Language/Cebuano/Grammar/Plurals

Cebuano Grammar - Plurals

Hi Cebuano learners! 😊
In this lesson, we're going to talk about plurals in Cebuano. As a language teacher with 20 years of experience, I will illustrate the lesson with cultural information and interesting facts, using a simple and informal tone and analogies to illustrate complex concepts. If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments section below. Enjoy learning! 😎

Edit: many things on this page are incorrect or inaccurate. Corrections are given in bold. Source: native speaker.

Introduction

Plurals are used when referring to more than one person, animal, or thing. In Cebuano, there are several ways to form plurals, depending on the word type and gender.

Consider broadening your understanding by checking out these related lessons: Adjectives, Future Tense, How to Use Have & Give your Opinion.

Nouns ending in -s and -h

For nouns ending in -s and -h, the plural form is created by adding -es at the end. Edit: no. Just precede the noun with "mga".

Examples:

Cebuano	Pronunciation	English
kalo	ká.lô	hat
mga kalos	mang.ah ká.lô	hats
sapatos	sa.pá.tos	shoes
mga sapatos	mang.ah sah.pá.tos
kahoy	ká.hoy	wood
mga kahoyes	mang.ah ká.hoy.yes	woods

*pronunciation for kalo and sapatos is incorrect. Correction given.

Nouns ending in a vowel -- emphasis

For nouns ending in a vowel, emphasis on the plural may be formed by adding -a at the end, with "mga" preceding the noun

Examples:

Cebuano	Pronunciation	English
bata	ba.tá	child
mga bataa	mang.ah ba.ta-ah	children
balay	ba.láy	house
mga balaya	mang.ah ba.láy.ah	houses

Nouns ending in -ng and -m

For nouns ending in -ng and -m, the plural is formed by repeating the last two letters. This is not a thing (source: native speaker)

Examples:

Cebuano	Pronunciation	English
mangga	mang.gá	mango
mangga-a	mang.gá.á	mangoes
hiyas	hi.yas	jewel
hiyasas	hi.ya.sás	jewels

Nouns ending in a consonant

For most nouns ending in a consonant, the plural form is created by adding -s at the end. However, there are some exceptions such as nouns ending in -r or -d, which add -es instead of -s to form the plural. This is also not a thing. Just precede the noun with "mga". Don't add any '-s' to any noun to make it plural. See first section.

Examples:

Cebuano	Pronunciation	English
kadamay	ka.da.may	comrade
kadamayrana	ka.da.may.ra.na	comrades
dila	di.lá	tongue
dilas	di.lás	tongues

Gender of nouns

Most Cebuano nouns are gender-neutral. However, some nouns have gender-specific forms, which are used to differentiate between male and female persons or animals.

Examples:

Cebuano	Pronunciation	English
amahan	a.ma.han	father
inahan	i.na.han	mother
toro	tó.ro	bull
baka	ba.ka	cow

Note that in some cases, the gender-specific form of a noun is also used to refer to the whole group, regardless of the actual gender.

Example:

• Person 1: Kinsa maoy tigdala sa mga kanding? (Who will take care of the goats?)
• Person 2: Ako. Magdala ko sa akong bana. (I will. My husband will take care of them.)

In this case, Person 2 is using the gender-specific form of "husband" (bana) to refer to the whole group of caretakers, even though it may include women as well.

Conclusion

Congratulations on completing this lesson on Cebuano grammar - plurals! Practice what you've learned by talking to native speakers. To improve your Cebuano grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions! Don't forget to check out the [ [Language/Cebuano/Grammar|Grammar] ] section for more Cebuano language lessons. 😊

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➡ If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments section below.
➡ Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎

Sources

• Cebuano grammar - Wikipedia
• Cebuano Plural | LEARN101.ORG

Upon wrapping up this lesson, take a look at these related pages: Pronouns, Say Hello and Greetings in Cebuano, Conditional Mood & Negation.

Other Lessons

• Give your Opinion
• Future Tense
• Adjectives
• How to Use Have
• Pronouns
• Negation
• Questions
• Conditional Mood
• How to Use Be