Breakdown of Marupok ang pakete; timbangin mo ito.
mo
you
ito
this
pakete
parcel; package
timbangin
to weigh
Questions & Answers about Marupok ang pakete; timbangin mo ito.
Why is marupok placed before ang pakete? In English, we would usually say The package is fragile.
Filipino commonly puts the predicate first. So Marupok ang pakete is literally closer to Fragile the package is.
- marupok = fragile
- ang pakete = the package / the package as the topic
This predicate-first order is very normal in Filipino.
So although the English translation starts with the package, the Filipino sentence naturally starts with marupok.
What does ang mean in ang pakete?
Ang is a marker that often marks the topic or focused noun of the sentence.
In Marupok ang pakete:
- marupok = predicate
- ang pakete = the topic, the package
It does not work exactly like English the, even though it is often translated that way in simple sentences.
Its job is grammatical, not just definite/indefinite.
Does marupok only mean fragile, or can it mean other things too?