Appendix H – Enclitics
An enclitic is a word that must follow a certain word in the clause called the enclitic magnate.
Let me clarify that most sentences in this book are just a single clause, so the enclitics will usually follow a single word in the sentence. But sometimes there are 2 or more clauses, and in that case, you need to remember that they go after the enclitic magnate of the clause that they belong to.
Enclitics are either a) enclitic particles or b) ang or ng-form personal pronouns.
When there is no enclitics word order is more flexible:
Nagluto si Maria ng adobo. = Maria cooked adobo.
Nagluto ng adobo si Maria. = Maria cooked adobo.
Both of these sentences are correct. Now let’s see what happens when we replace si Maria with siya:
Nagluto siya ng adobo. = Maria cooked adobo.
XXX Nagluto ng adobo siya. = Not a valid sentence.
Siya is enclitic, so it must go after the first word in the clause and therefore the second sentence is wrong.
When more than one enclitic appears in a clause, we will call it an enclitic cluster. They are pronounced together with no pauses as if they form a single word.
Nagluto po ba siya ng adobo? = Did she cook the adobo?
Po ba siya is pronounced as pobasiya
There is a fixed order that enclitics appear in the cluster:
A) ko, ka, or mo – the short personal pronouns
B) enclitic particles
C) the remaining personal pronouns
Here is a table that expands on B) above:
order
particle
meaning
1
na
now; already
1
pa
still;yet
2
man
even; although
3
nga
please particle
5
din/rin
also
4
lang/lamang
only; just
6
naman
please particle
7
daw/raw
it is said; according to
8
po/ho
formality particle
9
ba
question particle
10
pala
surprisingly
11
kayá
I wonder
12
muna
first
13
tuloy
proceed
14
kasi
because
15
yatá
I think
16
sana
I hope
Table 5: Order of Enclitic
Particles
Table 5 shows all the enclitic particles in the order they should appear in a cluster. The ones used in this book are in bold. For more information on particle meanings and usage, go to the Using Enclitics lesson.
Here is a table that expands on C) above:
order
personal pronoun
1
kita
2
ng-form personal pronouns
(niya,namin,natin,ninyo,nila)
3
ang-form personal pronouns
(ako,siya,kami,tayo,kayo,sila)
Table 6: Order of remaining
personal pronouns
Table 6 shows the remaining personal pronouns listed out. For more information on personal pronouns and their definitions, go to Appendix A.
Examples of enclitics in use to illustrate order:
Ex: Nagluto na siya ng adobo. = She already cooked adobo. This shows na, from group B above, going before siya, group C.
Ex: Magluluto ka rin ba ng adobo? = Will you cook adobo too? This shows ka, from group A above, going before rin and ba, group B. It also shows rin, ranked 5th in B, going before ba, ranked 9th.