamesa sa tabi ng kuwaderno.

This is a more explicitly topic-first structure. It can sound a bit more formal, careful, or written, depending on context.

In everyday speech, the original version without ay is often more natural:

• Nasa lamesa ang bolpen ko sa tabi ng kuwaderno.

So both are correct, but the original sentence is very normal conversational Filipino.

Not exactly. Sa is a very flexible location marker. Depending on context, it can correspond to:

• in
• on
• at
• sometimes to

The exact English preposition depends on the noun and the situation.

For example:

• sa mesa = on the table
• sa kuwarto = in the room
• sa bahay = at home / in the house
• sa Maynila = in Manila
• sa tindahan = at the store

So in nasa lamesa, English uses on, but Filipino still uses sa.

Both refer to a table. Mesa is the more common modern form, while lamesa is also used and understood. Which one you hear depends on region, speaker, and style.

So:

• mesa = table
• lamesa = table

Both are acceptable vocabulary items for a learner to recognize.

Here, ng is pronounced like the ng sound in English sing.

So:

• ng kuwaderno has the sound nang kuwaderno or more exactly a single ng sound before kuwaderno

Important notes:

• The g in ng is not pronounced as a hard g
• It is one sound: /ŋ/

This is true whether ng is a marker or part of a word.

In practice, the whole sentence means that the pen is on the table, and that it is beside the notebook. That is the most natural interpretation.

So the idea is:

• the pen is on the table
• the pen is beside the notebook

Because of real-world meaning, listeners normally understand sa tabi ng kuwaderno as further describing where the pen is located.

If you wanted to make the structure even clearer, you could also say:

• Nasa lamesa, sa tabi ng kuwaderno, ang bolpen ko.

But the original sentence is already natural and understandable.