Kailangan kong makapaghanda bago dumating ang mga bisita.

Because ko is followed by another element it links to, so it takes the linker -ng and becomes kong.

A very common pattern in Filipino is:

• gusto ko = I want it / it is my want
• gusto kong kumain = I want to eat

Likewise:

• kailangan ko = I need it / it is my need
• kailangan kong makapaghanda = I need to prepare / I need to be able to prepare

So kong here is basically ko + -ng.

Here, kailangan means need or necessary.

In the pattern Kailangan kong + verb, it means I need to + verb.

So:

• Kailangan kong umalis = I need to leave
• Kailangan kong makapaghanda = I need to prepare / I need to be able to prepare

Filipino often expresses this idea without a separate word exactly like English to need as a fully inflected verb.

Here it means before.

Bago has more than one meaning:

• bago = new
• bago = before

In this sentence, because it introduces a time clause, it clearly means before:

• bago dumating ang mga bisita = before the guests arrive

So context tells you which meaning is intended.

Maghanda means to prepare or to get ready.

Makapaghanda adds a sense of being able to, managing to, or getting the chance to prepare. It often suggests successful completion or the opportunity to do the action.

So the difference is roughly:

• maghanda = prepare
• makapaghanda = be able to prepare / manage to prepare

In real usage, the difference can be subtle. In this sentence, makapaghanda sounds like the speaker needs enough time or opportunity to get the preparation done before the guests arrive.

It is built from the root handa, which relates to being ready or prepared.

A simplified breakdown is:

• handa = ready / prepared
• maghanda = to prepare
• makapaghanda = to be able to prepare / to manage to prepare

You do not always need to analyze every prefix deeply when speaking, but it helps to recognize that Filipino verbs are often built by adding prefixes and infixes to a root.

Because after bago, Filipino commonly uses dumating in this kind of clause.

So:

• bago dumating ang mga bisita = before the guests arrive

Even though dumating can look like a past/completed form, Filipino is based more on aspect than strict tense, and forms like dumating can also appear in non-past subordinate clauses depending on context.

Darating is the more clearly future form, but after bago, dumating is the normal, natural choice.

By itself, dumating can indeed mean arrived. But in this sentence, it does not mean the guests already arrived.

Because it is inside the clause bago dumating ang mga bisita, the meaning is future relative to the main action:

• before the guests arrive

This is a good example of how Filipino verb forms do not map one-to-one with English past, present, and future.

Because ang mga bisita is the actor/doer of dumating.

In dumating ang mga bisita:

• dumating = arrived / arrive
• ang mga bisita = the guests

The guests are the ones doing the arriving, so they are marked with ang.

Also:

• mga is the plural marker
• bisita = guest / visitor
• mga bisita = guests

So ang mga bisita means the guests.

Mga is usually pronounced roughly like muh-NGA or manga as one word, not letter by letter.

So:

• ang mga bisita sounds roughly like ang muh-NGA bi-si-ta

This pronunciation is very important, because mga is extremely common in Filipino.

Yes. That is completely natural.

Both of these are fine:

• Kailangan kong makapaghanda bago dumating ang mga bisita.
• Bago dumating ang mga bisita, kailangan kong makapaghanda.

The meaning stays the same. The second version simply puts the time clause first, which can make the timing feel more prominent.

Yes, absolutely.

That version is simpler and very natural:

• Kailangan kong maghanda bago dumating ang mga bisita.

Compared with makapaghanda, maghanda is more straightforward: I need to prepare.

Compared with maghanda, makapaghanda can suggest:

• having enough time
• having the chance
• managing to get the preparation done

So both are correct, but makapaghanda adds a small nuance of ability or successful completion.