# Iyan/Ito - Basic sentence focus



## Inglip

My book explains that the actor of a sentence can be _'iyan - That one'_ or _'ito - this one'_

Is this a popular way to speak in tagalog, or is it more a grammatical exercise?

The examples in my book say things like:

Bumili ng bigas iyan - That one bought some/the rice.

I understand this, that is fine with me. However, it doesn't explain the structure of a sentence if the non-focus object is also iyan/ito.

Bumili iyan ito

So, who bought what? This one bought that? or that one bought this?


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## Cake.

Hi.

_Ito_ and _iyan_ are very often used conversationally although _iyan_ is almost always shortened to "_yan_" in conversation.

So your example, "_bumili iyan/yan nito_" would mean "that one bought some/one of these". It's not quite the same as "that one/he/she bought this" which would be "_binili niya ito_".

I'd like to mention that _iyan/yan_ is more often used to refer to objects rather than people and if used conversationally, there is a very small chance that the person being referred to could be offended.

Also, I could explain the difference of _ito_ and _nito_ if you want.


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## Inglip

I've not come across any particularly good explanation of the difference between nito/ito and iyan/diyan.

So it is not common to say -this one/that one?

Thank you


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## niernier

Like what Cake mentioned, there is a sense of unfriendliness between people when conversations turn out like this. There is high chance that you can find iyan being used to insult a person.


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## Cake.

Inglip said:


> I've not come across any particularly good explanation of the difference between nito/ito and iyan/diyan.
> 
> So it is not common to say -this one/that one?
> 
> Thank you



When referring to people, _siya/niya_ (which is unisex for he/she) would be a better word to use. _Siya_ is used when it starts a sentence and the form _niya_ otherwise.

_Iyan_ means "that" while _diyan_ translates to "there".

_Ito_ and _nito_ directly translated would be "this" and "one/some of these" respectively. _Ito_ is used for objects that are in hand while _nito _is for objects that are similar or identical to the actual object being referred to which is not currently in hand like when, for example, you bought an orange from this pile and took it home. You bought one of the oranges from this pile but the one you bought is at home. Hence, you say "_bumili ako nito_".


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## mataripis

"Iyan"  is maybe used when there more than two selections.1.) Iyan ang binili kong bigas. (I bought that kind of rice). "Ito" is used when saying words it's final /it's here already in my hands. 2,) Ito ang binili kong bigas. (I bought this kind of rice).


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