# Kami pronoun as subject: Nagbabakasakali kaming...



## turkjey5

Hi,
does kami refer to nagbabakasakali or the following verbs in these sentences?
Maraming salamat!

Itinuloy pa rin namin kasi nagbabakasakali kaming makabawi.

Umutang pa rin kami kasi nagbabakasakali kaming mataasan ng sweldo.


----------



## DotterKat

*Kami* "refers" to nagbabakasakali in both sentences. _Kami_ is the subject in an independent clause whose predicate is _nagbabakasakali_. In turn, _makabawi_ is the direct object of that independent clause.

Imagine the sentence diagram of just the first sentence:

Itinuloy pa rin namin kasi nagbabakasakali kaming makabawi.
_We continued with it because we were hoping to recover._

We can consider the above as originally a compound sentence with two independent clauses -- _Itinuloy pa rin namin (We continued with it)_ and_ Nagbabakasakali kaming makabawi (We were hoping to recover)._ 

With the use of the dependent clause marker* kasi* / *because*, the second independent clause is turned into a dependent clause.

Itinuloy pa rin namin. / We continued with it. --- simple sentences

Kasi nagbabakasakali kaming makabawi / because we were hoping to recover --- dependent clauses, introduced by dependent markers

For the purpose of sentence deconstruction, disregard the kasi / because marker for a moment and consider the second clause as independent:

Nagbabakasakali kaming makabawi. / We were hoping to recover.


*Kami* (_we_), the first person plural exclusive pronoun, is now clearly the subject pronoun of its own independent clause: We (_subject_) were hoping (_predicate_ in past progressive tense) / Kami (_subject_) ay nagababakasakali na (_predicate_)*=* Nagbabakasakali (_predicate_) kaming (_subject_)

_Makabawi_ / _to recover_ is now clearly the direct object (verbal infinitive form) of the independent clause *We were hoping* (to what? _to recover_) / _*Kami ay nagbabakasakali na = nagbabakasakali kaming*_ (ano? _makabawi_)

So, kami does not really "refer" to anything. Rather, _kami_ is the subject and _nagbabakasakali_ is its predicate, both combining to make an independent clause with the direct object _makabawi_.


----------



## turkjey5

Maraming salamat po!!


----------

