# When to use ng and when to use ang in certain sentences.



## plaugekiller

Why is "The young boy is eating rice"  translated to "Kumakain ang batang lalaki ng kanin"
But "The young boy is tasting rice" is translated to "Tinitikman ng batang lalaki ang kanin"
Basically, why is ang used to refer to the boy in one sentence, but ng is used to refer to the boy in the other sentence. If I switched ang with ng in the sentences, how would it affect the effectiveness of the sentence?
Thank You


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## sellaturcica

I think the difference is in how the verb is conjugated--the second sentence uses the affix "-in-" instead of "-um-." If we are to use the "-um-" affix in the second sentence it would look like this:

Tumitikim ang batang lalaki ng kanin. OR Tumitikim ng kanin ang batang lalaki.

(Note how the phrases 'ang batang lalaki' and 'ng kanin' are interchangeable, although the second one sounds more natural to my ears.)

So the use of 'ang' and 'ng' all depends on how the verb is conjugated.


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## captain_bukol

"Ang" is a definite article. There has to be definiteness in the second sentence. It is required, otherwise the sentence would not make sense. And the verb has to follow this, or in other words, conjugated to this sense. So the correct translation is: "The boy is tasting *the* rice." rather than "The boy is tasting rice.", which means "Tumitikim ng kanin ang batang lalaki.".

In the first sentence, the object of the verb is in the indefinite form. 

The verb is conjugated based on the definiteness/indefiniteness of the object.


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## plaugekiller

Thanks for the help, it's much appreciated


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## latchiloya

sellaturcica said:


> I think the difference is in how the verb is conjugated--the second sentence uses the affix "-in-" instead of "-um-." If we are to use the "-um-" affix in the second sentence it would look like this:
> 
> Tumitikim ang batang lalaki ng kanin. OR Tumitikim ng kanin ang batang lalaki.
> 
> (Note how the phrases 'ang batang lalaki' and 'ng kanin' are interchangeable, although the second one sounds more natural to my ears.)
> 
> So the use of 'ang' and 'ng' all depends on how the verb is conjugated.



this is correct. In addition, this refers to the subject-verb agreement. To comprehend the nature and the function of the Filipino Language from an English perspective, since the former is a verb-dominant Language, one has to change the sentence into a subject-dominant sentence structure.

thus,
1. _"The young boy is eating rice"
"Kumakain ang batang lalaki ng kanin" (your translation)
"*Ang batang lalaki ay kumakain ng kanin*" (k*um*akain)_

Note: the sentence structure is changed by placing an _"__ay"_ as the connector of the noun "_batang lalaki"_ as the subject to the predicate _"kumakain ng kanin"_ in a subject-dominant language sentence structure.

2. _"The young boy is tasting rice"
"Tinitikman ng batang lalaki ang kanin" __(your translation)
__"*Ang batang lalaki ay tumitikim ng kanin*" (t*um*itikim)

_Note: "_tumitikim"_ is a verb that describes, not the noun "_kanin", _the noun/subject "_batang lalaki" _that is concluded by the determiner _"ang". ^^

_


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