Plural Adjectives in Waray

While there is no such thing as plural adjectives in the English language -- attractives, cutes, beautifuls, uglies -- it is common for Waray language speakers to express Waray adjectives in plural form.

digtoy nga sapatos (tiny shoes)

The letter "G" plays a very important role here because a word (adjective) changes its meaning whenever it (G) is inserted to any singular adjective. Let's start with the simplest Waray adjectives:

ditoy nga balay (a small house)
digtoy nga mga balay (small houses)
dako nga tamsi (a big bird)
dagko nga mga tamsi (big birds)
hataas nga kahoy (a tall tree)
hagtaas nga mga kahoy (tall trees)
habubo nga lingkuran (a low chair)
hagbubo nga mga lingkuran (low chairs) 

In the same manner, add the letter "G" to the following adjectives and you'll have them in plural form.


magdakmol ngan magnipis nga mga libro

mahugos nga bata (a skinny child)
maghugos nga mga bata (skinny children)
marasa nga pagkaon (a delicious food)
magrasa nga mga pagkaon (an array of delicious food)
mahumot nga bukad (a fragrant flower)
maghumot nga mga bukad (fragrant flowers)
mahusay nga daraga (a beautiful lady)
maghusay nga mga daraga (beautiful ladies) 
mabaysay nga balay (a lovely house)
magbaysay nga mga balay (lovely houses)
madakmol nga libro (a thick book)
magdakmol nga mga libro (thick books)
manipis nga libro (a thin book)
magnipis nga mga libro (thin books)


There may be some exceptions to this rule, but if you're new to the language this lesson will bring you a long way. Hope this helps.

4 comments:

  1. I get it..."G" is synonymous to repetition of syllables in Tagalog plural adjectives.

    Example:

    "makapal na aklat" would be "maKAKApal na aklat" (in which case we could opt to drop the word "mga")

    Right Ma'am? Pasado ba student mo? lol!

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  2. Lovely tiny shoes. The topic is completely new to me. Thanks for sharing. Have a nice day.

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  3. Ms. Aileen, you got it right. :-)

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  4. Hi Linda, thanks for checking out this post.

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