# Ano ang kinakain mo? vs Ano ang mayroon ka?



## daviddem

Ano ang kinakain mo? -> what are you eating? (literally: what is being eaten by you?)
Ano ang mayroon ka? -> what do you have? (you see someone with something in her hand and you ask her what it is)

So I am confused here, why does the first sentence use the object-trigger form of the verb and the ng pronoun "mo", and the other uses the ang pronoun "ka"?

In other words, if the correct way to ask people what they are eating, drinking or doing is to use the "passive" form, why is it not the case when you ask them what they are holding in their hand??


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## Equinozio

daviddem said:


> Ano ang kinakain mo? -> what are you eating? (literally: what is being eaten by you?)
> Ano ang mayroon ka? -> what do you have? (you see someone with something in her hand and you ask her what it is)
> 
> So  I am confused here, why does the first sentence use the object-trigger  form of the verb and the ng pronoun "mo", and the other uses the ang  pronoun "ka"?
> 
> In other words, if the correct way to ask people  what they are eating, drinking or doing is to use the "passive" form,  why is it not the case when you ask them what they are holding in their  hand??



May, mayroon/meron, marami, wala are pseudo verbs. They don't take affixes. Here, mayroon is a pseudo verb used as a noun (indicating possession).

Meron kang ... -> you have (a/some) ...
Ano  ang [Anong] meron ka? -> Literally: What the [(thing that) have]  you. -> What's the thing that you have? -> What do you have?
Ano ang [Anong] meron si Joe? -> What does Joe have?

In contrast, kinakain is a (normal) verb used as a noun. The root is kain and the affix is -in, so the basic form is kainin and the uncompleted aspect is kinakain.

Ano ang kinakain mo? -> What the [(thing that) is being eaten] by you? -> What are you eating?

You could say something like this too:

May  kinakain ka ba? -> Have [(something that) is being eaten] you  (question)? -> Do you have something that is being eaten? -> Are  you eating something (now or regularly)?

Here too, you're using ka with may for "to have", and kinakain is a verb used as a noun (something that is being eaten).


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## daviddem

Thanks for the explanation. May/meron is some weird entity indeed  Takes some twisting of the English-speaking mind...

But then how do you go about saying "I had a dog" and "I will have a dog"?

I have a dog -> May aso ako
I had a dog -> ??
I will have a dog -> ??


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## mataripis

I have a dog- may aso ako. I had a dog.- nagka aso ako (nuon).I will have a dog.- Magkaka aso ako or magkakaroon ako ng aso.


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## QueenInHyeon

daviddem said:


> Thanks for the explanation. May/meron is some weird entity indeed  Takes some twisting of the English-speaking mind...
> 
> But then how do you go about saying "I had a dog" and "I will have a dog"?
> 
> I have a dog -> May aso ako
> I had a dog -> ??
> I will have a dog -> ??



I had a dog = May aso ako dati. (dati means "in the past/before")
I will have a dog = Mag-aalaga ako ng aso. (alaga means to care)

You don't say nagka-aso ako noon. That sounds strange.


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## Raчraч Ŋuɲan

daviddem said:


> Ano ang kinakain mo? -> what are you eating? (literally: what is being eaten by you?)
> Ano ang mayroon ka? -> what do you have? (you see someone with something in her hand and you ask her what it is)
> 
> So I am confused here, why does the first sentence use the object-trigger form of the verb and the ng pronoun "mo", and the other uses the ang pronoun "ka"?
> 
> In other words, if the correct way to ask people what they are eating, drinking or doing is to use the "passive" form, why is it not the case when you ask them what they are holding in their hand??



The difference is due to the sentence type. 

"Ano ang kinakain mo?" is a verbal sentence so has focus and voice, which is passive voice object focus in this example, so must use the genitive form of the pronoun (kinain ko, kinain mo, kinain niya, etc).
"Ano ang mayroon ka?" is an existential/possession sentence and this sentence type has no focus and passive voice, so must use the Nominative form of the pronoun (mayroon ako, mayroon ka, mayroon siya, etc).

Also, in "Ano ang mayroon ka?" , you're not asking them what they are holding because if that's the case that would be a verbal sentence now ("Ano ang hinahawakan mo?" or "Ano ang hawak mo?"). What you're asking instead is what exists with them.



daviddem said:


> Thanks for the explanation. May/meron is some weird entity indeed  Takes some twisting of the English-speaking mind...
> 
> But then how do you go about saying "I had a dog" and "I will have a dog"?
> 
> I have a dog -> May aso ako
> I had a dog -> ??
> I will have a dog -> ??



Please note that Tagalog is a tenseless language, so this kind of distinction can't be made uniformly. Time or tense is added periphrastically or using circumlocution.

The idea of having can be expressed in at least 3 ways.
Use magka- if its something that you have bodily, mentally or something instangible, like "Nagkatagyawat ako" or "Nagkagalis-aso ako" or "Nagkaamnesia siya".
Use magkaron if its something tangible and separate, like "Nagkaron ako ng tuta" or "Nagkaron ako ng syota". It means to acquire, not to have.
Use meron or may (or me) can be used for both uses above, like your example "May aso ako" or "May sombrero ako" or "May amnesia siya".

I have a dog -> Me aso ako  / Meron akong aso. /*"Nagkakaron ako ng aso" (this is wrong, just an illustration)
I used to have a dog > Me aso ako dati. / Meron akong aso dati. /"Nagkaron ako ng aso dati"
I had a dog ->  (none)/ Nagkameron ako ng aso (possible but rare expression) / "Nagkaron ako ng aso"
I will have a dog -> (none)/ Magkakameron ako ng aso (possible but rare expression) / "Magkakaron ako ng aso"

Notice that there is no future and past tense equivalents for may/me, and you have to use another expression to say these. Notice too that its not possible to say "Nagkakaron ako ng aso" since acquiring a dog is a punctiliar event, not something that goes on for a period of time, but in a point in time.


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