The Morphosyntax

of
Maguindanao Nouns and Adjectives

by

JONEL NICOLE ANG JAO
2008-52228



Mary Ann Gaitan-Bacolod, Ph.D.
Adviser





A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the
Degree of Bachelor of Arts
in Linguistics


University of the Philippines
Diliman, Quezon City 1101

October 2012
Acknowledgements

This humble thesis would have not been possible without these people.

First of all, I would like to thank my thesis adviser, Prof Mary Ann Gaitan-Bacolod. Thank
you for guiding me throughout this semester although I might have sought your advice more than I
should have. This thesis would have been non-existent without you.

Sukran to my two informants, Nasrudin Datucali and Asnin Pendatun! I would never have
dared study this rich language without your encouragement. I know I have taken a lot of your precious
time, but Im really grateful that you two were always there to answer my questions right away even
though youre both so busy.

Also, thank you Russel Nasir of the Islamic Studies Library for introducing me to Kuya Dhatz,
and for welcoming me into your community.

Thank you to Michael Wilson Rosero, who was tireless in answering all my questions,
although most of them are quite silly. You dont know how much relief I always feel when I talk to
you.

Thank you to all my dedicated professors who taught me Linguistics, and all the professors in
the Department. I owe all I know about this awesome field to you.

Thank you to my family, especially my lovely brother Jofree, who let me stay in his lovely
room until late in the evening while I type away my thesis.

Thank you to my lovely blockmates who are still in the University, Gela, Pachie, Nichie, Lai,
Shai, and Jessa. Thanks for believing in me.

Thank you to my thesis mates, Gela, Aya, Ann, Lianne, Danielle, and Zara. Guys, finally!

Last but not the least, I thank the Lord for your unending support and blessings. Everything
would not have been possible without you.
Abbreviations
- morpheme boundary
< > infix
= enclitic
~ reduplication
1 1st person
1.2 dual person
2 2nd person
3 3rd person
ADJ adjectival affix
COMP completed
CONT contemplated
SPEC specific
DIST distal
INCM incompleted
INT intransitive
LKR linker
MED medial
NOM nominalizing affix
NONSPEC non-specific
OBL oblique
ORD ordinal
PL plural
POSS possessive case
PROX proximal
PRT particle
TOP topic marker
TR transitive









Contents



Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations

Introduction 1
I. Background Information 1
II. Previous Studies 2
III. Background of the Study 3
A. Rationale 3
B. Objectives 3
C. Methodology 3
i. Data 3
ii. Informants 4
iii. Analysis 4
D. Scope and Limitation 5
E. Review of Related Literature 5
F. Theoretical Framework 6

1 Maguindanao Nouns and their Morphosyntax 8
1.1 Types of Maguindanao Nouns 8
1.1.1 Simple Nouns 8
1.1.2 Derived Nouns 8
1.1.3 Compound Nouns 11
1.2 Subclasses of Nouns 13
1.2.1 Concrete and Abstract Nouns 13
1.2.2 Proper and Common Nouns 14
1.2.3 Count and Mass Nouns 14
1.3 Case Markers of Maguindanao Nouns 17
1.3.1 Determiners 18
1.3.2 Pronouns 23
1.4 Modification Construction 26
1.4.1 Noun Head with Demonstrative Modifier 26
1.4.2 Noun Head with Adjective Modifier 27
1.4.3 Noun Head with Numerals 27
1.4.4 Noun Head with Verbal Modifier 30
1.4.5 Noun Head with Adverbial Modifier 31
1.4.6 Noun Head with Possessive Modifier 32
1.4.7 Complex Modification Construction 34
1.5 Distribution of Maguindanao Nouns 36
1.5.1 Maguindanao Nouns as Subjects and Objects of Clauses 36
1.5.2 Maguindanao Nouns as Heads of Noun Phrases 37
1.5.3 Maguindanao Nouns as Predicate Nominal Clauses 37
1.6 Pluralization of Maguindanao Nouns 38
1.7 Summary of Maguindanao Nouns 39

2 Maguindanao Adjectives and their Morphosyntax 40
2.1 Types of Adjectives 40
2.1.1 Root-Adjectives 40
2.1.2 Ma-Adjectives 41
2.1.3 Derived Adjectives 41
2.2 Degrees 43
2.2.1 Dimunitive 43
2.2.2 Elative 44
2.2.3 Comparative 45
2.2.4 Contrastive 46
2.2.5 Superlative 47
2.3 Distribution of Maguindanao Adjectives 47
2.3.1 Maguindanao Adjectives as Head s of Predicate Adjective 47
2.3.2 Maguindanao Adjectives as Descriptive Modifier of a Noun Phrase 48
2.3.3 Maguindanao Adjectives as Nominalized Topics 49
2.4 Pluralization of Maguindanao Adjectives 49
2.5 Summary of Maguindanao Adjectives 50

3 Distinctive Characteristics of Maguindanao Nouns and Adjectives 52

4 Conclusion and Recommendation 58

Appendix 60
References 79







































1

Introduction
I. Name of the Language & Genetic Affliation
Maguindanao (mdh), which literally means people of the flood plains, is a Malayo-
Polynesian language spoken in the southern Philippines. It is also a name of a region in the southern
Philippines. The language is also known as Magindanaon, Magindanaw, and Maguindanaw.
Maguindanao has about one million speakers (NSO, 2000) which populate the regions of
Maguindanao, North Cotabato, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, and Zamboanga del Sur provinces.
Below is a linguistic map of the said language.
Figure 1: Linguistic Map of Maguindanao Language

According to Ethonologue, Maguindanao belongs to the Greater Central Philippines language
family, specifically under the Danao languages subgroup with Maranao-Iranon, spoken in the Lanao
provinces and Malaysia-Sabah respectively. Figure 2 shows the genetic affiliation of Maguindanao
according to Ethnologue.
Figure 2 Ethnologue 2009
Austronesian
Malayo-Polynesian
Philippine
Greater Central Philippine
Danao
Magindanao
Maranao-Iranon



2

On the other hand, McFarland (1994) placed it in the Southern Philippine language family,
under the same Danao languages group with Maranao and Ilanum. Figure 3 shows the genetic
affiliation of Maguindanao according to McFarlands subgrouping of the Philippine languages.
Figure 3 McFarland 1994
Southern Philippine
Danao
Maranao
Ilanum
Magindanao

There are 6 dialects of Maguindanao, (1) Laya, (2) Ilud, (3) Biwangan, (4) Sibugay, (5)
Iranun (Ilanon, Illanon, Ilanum, Iranon), and (6) Tagakawanan (Ethnologue, 2009). It further states
that it has 84% intelligibility with the Iranun dialect, and 96% with Illanun of Sabah, Malaysia. There
is erroneous data however, as it mentions two figures of intelligibility with Maranao, 60% and 95%.
The informants had their own classification of dialects. The first informant stated 2 dialects,
(1) Laya and (2) Ilud while the other informant stated 3, (1) Laya, (2) Ilud and (3) Matenggawanen.
According to the informants, Ilud is spoken in Cotaboto City, Sultan Kudarat and, Maguindanao;
while Laya and Matenggawen in North Cotabato, furthermore, the informants stressed that the only
difference these dialects have is their intonation, rather than their lexicon or syntax.
In literature, it is the Pulangi River that serves as a marker that separates Ilud from Laya. The
Ilud people live north of the Pulangi River while the Laya people live south of the said river. This can
be confirmed with the etymology of the words ilud and laya which means upstream and
downstream respectively. It is also written that Ilud people speak more softly and slowly compared
to Laya, who speak hardly and rapidly (Peralta, 2002).
II. Previous Studies
Although the 11
th
most spoken Philippine language (NSO, 2000), published linguistic studies
in Maguindanao is limited. There is only one grammar sketch available, Gramatica de la lengua de
maguindanao segun se habla en el centro y en la costa sur de la isla de Mindanao (1892) written in
Spanish by Juanmarti, a Jesuit priest. This was translated to English in 1905 as A grammar of the
Maguindanao tongue according to the manner of speaking it in the interior and on the south coast of
the island of Mindanao. In this sketch, the morphology and syntax of Maguindanao were only briefly
explained, and the analysis was based excessively on the Indo-European context of English and
Spanish.
There are two dictionaries available in print, Diccionario Moro-Maguindanao-Espanol (1892)
by the same author of the above mentioned grammar, and A Maguindanaon Dictionary (1986),
compiled by Sullivan, OMI. The earlier was inaccessible to the researcher, while the latter dictionary
contains Maguindanao-English, English-Maguindanao entries and is said to be based on the earlier
work of Juanmarti (1892). Sullivan has expanded his work through several native informants with the
guidance of SIL. The dictionarys entries include the words part of speech and their stress. Some
entries contain sample sentences, synonyms, and derivations.
The first part of A Maguindanaon Dictionary (1986) contains three articles on Maguindanao
verbal structure, Fleishmans Maguindanaon verbal inflection, Moes How to find verb roots and
Weins An alternative classification of Maguindanao conjugation. Fleishmans work lists all the
possible verbal affixes in Maguindanao according to inherent and inflectional categories. The


3

meanings of each division were discussed however there were no explanations as to how the author
has concluded this distribution. On the other hand, Moes article was based on Fleishmans,
presenting all the affixes alphabetically. He listed strategies on how to find verb roots in Maguindanao.
Lastly, Weins work classifies Maguindanao verbs into eight categories and their conjugations, with
the classification mostly based on their phonology (e.g. vowel vs consonant initial).
There are only four linguistic articles about Maguindanao published in academic journals,
three of them about phonology and one on verbs. They are Lees On non-syllabic high vocoids in
Maguindanao (1962), Maguindanao /l/ (1964), Non-focus verbs in Maguindanao (1964) and Ecks
Magindanao penultimate vowels (1974). Lees Non-focus verbs in Maguindanao describes the focus
marking in Magindanao verbs, listing five categories: subject, object, referent, instrumental and non-
focus. The rest of the articles were not available to the researcher.
III. Background of the Study
A. Rationale
Although the 11
th
most spoken Philippine language (NSO, 2000), only little linguistic
literature is available about Maguindanao. So far in the knowledge of the researcher, none has been
written intensively about Maguindanao nouns and adjectives. A brief encounter with the language
during the researchers first year of linguistic studies sparked her interest, however at that time, she
had limited linguistic knowledge to make any in-depth study about it. Although still lacking, with the
new knowledge she gained over the past three years, the researcher now attempts to study the
language once more.
B. Objectives
This study aims to present the morphosyntax of the nouns and adjectives in Maguindanao,
specifically to describe the structure and distribution of the said lexical categories. It also aims to
identify characteristics distinct to Maguindanao nouns and adjectives. It is the researchers hope that
through this work, more people will engage in studying the Maguindanao language in the future.
C. Methodology
i. Data
This study is mainly corpus based and utilized data from existing elicted and written texts.
Data were gathered from the following:
(1) A Maguindanaon Dictionary (1986)
(2) SEAlang Library Maguindanao Resources (2010) available online in
http://sealang.net/maguindanao/
(3) Ipembibitiyala sa basa a Magindanawn, Pilipinu, endu Ingglis sa uman gay (1981),
an SIL publication
(4) Batang nu Basa a Maguindanaon: The Letters of the Maguindanaon Language, A
Guide to Teaching the Sounds of the Maguindanaon Language (2011), a
collaborative publication SIL, the Department of Education, and Save the Children.
(5) Maguindanao translation of Constantinos 559-sentence list, and 200-word and
sentence list, available in the archives of the Main Library, UP Diliman.
All these were chosen because of their availability and their reliability. (1) A Maguindanaon
Dictionary (1986) was the only dictionary available at the researchers disposal. Although compiled


4

by a non-linguist, the author has consulted and collected data from several reliable informants.
Moreover, its making was overseen by the Summer Institute of Linguistics, a leader in the
identification and documentation of the world's languages. The organization also does linguistic
research, translation, training and materials development.
The (2) corpus data of SEAlang Library (South East Asian Language Library) available in the
World Wide Web was also utilized. SEAlang Library is a language reference material source
established in 2005. It is a collaborative effort between CRCL
1
and the University of Wisconsin-
Madison Center for Southeast Asian Studies. Its Maguindanao resources include bilingual dictionaries,
monolingual text corpora, aligned bitext corpora, and a variety of tools for manipulating, searching,
and displaying complex scripts. SEAlangs Maguindanao data were developed through a team headed
by Dr. Jessie Grace Rubrico, a consultant on Philppine languages and linguistics, and in Cebuano and
Southern Philippine languages.
On the other hand, (3) and (4) were chosen because they were designed for native
Maguindanao speakers meaning they should be understood by Maguindanao speakers, aside from this,
these books were published by SIL.
Lastly, Constantinos (5) eliciting materials has been one of the standard material used by the
Department of Linguistics in the past decades and has been tried and tested. Because Constantinos
data were from the 1960s, the researcher decided to reconfirm the translations with a native speaker
and appropriate changes were made.
ii. Informants
Two native speakers were consulted to confirm the data collected for this study, they were
chosen based on these criteria: (1) they are natives of the place; (2) they are knowledgeable about
their native culture; and (3) they know how read and write Maguindanao. The two informants are the
following:
1) Nasrudin Datucali, 23 years old, native of Kabakan, North Cotabato. Transferred to
Manila this year (2012) to pursue a Masters Degree in Islamic Studies in UP Diliman.
Speaks the Laya dialect.
2) Asnin Pendatun, 20 years old, native of Tacurong, Sultan Kudarat. Transferred to
Manila last 2008 to pursue university studies. Currently a BA Sociology
undergraduate in UP Diliman. Speaks the Ilud dialect.
Mr Datucali was consulted regularly via visitations while Mr Pendatun was consulted
regularly via email. These informants are native speakers of Maguindanao and mainly speak
Maguindanao at home and in their community when still living in their respective towns. Both
informants currently live in Metro Manila.
iii. Analysis
The researcher analyzed the noun data as follows: nouns were first collected and analyzed by
morpheme, creating the categories of simple, derived, and compound. Nominalizing affixes and
compound nouns were extracted from the dictionary manually. The meanings of the affixes and
relationship of the compound nouns were analyzed respectively and confirmed with the informants.
They are presented in the format of discussion of Schachter & Otanes (1972) nominalization affixes
and compound nouns. Nouns were further categorized according to the universal categories of
concrete/abstract, count/mass, proper/common for easy reference in the discussion of the structure and

1
The website has not given what CRCL stands for


5

distribution. Collected sentences were then used to analyze the case markers of nouns: determiners
and pronouns based on the ergative-absolutive framework. The expansions of nouns were then
analyzed in the format of Shachter & Otanes (1972) work. Finally, the distribution of the nouns in
sentences was analyzed.
On the other hand, adjectives were first divided and discussed into the categories of bare
adjectives, ma-adjectives and derived adjectives. Derivational adjectival affixes were extracted from
the dictionary manually, these were analyzed then confirmed with the informants. The constructions
of the different degrees of Maguindanao adjectives were described, data here were mostly elicted
since they were not available in the corpus. Finally, the distribution of Maguindanao adjectives in
sentences was discussed.
The observations made were then further analyzed to point out the unique structure and
distribution of Maguindanao nouns and adjectives.
D. Scope and Limitation
This study describes the morphosyntax of the nouns and adjectives in Maguindanao.
Maguindanao verbs are excluded from this study.
The derivations of nouns and adjectives were presented however the morphophonemics were
not discussed thoroughly since data for an in-depth morphophonemic analysis is deemed lacking. The
structural and distributional properties of the said lexical categories were also explored, however the
analysis on distributional properties where each category appear was limited to simple sentences.
Compound, complex, and negative sentences were not included in this undertaking. Glossing of the
verbs were only limited to transitivity.
The data is limited to A Maguindanaon Dictionary (1986), Constantinos eliciting materials,
(the Maguindanao 559-sentence list and 200-word and sentence list), the Maguindanao corpus data of
SEAlang Library, and the SIL publications Ipembibitiyala sa basa a Magindanawn, Pilipinu, endu
Ingglis sa uman gay (1981), and Batang nu Basa a Maguindanaon (2011). This study is mainly
corpus based, however further data not available in the corpus were elicited from the informants if
deemed necessary. There were only two key informants consulted for this study. The informants
speak different dialects, thus whenever data were elicited, subtle dialectal differences (mostly lexical)
were observed. These differences were all noted in this study but were not further explored.
The researcher can only account for the observations made from the available data, there will
definitely be other patterns but that is beyond the means of this study.
E. Review of Related Literature
There is only one literature that discusses nouns and adjectives in Maguindanao, available
from the only known grammatical sketch of the said language, Juanmartis Gramatica de la lengua de
Maguindanao segun se habla en el centro y en la costa sur de la isla de Mindanao (1892). Nouns and
adjectives were put into the big umbrella of nouns, under the name substantive noun and adjective
noun respectively. In the same literature, pronouns and determiners were categorized into six cases,
Nominative, Genitive, Dative, Accusative, Vocative, and Ablative. The description of the determiners
and the pronouns are clearly framed on the Latin script, which the researcher deems confusing and
find inapplicable to Maguindanao.
The syntax of Maguindanao is also briefly discussed descriptively in the grammatical sketch.
The grammar sketch is one attempt to describe the language of Maguindanao. The description of the
syntax, although discussed only briefly, was quite substantive. However, there are some


6

generalizations that have blocked other possible constructions. For example, it was said that A
pronoun is required only to appear as the subject of the verb (p.60), this is not the case though, as
generally, pronouns can replace NPs, whether or not they are subjects or objects of the verb (Payne,
1997).
Other available literatures have mainly discussed verbs, which will not be reviewed since is it
is not the main endeavor and was not deemed useful for this study.
F. Theoretical Framework
The researcher believes that one cannot fully understand morphology by itself without it
being in syntax. Morphology and syntax are inseparable. They work hand in hand .
The main framework selected for this study is Descriptive Linguistics, the main reference
being Paynes Describing Morphosyntax. Paynes aim was to describe languages yet unknown to the
world, his approach is claimed to be universal, if not, applicable to most languages. This study will be
one of the many testing grounds of his approach. If the patterns that Payne has pointed out are indeed
universal, then it must be also applicable to Maguindanao.
Using this framework, the researcher analyzed the morphosyntax of nouns and adjectives in
Maguindanao. Payne describes two types of morphosyntactical properties: (1) structural and (2)
distributional. Structural properties are the internal properties of the word itself, for example, nouns
in Philippine languages are always case marked by determiners (e.g. su wata the child, si Abdul
Abdul) and can have genitive pronouns, (alat nin his basket, ina nami our mother). On the
other hand, distributional properties are how words are distributed in phrases, clauses, and texts. For
example, nouns can be found as subjects or objects of a sentence (e.g. Keman si Salma nu saging
Salma ate banana)
Payne describes nouns as the most time-stable concepts, they do not considerably vary over
time. For example, when talking about a tree in discourse, the tree will always refer to the same
tree throughout. Structural properties of prototypical nouns that Payne pointed out include: (1) the
possibility of taking descriptive modifiers (2) the use of genitive case pronouns, (3) the ability to
pluralize, (4) the taking of determiners, and (5) the ability to take a wide range of descriptive
modifiers. On the other hand, distributional properties of nouns include: (1) as subjects and objects of
clauses, (2) as heads of noun phrases, and (3) as topics of texts.
On the other hand, pronouns are free words that function alone to fill the position of a noun
phrase in a clause. They normally have all the distributional properties of noun phrases. Some of the
distinctions that pronouns express are person, number, gender, noun class, grammatical relations,
semantic roles, definiteness, and honorifics. Languages select which distinction it will express, in
most of the Philippine languages, it is person, number and grammatical relations that are expressed in
pronouns.
For Payne, adjectives are words the express a property of a noun. They belong with non-
numeral quantifiers and numerals and are all termed as modifiers. Adjectives are problematic in
almost every language as it stands in between nouns and verbs. However, if established as a category,
adjectives can express age, dimension, value, color, physical characteristics, shape, human propensity,
and speed of nouns. Some of the structural properties of adjectives include its ability to express
varying degrees. On the other hand, distributional properties of an adjective include it being: (1) a
predicate adjective and (2) a descriptive modifier in an NP.
Relations between arguments (usually nouns) and predicates (eg. subject, direct object,
indirect object etc.), can be indicated by means of case marking, participant reference marking on


7

verbs, and constituent order. Sentences are usually composed of a verb and argument/s. Verbs can be
transitive or intransitive. Transitive verbs are those verbs with two arguments while intransitive are
those with only one. Arguments are traditionally named as subjects or objects in the sentence, but for
the purposes of this study, the three distinctions, S, A, and P will be used. S is the only argument of an
intransitive clause, A is the most agent-like argument of the transitive clause and P is the least agent-
like argument in the transitive clause. S and A are the traditional subject while P is the traditional
object. Languages in the world are usually classified into the nominative-accussative or ergative-
absolutive system. Nominative-accusative languages mark S and A the same, and P another way,
while ergative-absolutive languages use the same marking for S and P, while a different marker for A.
Philippine languages are said to follow the VAP/VS typology, following the order verb, A, P
for transitive sentences and verb, S for intransitive sentences.



























8

1 Maguindanao Nouns and their Morphosyntax
Nouns are the most time-table concepts (Payne, 1997) and they refer to places, persons, things,
concepts, and entities we want to talk about (Nolasco, 2010). Maguindanao nouns can be simple,
derived or compound. They also include the subclasses of concrete or astract, proper or common and
mass or count. In Maguindanao, like other Philippine languages, nouns are easy to identify since they
are usually accompanied by grammatical markers, called determiners (see section 1.3.1 for discussion)
(Nolasco, 2010).
This chapter will explore Maguindanao nouns and their morphosyntax. The first part of will
be describing the types of nouns: simple, derived, and compound. The second will be exploring the
subclasses of nouns while the third will be discussing its case markers. The fourth section will be
exploring the modified contructions of nouns while the last part will be describing the distribution of
Maguindanao nouns in simple sentences.
1.1 Types of Nouns
Maguindanao nouns have three types: simple, derived, and compound. It is simple if it is
composed only of a root; derived if it composed of a root plus a derivational affix; and compound
when it is composed of two or more distinct words forming a noun. This section is divided into three
parts, discussing the simple, derived and, compound nouns in Maguindanao respectively.
1.1.1 Simple Nouns
The first type of nouns are simple nouns. Simple nouns are composed only of a root, a single
morpheme. A simple noun cannot be broken down into a simpler component. Below are some of the
Maguindanao simple nouns extracted from the dictionary.
(1) dayag territory
(2) kayu tree
(3) mamis sugar
(4) salig trust
(5) wata child

Samples (1-5) cannot be broken down into simpler components making them simple nouns.
1.1.2 Derived Nouns
The second type of nouns are derived nouns. The morphological process of affixation can be
used to derive a noun from other categories such as adjectives or verbs, or from the same category of
nouns, the formed word is called a derived noun. Derived nouns are thus nouns composed of a root
plus a derivational affix. Below are the derivational affixes found in Maguindanao nouns extracted
from the dictionary. These were confirmed with the native speakers.
A. Base + -an a place associated with what the base designates
Base + -an = Derived noun
6 bilanggu prisoner + -an = bilangguan prison
7 buwaya crocodile + -an = buwayan a place of crocodiles
8 panulat writer + -an = panulatan a place for writing
9 titi urine + -an = titian urinal
10 lameng to keep for a long time + -an = lamengan storage house



9

In sample (6), bilanggu prisoner is suffixed with an forming bilangguan prison. The
derived noun bilangguan prison is a place associated with the base bilanggu prisoner since
bilangguan prison is a place where a bilanggu prisoner is imprisoned. In sample (9), titi urine is
suffixed with an forming titian urinal. The derived noun titian urinal is a place associated with
the base titi urine since titian urinal is a place where a person expels his titi urine. This process
applies to the rest of the samples.
B. dama- + Noun place where the Noun is abundant, only occurs with inanimate nouns
produced by nature

dama- + Noun = Derived noun
11 dama- + kayu tree = damakayu forest
12 dama- + legen grass = damalegen grassland
13 dama- + palay rice = damapalay rice field
14 dama- + pamulan plant = damapamulan plantation
15 dama- + tebu sugar = damatebu sugar plantation

In sample (11), dama- is prefixed to kayu tree forming damakayu forest. The derived noun
damakayu forest expresses a place where the noun kayu tree is abundant. In sample (12), dama- is
prefixed to legen grass forming damalegen grassland. The derived noun damalegen grassland
expresses a place where the noun legen grass is abundant. This process applies to rest of the samples.
Notice that all nouns that occur with the nominalizing affix dama- are inanimate nouns produced by
nature (kayu tree, legen grass, palay rice, pamulan plant, and tebu sugar).
C. taga- + Base a person who is a native of or resides in the Base
taga- + Base = Derived noun
16 taga- + baba below = taga-baba someone who lives below the mountains
17 taga- + ilud downstream = taga-ilud someone who lives downstream
18 taga- + laya upstream = taga-laya someone who lives upstream
19 taga- + Maynila Manila = taga-Maynila someone who lives in Manila
20 taga- + palau mountain = taga-palau someone who lives in the mountains

In sample (16), taga- is prefixed to the base baba below forming the word taga-baba
someone who lives below the mountains. Taga-baba is person who is a native of, or resides in baba
below, in this case, below the mountains. In sample (19), taga- is prefixed to the base Maynila
Manila forming the word taga-Maynila someone who lives in Manila. Taga-Maynila is person
who is a native of, or resides in Maynila Manila. This process applies to the rest of the samples.
D. ka- + Adjective Root derives adjective roots to nouns
ka- + Base = Derived noun
21 ka- + lembeg tall = kalembeg tallness
22 ka- + nisan beautiful = kanisan beauty
23 ka- + ilaw raw, not cooked = kailaw rawness
24 ka- + kiputtight; narrow = kakiput tightness; narrowness
25 ka- + lendu long = kalendu longness

In sample (21), ka- is prefixed to the adjective root lembeg tall forming the noun kalembeg
tallness. In sample (22), ka- is prefixed to the adjective root nisan beautiful forming the noun
kanisan beauty. This process applies to the rest of the samples.


10

E. Verb + -in- dish processed by means of the Verb
Verb + -in- = Derived noun
26 gaga to stew + -in- = ginaga dish prepared by stewing
27 lepet to wrap with leaves + -in- = linepet rice wrapped with banana leaves
28 likin to make jam or jelly + -in- = linikin durian fruit cooked with sugar
29 pamilit to cook something
mixed with coconut juice
+ -in- = pinamilit vegetables cooked with coconut
juice
30 tapa to grill, to roast + -in- = tinapa grilled fish

In sample (26), -in- is infixed to the verb gaga to stew forming the word ginaga. The
derived noun ginaga is a dish processed by means of the verb gaga to stew thus it has the meaning
of dish prepared by stewing. In sample (27), -in- is infixed to the verb lepet to wrap with leaves
forming the word linepet. The derived noun linepet is a dish processed by means of the verb lepet to
wrap with leaves thus it has the meaning of dish prepared by wrapping with leaves. However in this
case, the dish is limited to rice, thus linepet has the meaning of rice wrapped with banana leaves.
The same process applies to the rest of the examples.

F. pa- + RED + Verb a person whose expertise is the Verb or habitually does the Verb
The first syllable (C1V1) of the Verb is reduplicated, and then pa- is prefixed.

pa- + RED (C1V1) Verb = Derived noun
31 pa- + bu bulang to cockfight = pabubulang cockfighter
32 pa- + la languy to swim = palalanguy swimmer
33 pa- + la langut to be drunk = palalangut drunkard
34 pa- + pu pula to paddle = papupula paddler
35 pa- + tu tuges to fish = patutuges fisherman

In sample (31), the first syllable of the verb bulang to cockfight is reduplicated forming
bubulang, then pa- is prefixed to it forming pabubulang. The derived noun pabubulang is a person
whose expertise is the verb bulang to cockfight thus having the meaning cockfighter. In sample
(32), the first syllable of the verb languy to swim is reduplicated forming lalanguy, then pa- is
prefixed to it forming palalanguy. The derived noun palalanguy is a person whose expertise is the
verb languy to swim thus having the meaning swimmer. The same process applies to the rest of the
examples.
G. ka- + Verb the act of the Verb
ka- + Verb = Derived noun
36 ka- + dalung to hide, to conceal = kadalung the act of hiding
37 ka- + kalang to calculate = kakalang the act of calculating
38 ka- + ledtu to fly = kaledtu the act of flying
39 ka- + tapa to grill = katapa the act of grilling
40 ka- + utas to cut off completely = kautas the act of cutting completely

In sample (36), ka- is prefixed to the verb dalung to hide, to conceal forming the word
kadalung. The derived noun kadalung expresses the act of doing the verb dalung to hide, to conceal
thus having the meaning of the act of hiding. In sample (37), ka- is prefixed to the verb kalang to
calculate forming the word kakalang. The derived noun kakalang expresses the act of doing the verb


11

kalang to calculate thus having the meaning of the act of calculating. The same process applies to
the rest of the samples.

H. kag- + nominalized ma-adj the possibility to become the adjective
kag- + Nominalized ma-adj = Derived noun
41 kag- + kabagel strength = kagkabagel the possibility to become strong
42 kag- + kadalem depth = kagkadalemthe possibility to become deep
43 kag- + kalemek softness = kagkalemek the possibility to become soft
44 kag- + kamut fragrance = kagkamut the possibility to become fragrant
45 kag- + kaputi whiteness = kagkaputi the possibility to become white

In sample (41), kag- is prefixed to the nominalized ma-adjective kabagel strength forming
kagkabagel. The derived noun kagkabagel has the meaning of the possibility to become the adjective
mabagel strong. In sample (44), kag- is prefixed to the nominalized ma-adjective kamut fragrance
forming kagkamut. The derived noun kagkamut has the meaning of the possibility to become the
adjective mamut fragrant. The same process applies to the rest of the examples.

I. ka- + Noun + -an group of things or people that the Noun designates
ka- -an + Noun = Derived noun
46 ka- -an + adat custom = kaadatan customs
47 ka- -an + lukes old person = kalukesan old people
48 ka- -an + palaw mountain = kapalawan group of mountains
49 ka- -an + asal habit, practice = katupuan folkways
50 ka- -an + walay house = kawalayan group of houses

In sample (47), ka- -an is circumfixed to the noun lukes old person forming the word
kalukesan. The derived noun kalukesan expresses a group of the noun lukes old person, thus having
the meaning of old people. In sample (48), ka- -an is circumfixed to the noun palaw mountain
forming the word kapalawan. The derived noun kapalawan expresses a group of the noun palaw
mountain, thus having the meaning of group of mountains. The same process applies to the rest of
the examples.
1.1.3 Compound Nouns
The third type of nouns are compound nouns, they are formed by combining two or more
distinct words together to form a noun. For example begas a mama intelligent, honorable man is
composed of two distinct words begas rice and mama man. Maguindanao compound nouns are
formed by connecting two distinct words using the linkers a (section A. descriptive), possessive
marker a/na (section B. possessive), and the case markers na and sa (section C. objective).
The meaning of a compound noun may or may not be deducible from the components of the
compound noun. For example, while one can infer the meaning of ig a madalem deep water from its
components ig water and madalem deep, one cannot guess ayaw na kilat shrub from ayaw
supressor and kilat lighting.
The Maguindanao compound nouns below are manually extracted from the dictionary
available from the researchers disposal. They were confirmed as compounds (rather than modified


12

constructions, see section 1.4) based on these criterias, (1) the components are inseparable, (2) the
components are not interchangeable, and (3) the meaning of the compound cannot always be derived
from the components. An example for criteria (1) will be when the compound noun tatawa a mailaw
scornful laugh is possessed by nengka you. Your scornful laugh cannot be expressed as *tatawa
nengka a mailaw, but always tatawa a mailaw nengka, where the two elements tatawa laugh and
mailaw raw are together. As for criteria (2), taking the same sample, tatawa a mailaw cannot be
expressed as *mailaw a tatawa since it will be interpreted as a modified construction and it will have
another meaning. For criteria (3), again, taking the same example, one cannot literally derive the
meaning of tatawa a mailaw from tatawa laugh and mailaw raw since tatawa a mailaw does not
mean raw laugh but rather scornful laugh. Through these criterias, the collected compounds were
confirmed with the informants.
There are three types of relationships within a compound noun seen in Maguindanao: (A)
descriptive, (B) possessive, and (C) objective.
A. Descriptive: The second element describes the first element. The first element is a noun and
the second element is an adjective. They are connected by the particle a.
First Element
Noun
+
Second Element
Adjective
= Compound Noun
51 ulan rain + daladag sparse = ulan a daladag rainshower
52 tatawa laugh + mailaw raw = tatawa a mailawscornful laugh
53 kalatas paper + makapal thick = kalatas a makapal cardboard
54 ig water + madalem deep = ig a madalem deep water
55 tiuba catastrophe + masela great =
tiuba a masela misfortune, great
disaster

In sample (51), the second element, the adjective daladag sparse describes the first element,
ulan rain, a noun. They are connected by the linker a, forming the compound noun ulan a daladag
sparse rain. In sample (52), the second element mailaw raw, an adjective, describes the first
element, tatawa laugh, a noun. They are connected by the linker a, forming the compound noun
mailaw a tatawa scornful laugh (lit. raw laugh). This process applies to the rest of the samples.
B. Possessive: The first element expresses something possessed by the second. The two elements
are connected through the possessive marker a/na
2
.
First Element
Possessed
+
Second Element
Possessor
= Compound Noun
56 gay day + babay girl = gay na babaymenstruation
57 lig neck + banggala shirt = lig na banggala collar
58 mata eye + telak truck = mata na telak headlight
59 pused navel + lagat sea = pused a lagathigh seas
60 talumpa shoes + kuda horse = talumpa na kuda amor seco

In sample (56), the first element, gay day is possessed by the second element babay girl.
They are connected by the possessive marker na, producing gay na babay menstruation (lit. girls
day). In sample (57), the first element lig neck is possessed by the second element banggala shirt.

2
The informants said that a and na are interchangeable, a being more informal than na. Based on the limited data, there is
also no environment seen where a and na are in complementary distribution.


13

They are connected by the possessive marker na, producing lig na banggala collar (lit. shirts neck).
The same process applies to the rest of the samples.
C. Objective: The first element expresses an activity, instrument, etc. and the second expresses
its object or goal. They are connected by na, or sa.
First element
Activity, Instrument
+
Second Element
Object/Goal
= Compound Noun
61 ayaw suppressor + kilat lightning = ayaw na kilat shrub
62 tulak to push away + bala disaster =
tulak bala offerings in the form
of money or in kind to ward off
mischief
63
bungkas to make an opening, or
hole in the wall
+ bilik room =
bungkas sa bilik a part of the
dowry given to the owner of the
house where the bride stays a few
days before or during the
wedding ceremony
64 nadtimuan to gather + ginawa self =
nadtimuan na ginawa firm
decision
65 puyu to carry with a blanket + titi urine = puyu na titi bladder

In sample (62), the first element tulak to push away expresses an activity while the second
element bala disaster expresses the object of the first element. The two elements are connected
forming the compound noun tulak bala offerings in the form of money or in kind to ward off
mischief (lit. to push away disaster). In sample (65), the first element puyu to carry with a blanket
expresses an activity while the second element titi urine expresses the object of the first element.
The two elements are connected by na, forming the compound noun puyu na titi bladder (lit. to carry
urine with a blanket). The same process applies to the rest of the samples.
1.2 Subclasses of Nouns
In this section, the subclasses of nouns will be explored to help with the better understanding
of the structure and distribution of noun phrases that will be discussed in the next sections. The first
part discusses the concrete and abstract nouns, the second explores proper nouns and common nouns,
and the last part talks about mass and count nouns.
1.2.1 Concrete and Abstract Nouns
Concrete nouns are tangible, things one can see, hear, smell, taste and touch. Opposed to
these are abstract nouns, intangible things, which are mostly concepts, those that one cannot see, hear,
smell, taste and touch.
Below are some of the examples of concrete and abstract nouns in Maguindanao taken from
the dictionary. Samples (66-67) and (72-73) are simple nouns; samples (68-69) and (74-75) are
derived nouns; while (70-71) and (76-77) are compound nouns.
Concrete Nouns
(66) asu dog
(67) kantil bed
(68) bilangguan prison
(69) patutuges fisherman
(70) mata na telak headlight
(71) kalatas a makapal cardboard


14


Abstract Nouns
(72) pitua advice
(73) salig trust
(74) kanisan beauty
(75) kaadatan customs
(76) tatawa a mailaw scornful laugh
(77) nadtimuan na ginawa firm decision

Concrete nouns such as the examples (66-71) above are tangible. For example, one can see,
smell, and touch an (66) asu dog; one can see and touch a (69) patutuges fisherman; and one can
see and touch a (70) mata na telak headlight. On the other hand, abstract nouns are intangible things
like the above examples in (72-77). One can neither see, hear, smell, taste nor touch (72) pitua
advice, (73) salig trust, (74) kanisan beauty (75) kaadatan customs, (76) tatawa a mailaw
scornful laugh and, (77) nadtimuan na ginawa firm decision.
1.2.2 Proper Nouns and Common Nouns
Proper nouns are specific places and individuals that both the speaker and hearer can identify
(Payne, 1997). On the other hand, common nouns are those that denote objects or states of affairs or
individual representatives such as animals or humans (Bussmann, 1996).
However, rather than having a distinction between proper nouns and common nouns,
Philippine languages mark differences between personal nouns and other nouns. This could be seen in
the determiners of these nouns respectively. Personal nouns take the determiners si, ni, and kani,
while other nouns take the determiners i, su, na, nu, sa, and kanu. Personal nouns are nouns which are
names of people, used to address and identify specific people (e.g. Abdul, Ibrahim, Fatima, Salim,
Salma), on the other hand, other nouns include: (1) common nouns, those nouns that are unspecific
(e.g. wata child, dulsi candy, and walay house), (2) other proper names like specific places (e.g,
Maynila Manila, Sultan Kudarat, Amerika America), and (3) abstract nouns (e.g. salig trust,
kanisan beauty, tatawa a mailaw scornful laugh).
In the samples below, personal nouns and other nouns are placed with determiners.
(78) si Erham, ni Salim, kani Salma
(79) su Erham*, sa Salim*, kanu Salma*
(80) su wata, sa Maynila, kanu kanisan
(81) si wata*, ni Maynila*, kani kanisan*

In sample (78), Erham, Salim and Salma are all personal nouns thus marked by si, ni, and
kani. On the other hand, (79) is ungrammatical since su, sa, and kanu are common noun markers. In
(80), wata, Maynila and kanisan are all not personal names but other nouns, thus marked by su, sa,
and kanu. (81) is ungrammatical since si, ni, and kani are markers for personal names.
In Maguindanao, like other Philippine languages, determiners also contain the case of the
noun it attaches to. Determiners will be further explored in section 1.3.1.
1.2.3 Count and Mass Nouns
Count nouns refer to things that can be counted and mass nouns are those that refer to
substances, like water, sand, air, wood, etc., in short, those that cannot be counted in one, two or three
(Payne, 1997). Mass nouns are usually liquids, powders, substances and abstract nouns.


15

Below, count mass will be discussed first, followed by the mass nouns.
Count Nouns
(82) kakaba cockroach
(83) kulsa chair
(84) liblu book
(85) asu dog
(86) mama man

In the above examples (82-86), count nouns kakaba, kulsa, liblu, asu, and mama can be
counted and directly be attached to numerals through the linker ka. These are shown below.
(87) pat ka kakaba
four LNK cockroach
four cockroaches

(88) lima ka kulsa
five LNK chair
five chairs

(89) sapulu ka liblu
ten LNK book
ten books

(90) telu ka asu
three LNK dog
three dogs

(91) dua ka wata mama
two LNK child man
two boys

In the above examples (87-91), the count nouns (in bold) are counted by the cardinal
numerals pat, lima, sapulu, telu and dua respectively. As the above examples show, the cardinal
numeral appears first then ka is attached before the noun, making the rule,
Rule 1: cardinal numeral + ka + count noun
Although the numbers given above in (87-91) express plural in number, the plural marker
manga is optional, for example, (89) sapula ka liblu can be expressed as sapulu ka manga liblu, while
(91) dua ka wata mama can be expressed as dua ka manga wata mama. Thus revising Rule 1, we
have the rule for counting count nouns as,
Rule 2: cardinal numeral + ka + (manga) + count noun
Mass Nouns
Oppossed to count nouns are mass nouns, which cannot be readily counted. Some require
quantifiers, like containers, where liquids or powders could be stored
3
, while other mass nouns can

3
See appendix for list of quantifiers


16

never be really counted like abstract nouns such as kapasang hardship. Below are some examples of
count nouns in Maguindanao:
(92) pedtad sand
(93) ig water
(94) begas rice
(95) sambel wind

As mentioned above, mass nouns usually require quantifiers, such as as containers. When
quantifying mass nouns, the quantifier comes first, followed by the linker a, and then the mass noun.
This process is shown in Rule 3. Samples are shown in (97), (100), and (105) below.

Rule 3: quantifier + a + mass noun

When with quantifiers, the quantified mass noun can be counted, through the quantifier. To
understand this more, the above examples (93) and (94) are shown with quantifiers and cardinal
numerals below:

ig water

(96) *duwa ka ig
two LNK water
two waters

(97) basu a ig
cup LNK water
cup of water

(98) duwa ka basu a ig
two LNK cup LNK water
two cups of water

In samples (96-98), the liquid mass noun ig water cannot be counted, so when accompanied
by just a numeral as in (96), it is ungrammatical. In (97), ig water is accompanied by the quantifier
basu cup, forming basu a ig cup of water. As mentioned a while ago, mass nouns can be counted
through their quantifier, as in (98), where ig water is counted through its container basu cup
forming duwa ka basu a ig two cups of water. Another example is shown below:

begas rice

(99) *telu ka begas
three LNK rice
three rice

(100) gunu a begas
grain LNK rice
grain of rice



17

(101) telu ka gunu a begas
three LNK grain LNK rice
three grains of rice

(102) saku a begas
sack LNK rice
sack of rice

(103) telu ka saku a begas
three LNK sack LNK rice
three sacks of rice

In (99-103), the mass noun begas rice cannot be readily counted as in (99). It can be
numerated if with the quantifier gunu grain or with the container saku sack as shown in (101) telu
ka gunu a begas three grains of rice and (103) telu ka saku a begas three sacks of rice respectively.
Again, rather than the mass noun itself, it is the quantifier that is counted. The rule for counting
quantified mass nouns is as follows,
Rule 4: cardinal number + ka + [quantifier + a + mass noun]

1.3 Case Markers
Nouns are usually arguments in sentences. Relations between arguments and predicates (eg.
subject, direct object, indirect object etc.), can be indicated by means of case marking, participant
reference marking on verbs, and constituent order (Payne, 1997). Based on the data, in Maguindanao,
these relations can be identified by means of case marking and participant reference marking on verbs.
Constituent order does not seem to have any effect on Maguindanao grammatical relations, as long as
the verb appears sentence-initially in simple sentences. For example in Minenggay si Salim sa kendi
kanu babai / Minenggay si Salim kanu babai sa kendi / Minenggay sa kendi si Salim kanu babai all
means Salim gave candy to the girl, as long as the noun stays with its case marker, the grammatical
relations of the arguments are still the same.
Sentences are usually composed of a verb and argument/s. Verbs can be transitive or
intransitive. Transitive verbs are those verbs with two arguments while intransitive are those with only
one. Arguments are traditionally named as subjects or objects in the sentence, but for the purposes of
this study, the three distinctions, S, A, and P will be used. S is the only argument of an intransitive
clause, A is the most agent-like argument of a transitive clause and P is the least agent-like argument
in a transitive clause. S and A are the traditional subject while P is the traditional object.
Languages in the world are usually classified into the nominative-accussative or ergative-absolutive
system. Nominative-accusative languages mark S and A the same, and P another way, while ergative-
absolutive languages use the same marking for S and P, while a different marker for A. Of the two
systems, Maguindanao exhibits the ergative-absolutive marking based on the data.
In Maguindanao, determiners and personal pronouns are used as case markers. Determiners
and personal pronouns in Maguindanao mark three cases, (1) absolutive, (2) ergative, and (3) oblique.
(1) Absolutive is where the S and P are marked the same. Again, S is the only argument in an
intransitive clause while P is the least-agent like argument in a transitive clause. On the other hand, (2)
ergative is where A is marked, A is the most agent-like argument in a transitive clause. Lastly, (3)


18

oblique is where an optional participant in a clause is marked, obliques usually lack grammatical
relations to the predicate.
The two case determiners in Maguindanao, determiners and personal pronouns, will be
discussed in detail in sections 1.3.1 and 1.3.2 respectively.
1.3.1 Deteminers
Determiners are category of words that specify a noun more closely (Bussmann, 1996). They
directly express something about the identifiability and/or referentiality of a noun phrase (Payne,
1997).
Below is a table showing the determiners in Maguindanao.
Table 1: Maguindanao Determiners
Non-personal Nouns Personal Nouns
Specific Non-specific Singular Plural (And Company)
Absolute (S/P) su i si sia
Ergative (A) nu na ni nila
Oblique kanu sa kani kanila

There are two sets of determiners in Maguindanao as mentioned in section 1.2.2, those that
introduce personal nouns (si, ni, kani, sia, nila, kanila) and those that mark non-personal nouns (su,
nu, kanu, i, na, sa). Non-personal noun determiners are further distinguished whether the noun they
are refering to is specific (su, nu, kanu) or non-specific (i, na, sa), that is, whether they are known to
the speaker or not. On the other hand, personal name determiners also have two forms: one is where it
determines just the personal name (si, ni, kani) while the other determines the personal name and his
company (sia, nila, kanila).
Determiners in Maguindanao also have different forms in the cases of absolutive, ergative,
and oblique as mentioned in the introduction (section 1.3). Absolutive case (su, i, si, sia) is when the
noun being determined is the S or the P of the verb. S is the only argument of an intransitive verb
while P is the least-agent like argument of a transitive verb. Ergative case (nu, na, ni, nila) is when the
noun being marked is the A of the verb, that is, the agent of the transitive verb. Oblique case (kanu, sa,
kani, kanila) is used when the noun being marked is an optional participant in the clause.
One interesting distribution of Maguindanao determiners is that instead of the non-personal
noun determiner, personal noun determiners are usually used when marking a family member (ama,
ina, apo, wata father, mother, grandparent, child), whether or not that family member is related to
the speaker.
The noun phrases in bold in samples (104-106) below present the non-personal noun
determiners in the absolutive case in Maguindanao. Again, the determiner is in the absolutive case
when the noun being determined is the S or the P of the verb. S is the only argument of an intransitive
verb while P is the least-agent like argument of a transitive clause.
(104) Naka-ledtu su tagenek sa padsudan
INT.COMP-fly ABS.SPEC mosquito OBL foot.of .mountain
The mosquito flew to the foot of the mountain




19

(105) <In>enggay nami su asu sa lekanilan
<TR.COMP>give 1ERG.EXC.PL ABS.SPEC dog OBL 3OBL.PL
We gave the dog to them.

(106) K<in>an na papanuk i
<TR.COMP>eat ERG.NONSPEC bird ABS.NONSPEC
nanas
pineapple
A bird ate a pineapple.

In sample (104) above, su specifies tagenek mosquito, which is the S of the intransitive verb
nakaledtu flew. In (105), su specifies asu dog, which is the P of the transitive verb inenggay gave.
Both tagenek and asu are identifiable to the speaker since su implies specificity. On the hand in (106),
i specifies nanas pineapple, the P of the transitive verb kinan ate. In this sentence, the speaker
knows that a papanuk bird ate a nanas pineapple, but cannot identify which specific pineapple
since the specifier i is used to imply non-specificity.
The noun phrases in bold in samples (107-109) below are non-personal noun determiners in
the ergative case in Maguindanao. Again, the determiner is in the ergative case when the noun being
specified is the A of the verb, that is, the agent of a transitive clause.
(107) T<in>uka nu kalasan a manuk su lima
<TR.COMP>peck ERG.SPEC rooster ABS.SPEC hand
ku
1POSS.SG
The rooster pecked my hand.

(108) D<in>ukut nu manga tulisan su kaltida
<TR.COMP>steal ERG.SPEC PL robber ABS.SPEC wallet
ku
1POSS.SG
The robbers stole my wallet.

(109) <In>ebut aku na lapinig
<TR.COMP>bite 1ABS.SG ERG.NONSPEC bee
A bee bit me.

In sample (107) and (108), nu specifies kalasan a manuk rooster and manga tulisan
robbers, the A of the transitive verbs tinuka pecked and dinukut stole respectively. Both the
rooster and the robbers are known to the speaker as implied by the specific determiner nu. On the
other hand in (109), na specifies lapinig bee, which is the A of the transitive verb inebut bit. The
bee is not known to the speaker, he is not sure which specific bee bit him, as entailed by the non-
specific determiner na.
The noun phrases in bold in samples (110-116) below show non-personal noun determiners in
the oblique case in Maguindanao. Again, the determiner is in the oblique case when the noun being
specified is an optional participant in the clause.



20

(110) Na-ulog su babai kanu paliungan
INT.COMP-fall ABS.SPEC girl OBL.SPEC window
The girl fell from the window.

(111) Na-ulog su babai sa paliungan
INT.COMP-fall ABS.SPEC girl OBL.NONSPEC window
The girl fell from a window.

(112) Nang-uta sa lugo su pendalo
INT.COMP-vomit OBL.NONSPEC blood ABS.SPEC sick person
The sick person vomited blood

(113) *Nang-uta kanu lugo su pendalo
INT.COMP-vomit OBL.SPEC blood ABS.SPEC sick person
The sick person vomited blood

(114) Min-enggay si Salim sa kendi
INT.COMP-give ABS name OBL.NONSPEC candy
kanu babai
OBL.SPEC girl
Salim gave candy to the girl.

(115) Min-enggay si Salim sa kendi
INT.COMP-give ABS name OBL.NONSPEC candy
lu sa babai
DEM.OBL.DIST OBL.NONSPEC girl
Salim gave candy to the girl.

(116) *Min-enggay si Salim kanu kendi
INT.COMP-give ABS name OBL.SPEC candy
lu sa babai
DEM.OBL.DIST OBL.NONSPEC girl
Salim gave candy to the girl.

In samples (110) and (111), the intransitive verb naulog fell predicates its S babai girl,
marked by su. Extra information on the location of her falling is expressed through the oblique kanu
paliungan and sa paliungan the/a window respectively. In (110), since the oblique specific marker
kanu is used, one can infer that the speaker knows which specific window the girl fell from. On the
other hand, in (111), since the non-specific oblique marker sa is used, one can infer that although the
speaker knows that the girl fell from a window, he does not know which specific window the girl fell
from.
Samples (112-113) are antipassives constructions, they are detransitivized sentences
(transitive sentences that became intranstive) where the absolutive patient-like argument (object) is
put in the oblique case and the ergative agent is promoted as an absolutive subject. In sample (112),
the original object is lugoblood but has been put to the oblique case and has become an oblique
object. The once ergative agent pendalu is promoted as an absolutive subject (S). The oblique object
lugo blood is specified by the non-specific sa, however, as one can see in (113), the specific kanu


21

cannot be used to determine lugo blood. This might be because antipassive oblique objects receive
a nonspecific interpretation, this phenomena has also been observed in other languages (see Aldridge,
2005). Since sa is nonspecific, it is allowed to determine the oblique object lugo blood but since
kanu is a specific determiner, it is not allowed to determine lugo blood.
Basing from the samples that are ungrammatical in (113) and (116), the specific oblique
marker kanu can only be used for locational, directional or oblique source, interchangeable with sa.
Oblique objects such as those in samples (113) kanu lugo and (116) kanu kendi cannot be used with
kanu. For example, in (110-111), the location of the falling is the paliungan window and can be
specified by the determiner sa and kanu. In (114-115), the direction of the kendi candy is the babai
girl and as seen in the samples, kanu and sa can be used to determine the babai girl. In (115), the
oblique distal demonstrative pronoun lu is attached before sa to avoid ambiguity, since there is
another sa in the sentence (determining candy). On the other hand, the antipassive sentences (112-
113), lugo blood is specified by sa (112) but sa cannot be replaced by kanu (113). In these sentences,
lugo blood is functioning semantically as the object of the verb nanguta vomitted. This
phenomenon can also be observed in sentences (114-116), where kendi candy can only be specified
by sa and not kanu. In these sentences, kendi candy is functioning semantically as the direct object
of the verb minenggay gave.

The noun phrases in bold in samples (117-119) below show personal noun determiners in the
absolutive case in Maguindanao. Again, the determiner is in the absolutive case when the noun being
determined is the S or the P of the verb. S is the only argument of an intransitive verb while P is the
least-agent like argument of a transitive clause.

(117) Naka-ilay si Anas sa maitem a kuda
INT.COMP-see ABS name OBL black LNK horse
Anas saw a black horse

(118) <In>alab nu bagisan si Fatima
<TR.COMP>eat ERG.SPEC shark ABS name
The shark ate Fatima

(119) <In>alen nin si ina nin a
<TR.COMP>restrain 3ERG.SG ABS mother 3POSS.SG LNK
peng-ganat
INT.COMP-leave
He restrained his mother from leaving.

In samples (117-119) above, the personal noun determiner si specifies Anas, Fatima, and ina
nin his mother respectively. In (117), Anas is the S of the intransitive verb nakailay saw. In (118),
Fatima is the P of the transitive verb inalab ate. In (119), ina mother is the P of the transitive verb
inalen restrained. As mentioned in the introduction of Maguindanao determiners (1.3.1), one of its
interesting distribution is that instead of a non-personal noun determiner, personal noun determiners
are usually used when marking a family member (ama, ina, apo, wata father, mother, grandparent,
child), whether or not that family member is related to the speaker. This can be observed in sentence
(119), where ina mother, a family member, but not related to the speaker, is marked by the personal
noun determiner si.


22

The noun phrases in bold in samples (120-122) below show personal noun determiners in the
ergative case in Maguindanao. Again, the determiner is in the ergative case when the noun being
specified is the A of the verb, that is, the agent of a transitive clause.
(120) K<in>ua ni Abdul su pinsil ku
<TR.COMP>take ERG name ABS.SPEC pencil 3POSS.SG
Abdul took my pencil.

(121) <In>agaw ni Mustapha su sundang
<TR.COMP>grab ERG name ABS.SPEC sword
lu kanu pakat nin
DEM. OBL.DIST OBL friend 3POSS.SG
Mustapha grabbed the sword from his friend.

(122) <In>enggay i nia ba sa laki
<TR.COMP>give ABS DEM.ABS.PROX PRT OBL 1OBL.SG
ni Salim kagey
ERG name yesterday
Salim gave this to me yesterday.

In the samples (120-122) above, ni determines the personal nouns Abdul, Mustapha, and
Salim, the A of the transitive verbs kinua took, inagaw grabbed, and inenggay gave respectively.

The noun phrases in bold in samples (123-125) below show personal noun determiners in the
oblique case in Maguindanao. Again, the determiner is in the oblique case when the noun being
specified is an optional participant in the clause.

(123) Ini-pusaka ni apu a mama su alamatan
TR.COMP-give.as.inheritance ERG grandfather ABS.SPEC horoscope
nin kani Fatima
3POSS.SG OBL name
My grandfather gave his horoscope as an inheritance to Fatima.

(124) Na-masa aku sa dusi kani Abdul
INT.COMP-buy 1ABS.SG OBL candy OBL name
I bought candy from Abdul.

(125) Min-andung su wata kani ama nin
INT.COMP-move near ABS.SPEC child OBL father 3POSS.SG
The child moved near to his father.

In samples (123-125), kani specifies the personal names Fatima and Abdul. In (123), Fatima
is the direction of the giving of the horoscope as inheritance. In (124), Abdul is the source of the
candy. In (125), kani specifies the family member ama father, which is the direction of the
movement of the child.




23

1.3.2 Pronouns
Aside from determiners, pronouns also show the case markings of Maguindanao nouns.
Pronouns are free forms (as opposed to affixes) that function alone to fill the position of a noun phrase
in a clause. They normally have all the distributional properties of noun phrases (Payne, 1997). In
this study, only personal pronouns will be discussed.
Personal pronouns are words that replace personal nouns, be they proper or common.
Maguindanao personal pronouns usually take the place of the entire noun phrase in most cases (e.g. su
wata the child > sekanin he/she, not *su sekanin), but they do not in oblique phrases (e.g. sa wata
`to the child > sa lekanin `to him/her.).
In Philippine languages, personal pronouns are distinguished according to (1) person, (2)
number, and (3) case (grammatical relation) (Nolasco, 2010). This is also observed in Maguindanao
personal pronouns. Below is a table showing the personal pronouns in Maguindanao, these were all
extracted from Constantinos 559-sentence list.
Table 3: Maguindanao Personal Pronouns
Number Person
Absolutive
S/P
Ergative
A
Oblique
Topical
Nominal
Singular
First aku ku laki saki
Second ka nengka leka seka
Third sekanin nin lekanin sekanin
Dual First & Second ta ta lekita sekita
Plural
First Inclusive tanu tanu lekitanu sekitanu
First Exclusive kami nami lekami sekami
Second kanu nu lekanu sekanu
Third silan nilan lekanilan sekanilan

Maguindanao pronouns distinguish between first, second and third person. Aside from these,
person in Maguindanao pronouns also express inclusive/exclusive distinction in the first person. First
person inclusive refers to the speaker and hearer and may or may not include a non-speech act
participant. It also has an inclusive dual form which includes only the speech act participants, the
speaker and the hearer, excluding all non-speech act participants. It could be translated in English as
the two of us. The first person exclusive on the other hand, excludes the hearer, only including the
speaker and other non-speech act participant/s.
Number in Maguindanao pronouns consist of singular, dual and plural. Singular consists of
one person, while plural consists of two or many. Dual consists of two people, but it is limited to the
speaker and hearer, discussed in the previous paragraph.
There are four sets of pronouns in Maguindanao, three of which express the absolutive,
ergative, and oblique case respectively. The other set is always found as a topic in a topicalized
sentence.
The samples that will be used to show the difference between the four types of pronouns will
be the first person singular pronouns, aku, ku, laki, and saki which are absolutive, ergative, oblique
and topical nominal respectively.
Samples (126-128) below show personal pronouns found in the absolute case, which are the S,
and P. Again, S is the only argument of an intransitive clause, while P is the least agent-like argument
in a transitive clause.


24


(126) Na-masa aku sa kalikam
INT.COMP-buy 1ABS.SG OBL very.red.cloth
I bought a very red cloth.

(127) <In>ebut aku na lapinig
<TR.COMP>bite 1ABS.SG ERG.NONSPEC bee
A bee bit me.

(128) P<in>a-mandu aku ni ina
<TR.COMP>teach 1ABS.SG ERG mother
I was taught by my mother.

Sample (126) is an intransitive sentence, the only argument S of the intransitive verb namasa
bought is represented by aku. Samples (127-128) are transitive sentences, where the least-agent like
argument P is represented by aku. In (127) the one who got bit and got hurt was aku while in (128),
the one that benefited from the teaching was aku.
Samples (129-131) below present personal pronouns found in the ergative case, which
consists of A, the most agent-like argument in a transitive clause.
(129) Ini-simbul ku su mamis kanu peti
TR.COMP-mix 1ERG.SG ABS.SPEC sugar OBL.SPEC white
na niug
POSS coconut
I mixed sugar with the coconut juice.

(130) Papait-an ku si ina sa sulat
send-TR.CONT 1ERG.SG ABS mother OBL letter
I will send my mother a letter.

(131) Kan-en ku i mangga nila
eat-TR.CONT 1ERG.SG ABS.NONSPEC mango 3POSS.PL
I will eat their mango

In samples (129-131) above, ku is the A of the transitive verbs inisimbul mixed, papaitan
will send, and kanen will eat, where ku is the agent doing the mixing, the sending and the eating
respectively.
Samples (132-134) below show personal pronouns in the oblique case. Obliques do not have
an argument in the sentence, be it transitive or intransitive. Personal pronouns in the oblique form are
always accompanied by the oblique determiner sa.
(132) Ini-pangalit nin sa laki su
TR.COMP-shift.the.blame 3ERG.SG OBL 1OBL.SG ABS.SPEC
ping-gula nin
TR.COMP-do 3POSS.SG
He shifted to me the blame for what he did.




25

(133) Ini-udas nin sa laki su lidu
TR.COMP-refer 1ERG.SG OBL 1OBL.SG ABS.SPEC problem
nu ginawa nin.
POSS self 3POSS.SG
She refered her problem to me.

(134) I-pusaka ni ama sa laki su
TR.CONT-give.as.inheritance ERG father OBL 1OBL.SG ABS.SPEC
walay nin a ma-salig.
house 3POSS.SG LNK ADJ-big
My father will give me his big house as my inheritance.

In (132-134), the oblique personal pronoun laki expresses the direction of the P pinggula nin
things he did, lidu nu ginawa nin his problem, and walay nin a masela his big house, of the
transitive verbs inipangalit shifted the blame, iniudas refered, and ipusaka give as inheritance
respectively. Also, notice that the oblique determiner sa appears before the pronoun laki.
Maguindanao pronouns are special in that they have separate sets of pronouns that appear in
the topic or fronted constructions. For example,
(135) Saki i pinab-paigo ni Abdul sa suka
1TOP.SG ABS TR.COMP-bathe ERG name OBL vinegar
I was the one that Abdul poured vinegar on

(136) Saki i badal nu egkaunutan nami
1TOP.SG ABS representative POSS leader 1POSS.EXC.PL
I am the representative of our leader

(137) Saki a ped-tulog den
1TOP.SG TOP INT.CONT-sleep PRT
I will sleep now.

In samples (135-137) above, saki is topicalized and given emphasis in the sentences,
appearing sentence-initially. If this was in Tagalog, sentence (135) will be Ako ang pinaliguan ni
Pedro ng suka I was the one that Abdul poured vinegar on. In Tagalog, the topicalized pronoun ako
has the same form as the absolutive ako. In Maguindanao, they have different forms, saki and aku
respectively. The distinctiveness of this property of Maguindanao pronouns compared to Tagalog will
be discussed further in section 3.

Like most pronouns in Philippine languages, Maguindanao personal pronouns cliticizes. For
example,

(138) <In>alab nu bagisan si Fatima
<TR.COMP>eat ERG.SPEC shark ABS name
The shark ate Fatima

(139) <In>alab nin si Fatima
<TR.COMP>eat 3ERG.SG ABS name
He /She ate Fatima


26

(140) <In>alab sekanin nu bagisan
<TR.COMP>eat 3ABS.SG ERG.SPEC shark
The shark ate him/her

In samples (138-140), the original sentence is (138), where all the arguments are presented in
full noun form. In (139), the A of the transitive verb inalab ate, nu bagisan shark is represented by
the pronoun nin. In (140), the P of the transitive verb inalab ate, si Fatima is replaced by the
pronoun sekanin. Notice that both pronouns in (139) and (140) cliticizes to the verb inalab ate.

1.4 Modification Constructions
A simple Maguindanao noun phrase construction is usually only composed of a determiner
and a noun head (su wata the child). However this can be expanded by the addition of modifiers
such as adjectives, possessive nouns etc. (e.g. su manisan a wata nin your beautiful child), with
wata child still acting as the head noun, because the whole phrase still refers to wata child as the
entity. Noun heads can be modified by the following: demonstratives, adjectives, numerals, verbs,
adverbs, and possessives. This section will explore these modified expansions in Maguindanao noun
phrases.
1.4.1 Noun Head with Demonstrative Modifier
Noun heads can be modified by demonstratives. Demonstratives express distance, or
orientation with respect to the speaker/hearer (Payne, 1997). In Maguindanao, demonstratives have
three degrees of distance, in proximal, medial, and distal. Proximal (nia) is when the noun being
referred to is close to the speaker. Medial (nan) is expressed when the noun is far from the speaker but
near the hearer. Distal (entu) is expressed when the noun is far from both the speaker and the hearer.
In Maguindanao noun phrases, demonstratives are placed after the noun linked by the particle a. For
example,
(141) tali a nia
string LNK DEM.PROX
this string

(142) asu a nan
dog LNK DEM.MED
that dog (near you)

(143) babai a entu
girl LNK DEM.DIST
that girl (over there)

In samples (141-143) above, the nouns tali string, asu dog, and babai girl are modified
by the demonstratives nia, nan and entu respectively. (141) suggests that the tali string is near the
speaker through the proximal demonstrative nia. In (142), the phrase suggests that the asu dog is
near the hearer but far from the speaker through the medial demonstrative nan. Lastly, in (143), the
babai being refered to is both far from the speaker and hearer as suggested by the distal demonstrative
entu.





27

1.4.2 Noun Head with Adjective Modifier
Noun heads can be modified by adjectives (see whole section 2 for an in-depth discussion of
adjectives). Adjectives are connected to nouns by means of the linker a. The position of the noun and
descriptive adjective is not restricted, as shown in samples (144-149) below. However, the form
where the adjective comes first followed by the noun appear more usually in the corpus.
(144) matenggaw a ig
cold LNK water
cold water

(145) ig a matenggaw
water LNK cold
cold water

(146) masela a kayu
big LNK tree
big tree

(147) kayu a masela
tree LNK big
big tree

(148) magangu a seda
dried LNK fish
dried fish

(149) seda a magangu
fish LNK dried
dried fish

In samples (144), (146) and (148) above, the adjectives matenggaw cold, masela big, and
magangu dried, appear before the nouns they describe, ig water, kayu tree, and seda fish,
connected by the linker a respectively. On the other hand, in samples (145), (147), and (149), the
nouns ig water, kayu tree, and seda fish appear before the adjectives that describe them,
matenggaw cold, masela big, and magangu dried, connected by the linker a respectively.
According to the informants, there is no difference in meaning whether the noun or adjective comes
first. However, based on the corpus, samples like (144), (146), and (148) where the adjective comes
first followed by the noun appear more usually.
1.4.3 Noun Head with Numerals
Noun heads can be modified by numerals. Numerals designate numbers, quantities, and any
other countable divisions (Bussmann, 1996). In this section, the numerals in the form of cardinals and
ordinals that modify noun heads in Maguindanao will be discussed. Cardinals
4
are numbers used in
counting or expressing quantity while ordinals are numbers used to denote the order or the rank of
things (Schachter & Otanes, 1972). In Maguindanao, ordinals are expressed by adding the word ika-
before cardinals.

4
See appendix for list of cardinals in Maguindanao


28

When dealing with nouns with numerals, the distinction between count and mass nouns must
be taken into consideration. As mentioned in section 1.2.3, only count nouns can be counted readily
while mass nouns cannot be.
Only count nouns can be directly modified by cardinals and ordinals. In Maguindanao,
cardinals are connected to count nouns by means of the particle ka, while ordinals by means of the
particle a. Compared to Tagalog where there is only one linker for both cardinals and ordinals in the
form of the allomorphs na/-ng, Maguindanao employs two separate particles for cardinals and
ordinals.
Rule 5 below shows how to construct a count noun with a cardinal modifier in Maguindanao.
The cardinal comes first followed by the linker ka then by the count noun being counted.
Rule 5: cardinal + ka + count noun
Samples (150-152) below are count nouns with cardinal modifiers.
(150) telu ka kaluma
three LNK spouse
three wives

(151) pat ka walay
four LNK house
four houses

(152) lima ka kayo
five LNK tree
five trees

In samples (150-152) above, the cardinals telu three, pat four, and lima five modify the
count nouns kaluma wife, walay house, and kayo tree respectively. The cardinals come before
the count nouns and they are linked by the particle ka.

On the other hand, Rule 6 below shows how to construct a count noun with an ordinal
modifier. The ordinal comes first then the linker a, followed by the count noun.
Rule 6: ordinal + a + count noun
Samples (153-155) below are count nouns with ordinal modifiers.
(153) ika-duwa a lantay
ORD-two LNK floor
second floor

(154) ika-telu a gay
ORD-three LNK day
third day

(155) ika-pat a taw
ORD-four LNK person
fourth person



29

In samples (153-155), the ordinals ikaduwa second, ikatelu third, and ikapat fourth
modify the count nouns lantay floor, gay day, and taw person respectively. The ordinals come
before the count noun and the two are linked by the particle a.

On the other hand, mass nouns, as opposed to count nouns in samples (150-155), cannot be
readily counted and must be accompanied by quantifiers (as mentioned in section 1.2.3). When
quantified, the mass noun can be counted through the quantifier. Rule 7 below shows how to construct
a mass noun with a quantifier and cardinal modifier. The cardinal comes first followed by the
quantified mass noun, they are connected through the particle ka. A quantified mass noun consist of a
quantifier followed by the mass noun, the two being connected by the particle a.
Rule 7: cardinal + ka + [quantifier + a + mass noun]
Samples (156-158) are quantified mass nouns with cardinal modifiers.
(156) duwa ka lata a gatas
two LNK can PRT milk
two cans of milk

(157) pat ka basu a ig
four LNK glass PRT water
four glasses of water

(158) lima ka saku a begas
five LNK sack PRT rice
five sacks of rice

In samples (156-158), the cardinals duwa two, pat four, and lima five, modify the
quantified mass nouns, lata a gatas can of milk, basu a ig cup of water, and saku a begas sack of
rice respectively. The cardinals come before the quantified mass nouns and they are linked by the
particle ka. In these samples, it is not the mass nouns that are counted but rather their quantifiers.
Lastly, Rule 8 below shows how quantified mass nouns are modified by ordinals. The ordinal
comes first followed by the quantified mass noun, they are connected through the particle a. A
quantified mass noun consist of a quantifier followed by the mass noun, the two being connected by
the particle a.
Rule 8: ordinal + a + [quantifier + a + mass noun]
Samples (159-161) below are quantified mass nouns modified by ordinals.
(159) ika-duwa a lata a gatas
ORD-two LNK can PRT milk
second can of milk

(160) ika-pat a basu a ig
ORD-four LNK glass PRT water
fourth glass water





30

(161) ika-lima a saku a begas
ORD-five LNK sack PRT rice
fifth sack of rice

In samples (159-161), the ordinals ikaduwa second, ikapat fourth, and ikalima fifth,
modify the quantified mass nouns, lata a gatas can of milk, basu a ig cup of water, and saku a
begas sack of rice respectively. The ordinals come before the quantified mass nouns and they are
linked by the particle a. Again in these samples, it is not the order or rank of the mass nouns that are
expressed but rather their quantifiers order or rank.

1.4.4 Noun Head with Verbal Modifier
Noun heads in Maguindanao can also be modified by a verb, where originally, the verbal
modifier is the predicate of the sentence. In constructions where noun heads are modified by verbal
modifiers, the noun head always comes first, followed by the linker a, and then by the verbal modifier.
In the examples below, the noun head is in bold.
(162) K<in>an na papanuk su nanas
<TR.COMP>eat ERG.NONSPEC bird ABS.SPEC pineapple
The pineapple was eaten by the bird

becomes

(163) nanas a k<in>an na papanuk
pineapple LNK <TR.COMP>eat ERG.NONSPEC bird
pineapple the bird ate

In the samples above, (162) is the original sentence while (163) is the modified sentence from
(162). In (162), the predicate of the sentence is kinan na papanuk was eaten by the bird while the
noun head is su nanas the pineapple. Sentence (162) is transformed into (163), a noun phrase, where
the noun head nanas pineapple is modified by the verbal predicate in the original sentence kinan na
papanuk was eaten by the bird forming nanas a kinan na papanuk pineapple the bird ate. As one
can observe, the noun head nanas pineapple came before the verbal modifier and in between them is
the linker a. Below are more examples:
(164) P<in>adtud na gansu su utan
<TR.COMP>root ERG.NONSPEC swan ABS.SPEC grass
The grass was rooted by a swan

becomes

(165) utan a p<in>adtud na gansu
grass LNK <TR.COMP>root ERG.NONSPEC swan
grass a swan rooted

In the samples above, (164) is the original sentence while (165) is the modified sentence from
(164). In (164), the predicate of the sentence is pinadtud na gansu was rooted by a swan, while the
noun head is su utan the grass. Sentence (164) is transformed into (165), a noun phrase, where the
noun head utan grass is modified by the verbal predicate in the original sentence pinadtud na gansu


31

was rooted by the swan forming utan a pinadtud na gansu grass a swan rooted. As one can
observe, the noun head utan grass came before the verbal modifier and in between them is the linker
a. The same rule applies to the samples (166-169), where (166) and (168) is the original sentence of
the modified noun phrases (167) and (169) respectively.
(166) T<in>uka nu manok su limatek
<TR.COMP>peck ERG.SPEC chicken ABS.SPEC leech
The chicken pecked the leech

becomes

(167) limatek a t<in>uka nu manok
leech LNK <TR.COMP>peck ERG.SPEC chicken
leech the chicken pecked


(168) <In>enggay nin su pegken
<TR.COMP>give 3ERG.SG ABS.SPEC food
He gave the food

becomes

(169) pegken a <in>enggay nin
food LNK <TR.COMP>give 3ERG.SG
food he gave

1.4.5 Noun Head with Adverbial Modifiers
Noun heads in Maguindanao can be modified by two types of adverbs: time adverbs and
location adverbs. Time adverbs, as its name suggests, tell the time when a noun will be/was held. On
the other hand, location adverbs describe where the noun is located. Location adverbs are composed
of the determiner sa and a place noun.
In the samples below, the head noun is in bold. Samples (170-171) are nouns modified by
time adverbs, while samples (172-174) are nouns modified by location adverbs.

(170) miting sa alasiti sa mapita
meeting OBL 7oclock OBL morning
7 in the morning meeting

(171) uman gay a alasiti a miting
every day LNK 7oclock LNK meeting
daily meeting at 7

In sample (170), the head noun miting meeting is modified by the time adverb alasiti sa
mapita 7 in the morning. In (171), the head noun miting meeting is modified by the time adverb
uman gay a alasiti daily meeting at 7.




32

(172) telepon sa opisina
telephone OBL office
telephone in the office

(173) wata sa lipag
child OBL side
child on the other side

(174) kakaba sa walay ni Abdul
cockroach OBL house POSS name
cockroach in the house of Abdul

The location adverbs in the above examples are also composed of sa plus a place noun where
opisina office, lipag other side and walay ni Abdul house of Abdul is the place noun respectively.
In sample (172), the head noun telepon telephone is modified by the location adverb sa opisina in
the office The adverb tells where the telephone being talked about is located, in this case, in the
office. In sample (173), the head noun wata child is modified by the location adverb sa lipag on the
other side, where the location of the child is specified as on the other side. Lastly, in (174), the head
noun kakaba cockroach is modified by the location adverb sa walay ni Abdul in the house of
Abdul, which entails that the cockroach is located in the house of Abdul. Notice that in the noun
phrases modified by location adverbs like in samples (172-174), the noun head always appear before
the location adverb.
1.4.6 Noun Head with Possessive Modifiers
Noun heads in Maguindanao can be modified by possessive modifiers. Possession is used to
express ownership, though it is not always pertaining to possession (Payne, 1997). For example, su
guru ku my teacher is not I possess the teacher. This is different from the possession that su
pantalon ku my pants express. A noun head can be possessed thus can be modified by possessive
modifiers. A possessive noun phrase contains two elements: a possessor and a possessed item.
Possession of Maguindanao noun heads can be expressed by using (1) possessive determiners +
owner and (2) possessive personal pronouns. If the possessor of the item is a noun, possessive
determiners are used. If the possessor of the item is a personal pronoun, the possessive personal
pronoun is used.
Possessive determiners are divided into two types, depending on which type of noun the
possessor is. For personal nouns, the possessive determiner ni is used, while for non-personal nouns,
the determiners nu and na are used. The table below shows possessive determiners in Maguindanao.

Table 4: Possessive Determiners
Possessive determiner
Personal noun ni
Non-personal noun nu/na
5




5
According to the informants, there is a slight difference between these two, but they are unknown to the speakers. Based on
the limited data, the researcher did not see any patterns. Specificity and alienability of the possessed item were checked but
there were no patterns found.


33

Rule 9 below shows a rule on how to construct a noun head with a possessive determiner.

Rule 9: possessed item + possessive determiner + possessor (owner)

The possessed item appears first followed by the possessive determiner (ni, nu, or na)
followed by the possessor of the possessed item. Below are some examples of noun heads with
possessive determiners and their possessors.

(175) lagas na mangga
seed POSS mango
mangos seed

(176) ngali nu kalabaw
mouth POSS carabao
carabaos mouth

(177) buk nu laga
hair POSS maiden
maidens hair

(178) wata ni Abdul
child POSS name
Abduls child

(179) kaluma ni Fatima
husband POSS name
Fatimas husband

In samples (175-179) above, lagas seed, ngali mouth, buk hair, wata child and kaluma
husband are possessed by mangga mango, kalabaw carabao, laga maiden, Abdul, and Fatima
respectively. In (175-177), since the possessors mangga mango, kalabaw carabao, and laga
maiden are non-personal nouns, the determiners na and nu are used. According to the informants na
and nu are interchangeable, there is only a slight nuance in meaning (see footnote 5). While in
samples (178-179), the personal noun possessive determiner ni is used since the possessors are
personal nouns, Abdul and Fatima respectively.
Possession of Maguindanao nouns can also be expressed by means of possessive pronouns. Like
personal pronouns, possessive pronouns in Maguindanao express (1) number, and (2) person.
Possessive pronouns in Maguindanao have the same form as those pronouns in the ergative case.
Unlike in Tagalog where the pronouns in ergative case and oblique case can be used to express
possession, in Maguindanao, only the ergative case pronouns can be used. Below is a table showing
Maguindanao possessive pronouns.
Table 5: Maguindanao Possessive Pronouns
Number Person Possessive Personal Pronouns
Singular
First ku
Second nengka
Third nin
Dual First & Second ta


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Plural
First Inclusive tanu
First Exclusive nami
Second nu
Third nilan

Rule 10 below is a rule showing the structure of a noun head modified by a possessive
pronoun.
Rule 10: possessed item + possessive pronoun (possessor)
The possessed item appears first followed by the possessive pronoun which is the possessor
of the item. Below are some examples of noun heads with possessive pronouns as their possessors.

(180) buk ku
hair 1POSS.SG
my hair

(181) prugrama nengka
program 2POSS.SG
your program

(182) uyut nin
pocket 3POSS.SG
his pocket

(183) paligi nami
well 1POSS.PL.EXC
our well

(184) pantalun nilan
pants 3POSS.PL
their pants

In samples (180-184) above, the nouns buk hair, prugrama program, uyut pocket, paligi
well and pantalon pants are owned by the possessive pronouns ku my, nengka your, nami our
(exclusive), nin his/her, and nilan their respectively.

1.4.7 Complex Modification Constructions
Complex modification constructions are modified noun phrases where either the noun head or
modifier is already a modified construction. A modified noun head is a complex head, while a
modified modifier is called a complex modifier (Schachter & Otanes, 1972).
Sample (185-186) below contains a complex noun head (underlined), where the noun head is
already modified by a possessive modifier.






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(185) P<in>amasa ku su banggala ni
<TR.COMP>buy 1ERG.SG ABS.SPEC dress POSS
Fatima
name
I bought Fatimas dress

becomes

(186) p<in>amasa ku a banggala ni Fatima
<TR.COMP>buy 1ERG.SG LNK dress POSS name
Fatimas dress I bought

In the samples above, (185) is the original sentence while (186) is the modified sentence from
(185). In (185), the predicate of the sentence is pinamasu ku I bought while the noun phrase is su
banggala ni Fatima Fatimas dress. The noun phrase banggala ni Fatima Fatimas dress is a
complex noun phrase since the noun head banggala dress is modified a possessive modifier, ni
Fatima Fatimas. Sentence (185) is transformed into (186), where the complex noun head banggala
ni Fatima Fatimas dress is modified by the verbal predicate in the original sentence (185) pinamasu
ku I bought forming pinamasa ku a banggala a seda Fatimas dress I bought.
Samples (187-188) below consist of a complex noun head (underlined), where the noun head
is already modified by an adjective modifier.
(187) K<in>uwa nin su mailaw a mangga
<TR.COMP>pick 3ERG.SG ABS.SPEC raw LNK mango
kagey
yesterday
He picked raw mangoes yesterday

becomes

(188) mailaw a mangga a k<in>uwa nin kagey
raw LNK mango LNK <TR.COMP>pick 3ERG.SG yesterday
raw mangoes he picked yesterday

In the samples above, (187) is the original sentence while (188) is the modified sentence from
(187). In (187), the predicate of the sentence is Kinuwa nin He picked while the noun phrase is su
mailaw a mangga raw mangoes, kagey yesterday is an oblique. The noun phrase su mailaw a
mangga raw mangoes is a complex noun phrase since the noun head mangga mango is modified
by an adjective modifier, mailaw raw. Sentence (187) is transformed into (188), where the complex
noun head su mailaw a mangga raw mangoes is modified by the verbal predicate of the original
sentence (187) Kinuwa nin He picked forming mailaw a mangga a kinuwa nin kagey raw mangoes
he picked yesterday.
Samples (189-190) below consist of a complex modifier (underlined), where the modifier is
already modified by an adjective modifier.




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(189) mailaw a mangga i nia
raw LNK mango ABS DEM.PROX
This is a raw mango

becomes

(190) mailaw a mangga a nia
raw LNK mango LNK DEM.PROX
mailaw a mangga a nia
this raw mango

In the samples above, (189) is the original sentence while (190) is the modified sentence from
(189). In (189), the predicate of the sentence is mailaw a mangga raw manggo while the noun head
is i nia this. Sentence (189) is transformed into (190), where the noun head i nia this is modified
by the complex predicate in the original sentence (189) mailaw a mangga raw mango forming
mailaw a mangga a nia this raw mango. The predicate mailaw a mangga raw manggo is complex
since its head mangga mango is already modified an adjective modifier, mailaw raw.

1.5 Distribution of Maguindanao Nouns
Based on the data, nouns in Maguindanao can be found in three general environments: (1) as
subjects and objects of clauses, (2) as head of noun phrases, and (3) as predicate nominal clauses.
1.5.1 Maguindanao Nouns as Subjects, Objects and Indirect Objects of Clauses
Maguindanao nouns can be found as subjects, objects, and indirect objects of clauses.
(191) <In>agaw ni Mustapha su sundang
<TR.COMP>grab ERG name ABS.SPEC sword
lu kanu pakat nin
DEM.OBL.DIST OBL.SPEC friend 3POSS.SG
Mustapha grabbed the sword from his friend.

(192) Naka-ledtu su tagenek sa
INT.COMP-fly ABS.SPEC mosquito OBL.NONSPEC
padsudan
foot.of.mountain
The mosquito flew to the foot of the mountain

(193) Ini-pusaka ni apu a mama su alamatan
TR.COMP-give.as.inheritance ERG grandfather ABS.SPEC horoscope
nin kani Fatima
3POSS.SG OBL name
My grandfather gave his horoscope as an inheritance to Fatima.

In (191), the noun Mustapha is the subject of the verb inagaw grabbed, while the noun
sundang sword is its object. In (192), the noun taganek mosquito is the subject of the verb
nakeledtu flew. Lastly in sample (193), the noun apu a mama grandfather is the subject, alamatan


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horoscope is the direct object and Fatima is the indirect object of the verb inipusaka gave as
inheritance.
1.5.2 Maguindanao Nouns as Heads of Noun Phrases
The head of a noun phrase is the noun within the phrase that refers to the same entity that the
whole phrase refers to (Payne, 1997). The constituents underlined in samples (194-196) below are the
noun phrases, while the constituent in bold is the head.
(194) Manga lambeg su manga ali ni Abdul
PL tall ABS.SPEC PL siblings POSS name
The siblings of Abdul are tall

(195) Naka-ilay si Anas sa maitem a kuda
INT.COMP-see ABS name OBL black LNK horse
Anas saw a black horse

(196) K<in>an ku su mailaw a mangga
<TR.COMP>eat 1ERG.SG ABS.SPEC raw LNK mango
a k<in>uwa nin kagey
LNK <TR.COMP>pick 3ERG.SG yesterday
Kinan ku su mailaw a mangga a kinuwa nin kagey
I ate the raw mangoes he picked yesterday.

In sample (194), the noun ali sibling is the head of the noun phrase, because it is the entity
being talked about. The constituents ni Abdul and manga are just possessive modifiers and
pluralization particle respectively. In (195), kuda horse is the head of the noun phrase, maitem
black is an adjectival modifier to the noun head. In (196), the noun mangga mango is the head,
mailaw raw is an adjectival modifier, while kinuwa nin he picked is a verbal modifying phrase.
1.5.3 Maguindanao Noun in Predicate Nominal Clauses
Predicate nominal clauses have a noun as its predicate. These typically express the notions of
proper inclusion and equation (Payne, 1997). Maguindanao predicate nominal clauses have the NP NP
construction, in which two noun phrases are put together with no intervening copular element (Payne,
1997). Since predicates in Maguindanao are sentence-initial, predicate nominal clauses are found
initially in simple sentences. Below are some examples of Maguindanao predicate nominal clauses (in
bold).
(197) Bamalihala su mama.
manager ABS.SPEC man
The man is a manager.

(198) Tidtu a mangalat a sakit i bilas
truth LNK contagious LNK disease ABS.NONSPEC sore eyes
Sore eyes is a very contagious disease.

(199) Babai si Fatima
girl ABS name
Fatima is a girl



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The predicate nominal clauses in the above samples (197-199) is bamalihala manager, tidtu
a mangalat a sakit very contagious disease, and babai girl respectively. In sample (197), the noun
mama man is being equated to the position of the noun bamalihala manager. In sample (198), the
noun bilas sore eyes is being equated and included to the noun phrase tidtu a mangalat a sakit very
contagious disease. Finally, in sample (199), the noun Fatima is being included in the class of the
noun babai girl. Notice that the predicate nominals bamalihala manager, tidtu a mangalat a sakit
very contagious disease, and babai girl are not marked by case markers.
1.7 Pluralization of Maguindanao Nouns
Pluralization in Maguindanao nouns is expressed by adding the particle manga before the
noun, however this is usually limited to count nouns (manga wata children). Below are some
examples of pluralized count nouns.
(200) manga kanuko
PL nail
nails

(201) manga pulis
PL police
policemen

(202) manga walay
PL house
houses

Mass nouns such as ig water and pedtad sand cannot be pluralized, however when used
with manga, could express (1) idea of several masses: manga pedtad heaps of sand instead of
sands, or (2) implied deletion of a quantifier: manga ig may be the shortened form of manga basu a
ig glasses of water.
When mass nouns are accompanied by quantifiers, the quantified mass noun can be pluralized
through its container. Rather than the mass noun being pluralized, it is the container being pluralized.
For example,
(203) manga saku a begas
PL sack PRT rice
sacks of rice

(204) manga lata a gatas
PL can PRT milk
cans of milk

In samples (203-204), it is not the mass nouns begas rice and gatas milk that are pluralized
but rather their containers saku sack and lata can respectively.

Also, the particle manga does not necessarily appear beside the noun since adjectival
modifiers can surface in between manga and the noun. For example,




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(205) manga malendu a kanuko
PL long LNK nail
long nails

(206) manga dilidsu a pulis
PL honest LNK police
honest policemen

(207) manga masela a walay
PL big LNK house
big houses

In samples (205-207), the pluralizer particle manga does not appear beside the nouns kanuko
nails, pulis police, and walay house that it is pluralizing. In between manga and the nouns are the
adjectival modifiers malendu long, dilidsu honest, and masela big respectively.

1.8 Summary of Maguindanao Nouns

Maguindanao nouns have three types: simple, derived, and compound. There are three types
of relationships within a compound noun seen in Maguindanao: descriptive, possessive, and objective.
Maguindanao nouns also have subclasses which expresses a distinction between concrete or abstract,
proper or common, and count or mass.
There are two types of case markers discussed in this study, determiners, and personal
pronouns. Maguindanao case markers express the distinction between absolutive, ergative, and
oblique. Determiners in Maguindanao, also express difference between personal nouns and non-
personal nouns, they also express difference between specific and non-specific nouns. Personal
pronouns in Maguindanao, aside from the three cases mentioned above, also express a fourth type,
used as topical nominal. Personal pronouns also express number, and person in Maguindanao.
Maguindanao nouns can be modified or expanded to express more information about the noun.
Maguindanao nouns can be modified with demonstratives, adjectives, numerals, verbs, adverbs, and
possessives. A modified noun can also be used again to modify another noun.
There are three general environments where Maguindanao nouns can be found, as subject or
object of a clause, as head of a noun phrase, and as a predicate nominal.
Lastly, Maguindanao nouns can be pluralized by adding the particle manga to a count noun or
to a quantified mass noun.









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2 Maguindanao Adjectives and their Morphosyntax
Universally, an adjective is a word that is used in a noun phrase to specify some property of
the head noun of the phrase (Payne, 1997). One distinguishing feature of adjectives is its ability to
express differing degrees or intensity (de Guzman, 1996). This study assumes that there is indeed a
lexical category of adjectives in Maguindanao, so Maguindanao adjectives will also be defined here as
such. This was established by the researcher based on its distribution and structure different from
nouns and verbs which will be discussed in the next sections.
If a language has a morphosyntactically distinct class of adjectives, these adjectives will
express at least the following properties: age, dimension, value, color, physical characteristics, human
propensity, and speed (Payne, 1997). Maguindanao adjectives also express the following properties as
seen in the examples below. The property of state was also added as it was also observed from the
data.
Table 6: Maguindanao Adjectives
Maguindanao Adjectives
age manguda young; matuwa old
dimension masela big; malembeg tall; malendu long
value mapia good; mawag bad
color maliga red; binaning yellow
physical characteristics mategas hard; maugat heavy; matilak smooth
human propensity matipu jealous; maangias happy; balaitungan smart
speed malangkas fast; malugad slow
state pesa broken; kagingay pregnant; langot drunk; lugat tired

2.1 Types of Adjectives
Maguindanao adjectives appear in three types: (1) bare adjectives, (2) ma- adjectives, and (3)
derived adjectives. A fourth type, which is a (4) compound adjective, might be possible, but it was not
found in the data.
2.1.1 Bare Adjectives
The first type of adjectives are bare adjectives. They are adjectives that appear as roots and
need not take affixes to be interpreted as adjectives. Some examples of bare adjectives are below.
(208) amang dumb, mute deaf
(209) bagu new
(210) dalidsu honest
(211) salik faithful
(212) tepuk completely dry, dehydrated





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2.1.2 Ma-Adjectives
The second type of adjectives in Maguindanao are ma-adjectives. They are adjectives that
need to take the prefix ma- with an adjectival root in order to become adjectives. For example,
(213) mailaw raw, not cooked
(214) makiput tight; narrow
(215) malendu long
(216) masagipa hospitable
(217) matebpul dull (as a blade)

In samples (213-217), the adjectival roots are ilaw, kaput, lendu, sagipa, and tebpul
respectively. Ma- prefixes to them in order for them to become full adjectives.

2.1.3 Derived Adjectives
The third type of adjectives in Maguindanao are derived adjectives. The morphological
process of affixation can be used to derive an adjective from other categories such as nouns or verbs,
the formed word is called a derived adjective. Derived adjectives are thus adjectives composed of a
root plus a derivational affix. Below are the derivational affixes found in Maguindanao adjectives
extracted from the dictionary and established based on the patterns found. These were confirmed with
the native speakers.
A. bala- + Verb used to describe someone who is inclined in doing/habitually does the verb
bala- + Verb = Derived adjective
218 bala- + amal to devote oneself to God = bala-amal religious, prayerful
219 bala- + dusa to become sinful = baladusa sinful
220 bala- + sina to commit adultery = balasina fornicator, adulterous
221 bala- + sugay to joke = balasugay jokester, prankster
222 bala- + tabang to aid = balatabang helpful

Based on the examples found, bala- is attached to verbs done by humans, thus the adjectives
that they form are also only used to describe humans. In sample (218), bala- is prefixed to the verb
amal to devote oneself to God forming the derived adjective bala-amal. The derived adjective bala-
amal is used to describe someone who is inclined in doing the verb amal to devote oneself to God,
thus bala-amal has the meaning of religious or prayerful. In sample (222), bala- is prefixed to the
verb tabang to aid forming the derived adjective balatabang. The derived adjective balatabang is
used to describe someone who is inclined in doing the verb tabang to aid, thus balatabang has the
meaning of helpful. The same process applies to the rest of the samples.
B. Noun + en having many of the Noun
Noun + -en = Derived adjective
223 utangrass + -en = utanen grassy
224 watu rock + -en = watun rocky
225 pamenus pimple + -en = pamenusen pimpled
226 tenek thorns + -en = teneken having many thorns
227 suag bones + -en = suagen having many bones

The suffix -en when attached to vowel-final words, assimilates to the vowel leaving only n
behind. For example, watu + en watuen watun. In sample (223), utan grass is suffixed with


42

en forming the derived adjective utanen. The derived adjective utanen describes something as having
many grasses, thus making the meaning of utanen grassy. In sample (224), watu rock is suffixed
with en forming the derived adjective watun. The derived adjective watun describes something as
having many rocks, thus making the meaning of watun rocky. This process applies to the rest of the
samples.
C. tali- + Verb one who does the verb repeatedly
tali- + Verb = Derived adjective
228 tali- + sugu to command, to order = talisugu bossy, demanding
229 tali- + awid to engage in farming = taliawid one who often farms
230 tali- + bunu to kill, to murder = talibunu one who often kills
231 tali- + adat to respect or honor = taliadat respectful
232 tali- + lakaw to walk = talilakaw one who often travels

Based on the examples found, tali- is attached to verbs done by humans, thus the adjectives
that they form are also only used to describe humans. In sample (228), tali- is prefixed to the verb
sugu to command, to order forming the derived adjective talisugu. The derived adjective talisugu is
used to describe someone who does the verb sugu to command, to order repeatedly, thus talisugu
has the meaning of bossy, demanding. In sample (232), tali- is prefixed to the verb lakaw to walk
forming the derived adjective talilakaw. The derived adjective talilakaw is used to describe someone
who is inclined in doing the verb lakaw to walk, thus talilakaw has the meaning of one who often
walks (in this case, travel). The same process applies to the rest of the samples.
D. -in- + Base describes the state of an entity after the Base has been done to the entity
Base + -in- = Derived adjective
233 sadul gold + -in- = sinadul gold-plated
234 putus to wrap + -in- = pinutus wrapped
235 sendag to fry in oil or lard + -in- = sinendag fried
236 sumbali to ritually slaughter + -in- = sinumbali ritually slaughtered animal meat
237 tebped to cut + -in- = tinebped cut

In sample (234), -in- is infixed to the verb putus to wrap forming the derived adjective
pinutus. The derived adjective pinutus is used to describe the state of an entity after the verb putus to
wrap has been done to the entity, thus pinutus has the meaning of wrapped. In sample (235), -in- is
infixed to the verb sendag to fry in oil or lard forming the derived adjective sinendag. The derived
adjective sinendag is used to describe the state of an entity after the verb sendag to fry in oil or lard
has been done to the entity, thus sinendag has the meaning of fried. The same process applies to the
rest of the samples.
E. maka- + Verb ability suggest potentials which are named by the verbal roots
maka- + Verb = Derived adjective
238 maka- + patay to kill = makapatay deadly
239 maka- + langut to be drunk = makalangut can lead to dizziness or intoxication
240 maka- + bales to pronounce = makabales can pronounce
241 maka- + binasa to destroy = makabanges destructive
242 maka- + pisek to be blind = makapisek can lead to blindness

In sample (238), maka- is prefixed to the verb patay to kill forming the derived adjective
makapatay. The derived adjective makapatay is used to suggest the potential of an entity to do the


43

verb patay to kill, thus makapatay has the meaning of ability to kill/deadly. In sample (239), maka-
is prefixed to the verb langut to be drunk forming the derived adjective makalangut. The derived
adjective makalangut is used to suggest the potential of an entity to do the verb langut to be drunk,
thus makalangut has the meaning of can lead to intoxication. The same process applies to the rest of
the samples.
2.2 Degrees
One distinguishing feature of adjectives is its ability to express differing degrees or intensity
(de Guzman, 1996). This is also the same with Maguindanao adjectives. However, not all adjectives
can be graded. Absolutes like minatay dead and extremes like mustakil impossible cannot appear
as nia minatay more dead or mustakil gaid very impossible.
Degrees in Maguindanao adjectives were elicited and based on the data, this can be expressed
by means of affixation or through addition of particles. Five degrees will be discussed here, (1)
Dimutive, (2) Elative, (3) Comparative, (4) Contrastive, and (5) Superlative.
2.2.1 Dimunitive
Dimunitive degree expresses that the noun being described only possesses some of the quality,
but not fully having that quality. In Maguindanao, this is expressed by reduplicating the root of the
ma-adjective and attaching it at the end of the stem. Rule 11 below shows how to make a ma-adjective
to a diminutive, while (243-245) below are sample sentences with dimunitive adjectives.
Rule 11: ma- + root + rootRED
(243) Su ig sa minanga na ma-timus~timus
ABS.SPEC water OBL mouth.of. river TOP ADJ-salty~DIM
The water at the mouth of the river is slightly salty.

(244) Ma-nisan~nisan a babay i nag-kaluma
ADJ-beautiful~DIM LNK woman ABS.NONSPEC INT.COMP-marry
ni Abubakar
ERG name
Abubakar got married to quite a beautiful lady.

(245) Ma-sela-sela i sukay a katalima ku
ADJ-big~DIM ABS.NONSPEC salary LNK INT.INCM-receive 1ERG.SG
The salary Im receiving is quite huge.

In the examples (243-245) above, the nouns ig water, babay woman, and sukay salary
are described by the dimunitive adjectives matimus-timus slightly salty, manisan-nisan quite
beautiful, and masela-sela quite huge respectively. The nouns do not completely have the qualities
of the adjective but possesses only some of it. So in (243), the water in the river is salty but not
completely salty, while in (245), the salary received is huge, but not completely huge, probably above
average, but not entirely high.
The words sa peydu a little (in Tag. ng kaunti) can also be used to express the dimunitive
degree in Maguindanao. Sa peydu is added right after the adjective. Bare adjectives and derived
adjectives in the dimunitive degree are expressed like this rather than like (243-245) above. Below
are examples of bare adjectives and derived adjectives in the dimunitive degree.



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(246) Besu sa peydu si apu a mama nin
deaf dimunitive ABS grandfather 3POSS.SG
His/her grandfather is a bit deaf.

(247) Suag-en sa peydu su seda a nia
Bone-ADJ OBL little ABS.SPEC fish LNK DEM.PROX
This fish is quite bony

In sample (246), the bare adjective besu deaf is followed by sa peydu, thus expressing a
dimutive degree. The bare adjective is describing the apu a mama nin his/her grandfather,
expressing that the grandfather is quite deaf, but not completely deaf, meaning he could hear a little,
although not so good. In sample (247), the derived adjective suagen bony is followed by sa peydu,
thus expressing a dimutive degree. The derived adjective is describing the seda a nia this fish,
expressing that the fish is quite bony, but not completely bony.
2.2.2 Elative
Elative degree expresses a very high degree of some property without comparison to some
other state of affairs (Bussmann, 1996). This degree is also known as intensive or absolute superlative.
The elative degree is also morphologically present in Maguindanao adjectives and could be expressed
by prefixing mig- to the the nominalized form of the ma-adjective and reduplicating the root of a ma-
adjective and attaching it word-finally. Rule 12 below shows how to make a ma-adjective an elative,
while (260-262) show sample sentences with elative adjectives.
Rule 12: mig + NOM of ma-adj + REDroot
(248) P<in>a-kan ku sa utan i
CAUS-<TR.COMP>eat 1ERG.SG OBL grass ABS.NONSPEC
mig-kasebud~sebud a kambing
ELA-fatness~ELA LNK goat
I fed grass to a very fat goat.

(249) Nakatulog si Fatima lu sa
INT.COMP-sleep ABS name DEM.OBL.DIST OBL.NONSPEC
mig-katenggaw~tenggaw a igan
ELA-coldness~ELA LNK bed
Fatima fell asleep on a very cold bed.

(250) Mig-kapia~pia i palangay nu guru
mig-goodness~ELA ABS.NONSPEC attitude POSS teacher
ko
1POSS.SG
My teachers attitude is very nice.

In the samples (248-250) the elative adjectives migkasebud-sebud very fat, migkatenggaw-
tenggaw very cold, and migkapia-pia very good, are all expressing a very high degree of the
properties of kambing goat, igan bed, and palangay attitude, without comparison to other
entities.


45

The word gaid very is also used to express the elative degree in Maguindanao adjectives.
Gaid is always added after the adjective. Bare adjectives and derived adjectives are intensified like
this rather than like (248-250) above. However, ma-adjectives can also be intensified using gaid.
(251) Ma-gatel gaid su lima ku
ADJ-itchy very ABS.SPEC hand 1POSS.SG
My hand is very itchy

(252) Ma-liga gaid su tangila nin
ADJ-red very ABS.SPEC ears 3POSS.SG
His ear is very red

(253) Ig-en gaid su nanas
water-ADJ very ABS.SPEC pineapple
The pineapple is very juicy.

In samples (251-253), the adjectives magatel itchy, maliga red, and igen juicy, are all
followed by gaid thus expressing a very high degree of the properties of the nouns lima hand,
tangila ear, and nanas pineapple respectively.
2.2.3 Comparative
Comparative degree is expressed when there are two nouns being compared as having the
same degree of quality. In Maguindanao, this is not expressed in the adjectival form but rather in the
nominalized form of the adjective. The following examples were elicited from the informants,
(254) Magidsan sa kanisan si Fatima endu si Maria
equal OBL beauty ABS name CONJ ABS name
Fatimas and Marias beauty are equal

(255) Magidsan sa itungan si Abdul endu si Fahid
equal OBL intelligence ABS name CONJ ABS name
Abduls and Fahids intelligence are equal

In the samples (254-255) above, the adjective magidsan the same, alike, equal is used to
describe the kanisan beauty and the itungan intelligence of the nouns Fatima, Maria and Abdul,
Fahid respectively. Notice that the entities having the qualities of beauty and intelligence are marked
by si, and they are connected by the conjunction endu.
On the other hand, notice the samples (256-257) below,
(256) Kapagidsan sa kagasa ni Fatima si Maria
(kapag)-idsan OBL thinness ERG name ABS name
Maria is as thin as Fatima

(257) Kapagidsan na kalugat ni Abdul si Fahid
(kapag)-idsan ERG tiredness ERG name ABS name
Fahid is as tired as Abdul

In the samples (256-257) above, there is a standard where the subject is being compared to.
The subject is marked by the absolutive while the standard is marked by an ergative determiner. In


46

(256), Fatimas thinness is the standard to which Marias thinness is compared to. Fatimas thinness,
the standard is marked by ni, while Marias thinness, the subject, is marked by si. They are compared
through the word kapagidsan in equal. In (257), Abduls weariness is the standard to which Fahids
weariness is being compared to. Abduls weariness, the standard, is marked by ni, while Fahids
weariness, the subject, is marked by si. In both sentences, the comparison represents equal degree in
qualities.
It can also be speculated that maybe, Maguindanao do not really have a comparative degree
since the adjective magidsan can also be used on other kinds of sentences and not just on the
comparative degree.
(258) Su tanasak na maka-palaguy magidsan sa liwawaw
ABS.SPEC mudskipper TOP INT.CONT-run both OBL surface
na lupa endu ig.
POSS soil CONJ water
The mudskipper can run both on land and water.

In the sentence (258) above, magidsan is not comparing any quality but tells that a tanasak
mudskipper can run in both liwawaw na lupa land and in the ig water.
2.3.4 Contrastive
Contrastive degree is expressed when there are two nouns being compared where the other
has a higher degree of quality than the other.
In Maguindanao, this could be expressed by adding the particle niya before the adjective. The
subject, which is indicated in the absolutive case is being contrasted to another entity, which is usually
in the oblique case. The quality in which the two are being compared is expressed by the adjective.
The one in the absolutive case always has the higher degree of quality than the one in the oblique case.
Observe the sentences below,
(259) Niya bakibaken i manga babay sa manga mama
more garrulous ABS.NONSPEC PL woman OBL PL man
Women are more garrulous than men.

(260) Niya ma-nisan si Petra kani Salma
more ADJ-pretty ABS name OBL name
Petra is prettier than Salma

(261) Niya ma-ledsik i walay ni Abdul sa walay
more ADJ-dirty ABS.NONSPEC house POSS name OBL house
na kakaba
POSS cockroach
Abduls house is dirtier than a cockroachs.

In sample (259), the subject manga babay women, marked by the absolutive, i is contrasted
to manga mama men, marked by the oblique sa, where manga babay women have a higher degree
of the quality balibaken garrulous. In (260) the subject Petra, marked by the absolutive si is
contrasted to Salma (marked by the oblique kani) where Petra has a higher degree of the quality
manisan beautiful. In (261), the subject walay ni Abdul Abduls house is contrasted to walay na
kakaba, cockroachs house, where Abduls house has a higher degree of the quality maledsik dirty.


47

In all the sentences above, those marked by the absolutive markers (i, si) have a higher degree
of quality than those marked in the oblique case (sa, kani).

2.2.5 Superlative
Superlative degree expresses that a noun has the greatest degree of quality compared to all the
other nouns in the utterance. In Maguindanao, this could be expressed by adding the particle sa
langon (in Tag. sa lahat) after the adjective. It was also found in the corpus that the morpheme
pinaka- may also be prefixed to the adjective to express the superlative, the particle sa langon may or
may not be attached with the pinaka- formed superlative. However, this phenemonon, according to
the informants is due to borrowing from Tagalog and may sound redundant if both pinaka- and sa
langon are in the same utterance. Below are samples where the adjectives are in the superlative
degree (in bold).
(262) Nia i ma-piya sa langon a dalpa a
1ABS.PROX ABS ADJ-beautiful superlative LNK place LNK
nangayan ku
COMP-angay-TR 1ABS.SG
This is the most beautiful place I've ever been to.

(263) P<in>amili nin i ma-pia sa langun a
<TR.COMP>select 3ERG.SG ABS ADJ-good superlative LNK
lagas, endu p<in>amula nin
seeds CONJ <TR.COMP>plant 3ERG.SG
He selected the best seeds, and planted it.

(264) Ma-nisan sa langon si Fatima sa Pilipinas
ADJ-beautiful superlative ABS name OBL Philiippines
Fatima is the most beautiful in the Philippines.

Sample (262) emphasizes that nia this is the most beautiful place the speaker has been to of
all the place he has ever been to. In (263), among all the lagas seeds, he selected the mapia sa
langun best. In (264), it expresses that Fatima is the most beautiful manisan sa langon, in the
Philippines, compared to all the other people in the Philippines.
2.3 Distribution of Maguindanao Adjectives
Based on the data, adjectives in Maguindanao can be found in three general environments: (1)
as a head of a predicative adjective, (2) as a descriptive modifier of a noun phrase, and (3) as a
nominalized topic. An adjective modifier can be found in all noun phrases, so it can be assumed that
an adjective can be found in all the places where a noun phrase can be found.
2.3.1 Maguindanao Adjective as the Head of a Predicate Adjective
Maguindanao adjectives can be found as the head of a predicate adjective. A predicate
adjective is a clause where the main semantic content is expressed by an adjective (Payne, 1997).
Since predicates in Maguindanao are sentence-initial, predicate adjectives can be found initially in
simple sentences.
Below are some of the samples of Maguindanao adjective as a head of a predicate adjective.
The predicate adjective is in bold.


48

(265) Ma-langkas gaid i ka-lakaw nin
ADJ-fast very ABS NOM-walk 3POSS.SG
He walks very fast. (His walking is very fast.)

(266) Ma-bagel su agus nu ig
ADJ-strong ABS.SPEC current POSS water
The current of the water is strong.

(267) Bali-kayan su ali ku a babay
ADJ-embarass ABS.SPEC sibling 1POSS.SG LNK girl
My sister is shy.

(268) Bagu su banggala nin
new ABS.SPEC clothes 3POSS.SG
His clothes is new

In samples (265-268), the adjectives malangkas fast, mabagel strong, balikayan shy, and
bagu new are predicates describing the noun heads kalakaw walking, agus tide, ali sibling and
banggala clothes respectively. All the adjectives are found sentence-initially.
2.3.2 Maguindanao Adjective as Adjective Modifier of a Noun Phrase
Maguindanao adjectives can also be found as an adjective modifier of a noun phrase. The
noun and the adjective are connected by inserting the linker a between them. According to the
informants, the position of the noun or the adjective does not matter, it could appear as (adjective +
LNK + noun) or (noun + LNK + adjective), however the pattern (adjective + LNK + noun) is found in
more sentences in the data (More of this in section 1.4.2). For example,
(269) Ma-peled su mailaw a saging
ADJ-tart ABS.SPEC unripe LNK banana
The unripe banana is tart.

(270) Ma-peled su saging a mailaw
ADJ-tart ABS.SPEC banana LNK unripe
The unripe banana is tart.

In sample (269), the adjective mailaw unripe appears before the noun saging banana,
while in (270), the noun saging banana appears before the adjective mailaw unripe. According to
the informants, there is no difference in meaning between the two sentences.
Below are more examples of Maguindao adjectives as adjective modifiers of noun phrases.
The noun phrases are in bold for easy reference.
(271) Su balaitungan a mama na kasaligan.
ABS.SPEC smart LNK man TOP reliable
An intelligent man can be depended upon.

(272) K<inem>an nu wata su suag-en a seda
<TR.COMP>eat ERG.SPEC child ABS.SPEC bone-ADJ LNK fish
The child ate the bony fish



49

(273) G<in>ated nin su kayu a ma-sela
<TR.COMP>-cut 3ERG.SG ABS.SPEC tree LNK ADJ-big
He cut the big tree.

In samples (271) and (272), the adjectives balaitungan smart and suagen bony describe
the noun mama man and seda fish respectively. They have the (adjective + LNK + noun) pattern.
In sample (273), the adjective masela big describes the noun kayu tree. It is in the (noun + LNK +
adjective) pattern.
2.3.3 Nominalized Topics
Adjectives in Maguindanao can appear after determiners and act as noun-like arguments. For
example,
(274) Seka i ma-pauk
2TOP.SG ABS ADJ-lazy
You are a lazy one

(275) Na-masa sekanin sa ma-pulu
INT.COMP-buy 3ABS.SG OBL ADJ-expensive
He bought an expensive one

(276) Ay nin su madu
feet 3POSS.SG ABS stinky
The stinky one is his feet

(277) T<im>ebpu i ma-lambeg sa langon
<INT.COMP>jump ABS.NONSPEC ADJ-tall superlative
The tallest one jumped

In the example (274) above, the adjective mapauk lazy appears after the absolutive
determiner i. Rather than having the meaning of lazy, it is more a lazy one. Mapauk lazy here
does not actually describe seka you, but equates seka you with a lazy one. In (275), the adjective
mapulu expensive appears after the oblique determiner sa. Rather than having the meaning of
expensive, it is more the expensive one. Mapulu expensive here does not actually describe
anything (maybe a zero-subject), but functions as the object of the verb namasa bought. In (276), the
adjective madu stinky appears after the absolutive determiner su. Rather than having the meaning of
stinky, it is more the stinky one. Madu stinky here does not actually describe ay nin his feet, but
equates ay nin his feet with the stinky one. Finally in sample (277), the superlative adjective
malembeg sa langon tallest appears after the absolutive determiner i. Rather than having the
meaning of tallest, it is more the tallest one. Malembeg sangon tallest, rather than an adjective,
appears as the subject of the verb timebpu jumped.
2.4 Pluralization of Maguindanao Adjectives
Adjectives in Maguindanao can be pluralized by adding the special particle manga before the
bare adjective, the root of the ma-adjective or the derived adjective.
(278) Manga bagu su banggala nin
PL new ABS.SPEC clothes 3POSS.SG
His clothes are new


50



(279) Ibpa-malantay nu manga wata su manga
TR.COMP-throw ERG.SPEC PL child ABS.SPEC PL
didu a watu
small LNK stone
The children are throwing small stones.

(280) Manga sebud a kakanen i napa-masa nin
PL fat LNK food ABS.NONSPEC TR.COMP-buy 3ERG.ABS
The things he bought were fatty foods.

(281) K<inem>an nu wata su manga suag-en
<TR.COMP>eat ERG.SPEC child ABS.SPEC PL bone-ADJ
a manga seda
LNK PL fish
The child ate the bony fishes

In sample (278), the bare adjective bagu new is pluralized by adding the particle manga
before it describing banggala clothes. In samples (279-280) the ma-adjectives madidu small, and
masebud fatty are pluralized by adding the particle manga before their roots didu, and sebud,
describing the nouns watu stone and kakanen food respectively. In (281), the derived adjective
igen juicy is pluralized by adding the particle manga before its derived form, describing nanas
pineapple. These adjectives, when pluralized, imply that the noun they are describing is also plural.
For example in (279), the pluralized adjective manga didu small (pl.) is describing the noun watu
stone. Notice that the noun watu is not pluralized yet the pluralized adjective manga didu entails
watu its plurality. The same can be observed with (278), where the pluralized adjective manga bagu
new (pl.) describes banggala clothes. Notice that the noun banggala is not pluralized yet the
pluralized adjective manga bagu entails banggala its plurality.

2.5 Summary of Maguindanao Adjectives
Maguindanao adjectives are of three types: (1) bare adjectives, (2) ma-adjectives, and (3)
derived adjectives. Based on the study, they express five adjective degrees: (1) dimunitive, (2) elative,
(3) comparative, (4) contrastive, and (5) superlative. Below is a table of rules showing how these five
degrees are formed.
Table 7: Expression of Degrees in Maguindanao Adjectives
Degrees Rules
Dimunitive ma-adjective + root RED
adj + sa peydu
Elative mig + NOM of adj + rootRED
adj + gaid
Comparative magidsan + sa + NOM of adj + X + endu + Y
kapagidsan + sa + NOM of adj + ni X (standard) + si Y
Contrastive niya + adj + ABS (higher) + OBL (lower)
Superlative adj + sa langon



51

However, one can speculate that Maguindanao does not really have the comparative degree
since the adjective magidsan used to express this degree can also be used in other types of sentences
that are rnot in the comparative degree.
Maguindanao adjectives can be found in these three general environments, (1) as head of
predicate adjective, (2) as the modifier of noun phrase, and (3) as a nominalized topic.
Finally, Maguindanao adjectives can be pluralized by adding the particle manga to the bare
adjective, root of the ma-adjective, and the derived adjective.






























52

3 Distinctive Characteristics of Maguindanao
Nouns and Adjectives
Maguindanao is not entirely different from Tagalog since both belong to the same language
family, the Greater Central Philippines. There are, however distinctive characteristics of Maguindanao
nouns and adjectives and their morphosyntax which gives us a deeper appreciation of the language.
For Maguindanao nouns, its case markers present an absolutive-ergative system where S and
P are marked the same while A is marked separately. Maguindanao non-personal determiners are
special compared to Tagalog in that they express the specifity of the nouns they are marking. Specifity
expresses whether an entity being talked about is known to the speaker or not.
To show contrast between specific and non-specific determiners in Maguindanao, below are
sentences showing the difference between the two. The samples used are in the absolutive case, the
noun phrase in the absolutive case is in bold.
(282) K<in>an na papanuk
<TR.COMP>eat ERG.NONSPEC bird
i nanas
ABS.NONSPEC pineapple
A bird ate a pineapple.

(283) Kinan na papanuk su pineapple
<TR.COMP>eat ERG.NONSPEC bird ABS.SPEC nanas
Kinan na papanuk su nanas.
A bird ate the pineapple.

In sample (282), the determiner used to mark nanas pineapple is i, a non-specific determiner.
From this sentence, one can assume that the speaker does not know which specific pineapple the bird
ate. On the other hand, in (283), since nanas pineapple is marked by su, a specific determiner, one
can assume that the speaker knows which specific pineapple the bird ate.

Another distinctive characteristic found in Maguindanao determiners are their oblique non-
personal markers. In Maguindanao, one will not confuse an entity as being an oblique. Once an
oblique, it is always marked by sa or kanu. (non-specific and specific respectively). In Tagalog, this is
not so. Tagalog has two oblique markers, the sa-oblique and the ng-oblique (in antipassives, see 1.3.1).
This might lead to confusion since the ng-oblique in Tagalog has the same form as its ng-ergative. To
make this more clear, below are sentences showing the oblique markers in both Maguindanao and
Tagalog.

(284) (Maguindanao)
Na-ulog su babai sa paliungan
INT.COMP-fall ABS.SPEC girl OBL.NONSPEC window
The girl fell from a window.






53

(285) (Tagalog)
Na-hulog ang babae sa bintana
INT.COMP-fall ABS girl OBL window
The girl fell from a window.

(286) (Maguindanao)
Nang-uta sa lugo su pendalo
INT.COMP-vomit OBL blood ABS.SPEC sick person
The sick person vomited blood

(287) (Tagalog)
S<um>uka ng dugo ang may sakit
<INT.COMP>vomit OBL blood ABS EXIST sickness
The sick person vomited blood

(288) (Maguindanao)
K<inem>an nu wata su mangga
<TR.COMP>eat ERG.SPEC child ABS.SPEC mango
The child ate the mango.

(289) (Tagalog)
K<in>ain ng bata ang mangga.
<TR.COMP>eat ERG child ABS mango
The child ate the mango.

Sample (284-285) correspond to each other, (284) is in Maguindanao while (285) is in
Tagalog. Observe that both use the oblique marker sa to determine the location of the falling of the
girl which are the obliques paliungan windowand bintana window respectively. On the other hand,
in the antipassive
6
sentences (286-287), (286) is in Maguindanao, and (287) is in Tagalog respectively,
notice that in Maguindanao (286), the oblique marker sa is used to express the oblique lugo blood
on the other hand, inTagalog (287), the oblique marker ng is used to express the oblique dugo blood.
In Tagalog, this can be confusing since ergatives are also marked with ng, as seen in sample (289),
where the A, the agent bata child of the transitive verb kinain ate is marked by the ergative ng.
Again, unlike Tagalog, in Maguindanao, it is clear whether an entity is an oblique or an ergative as
they are clearly marked by separate morphemes, sa and nu respectively. This can be observed in
samples (284) and (286) for the oblique, and (288) for the ergative.

Another observation found in Maguindao is regarding the interchangeable use of sa and kanu.
As already discussed in section 1.3.1, sa and kanu can only be interchangeably used if they are
determining directional, source, and locative obliques. On the other hand, kanu cannot be used when
determining oblique objects as in antipassive sentences, only sa can. When this is compared to
Tagalog, the sa and the kanu that are interchangeable manifests as the sa-oblique marker in Tagalog.
On the other hand, the oblique in Maguindanao where sa and kanu are not interchangeable (where
only sa can be used) as manifests in Tagalog as the ng-oblique marker.


6
See 1.3.1 again for the explanation


54

Below is a table showing the correspondence of Tagalog and Maguindanao oblique case
markers.

Table 8: Maguindanao and Tagalog Oblique Markers
Type of oblique Maguindanao Tagalog
Oblique object in antipassives sa (oblique) ng-oblique
Oblique source, direction, location sa/kanu (oblique) sa-oblique

Using the samples (284-285) above, one can see that sa is used to determine the oblique
location bintana window in the Tagalog sentence (285). In connection to this, the Maguindanao
sample in (284), can also be expressed as Naulog su babai kanu paliungan The girl fell from the
window. However, in the antipassives samples (286-287), the oblique object dugo blood in the
Tagalog sentence (287) is determined by ng. In connection to this, the Maguindanao corresponding
sample in (286) cannot be expressed as *Nanguta kanu lugo su pendalo The sick person vomited
blood. As already discussed in section 1.3.1, this might be because antipassive oblique objects
receive a nonspecific interpretation, so using kanu, a specific determiner, will be contradicting this
statement.

Another distinct characteristic in Maguindanao is found in their personal pronouns. Personal
pronouns in Maguindanao are special in that they have four sets, those that mark the (1) absolutive
case, (2) genitive case, (3) oblique case, and (4) topic nominals. In Tagalog, the absolutive case
personal pronouns and the topic nominal personal pronouns have the same form, with only the second
person singular ka and ikaw having different forms. In Maguindanao, the absolutive case personal
pronouns and topic nominal personal pronouns have different forms, with only the third person
singular having the same form, sekanin. For this comparison, see the table below. The ones in grey
highlights are those personal pronouns with the same absolutive and topical nominal forms.
Table 9: Maguindanao and Tagalog Absolutive and Topical Nominal Personal Pronouns
Maguindanao Tagalog
Number Person
Absolutive
S/P
Topical
Nominal
Absolutive
S/P
Topical
Nominal
Singular
First aku saki ako ako
Second ka seka ka ikaw
Third sekanin sekanin siya siya
Dual First & Second ta sekita kata kata
Plural
First Inclusive tanu sekitanu tayo tayo
First Exclusive kami sekami kami kami
Second kanu sekanu kayo kayo
Third silan sekanilan sila sila

Samples (135) and (109) are repeated in samples (290-291) below to show the contrast
between Maguindanao and Tagalog absolutive and topical nominal personal pronouns. The
corresponding Tagalog sentences of (290-291) are (292-293) respectively. The respective pronouns
are in bold.
(290) (Maguindanao, Topical nominal)
Saki i pinab-paigo ni Abdul sa suka
1TOP.SG ABS TR.COMP-bathe ERG name OBL vinegar
I was the one that Abdul poured vinegar on


55


(291) (Maguindanao, Absolutive)
<In>ebut aku na lapinig
<TR.COMP>bite 1ABS.SG ERG.NONSPEC bee
A bee bit me.

(292) (Tagalog, Topical nominal)
Ako ang pina-ligu-an ni Abdul ng suka
1TOP.SG ABS TR.COMP-bathe ERG name OBL vinegar
I was the one that Abdul poured vinegar on

(293) (Tagalog, Absolutive)
K<in>agat ako ng bubuyog
<TR.COMP>bite 1ABS.SG ERG bee
A bee bit me.

In the Maguindanao samples (290-291) above, one can observe that saki is used to express the
topic of the sentence as in (290) while aku is used to express the absolutive P of the transitive verb
inebut to bite in (291). Saki and aku have different forms. On the other hand, in their corresponding
Tagalog samples (292-293), one can observe that ako is used to express the topic of the sentence in
(292) while ako is used to express the absolutive P of the transitive verb kinagat to bite in (293). Aku
and aku have the same form.
Another distinctive characteristic of Maguindao lies in the expansions of its nouns. In noun
heads modified by demonstratives, the demonstratives can only appear after the noun head (294) and
not before the noun head (295). In Tagalog, demonstratives modifying a noun head can appear before
or after the noun, as seen in samples (296-297) below.
(294) (Maguindanao)
tali a nia
string LNK DEM.PROX
this string

(295) (Maguindanao)
*nia a tali
DEM.PROX LNK string
this string

(296) (Tagalog)
tali na ito
string LNK DEM.PROX
this string

(297) (Tagalog)
ito=ng tali
DEM.PROX=LNK string
this string



56

As observed in the Maguindanao sample in (294), the demonstrative nia appears after the
noun tali string. (295) is ungrammatical, where nia appears before the noun tali string. On the
other hand, in the Tagalog samples (296-297), the demonstrative ito appears after and before the noun
tali string respectively, both are grammatical.

Related to this are possessive modifiers with noun heads. In Maguindanao, only the form of
ergative personal pronouns can be used to express possession of nouns (298-299), while in Tagalog,
both the ergative and the oblique forms of personal pronouns can be used, the only difference they
have is the position in which the pronouns appear. The former appears after the noun, as seen in (300),
while the latter appears before the nouns with a linker (301).

(298) (Maguindanao)
buk ku
hair 1ERG.SG
my hair

(299) (Maguindanao)
*laki a buk
1OBL.SG LNK hair
my hair

(300) (Tagalog)
buhok ko
hair 1ERG.SG
my hair

(301) (Tagalog)
akin=g buhok
1OBL.SG=LNK hair
my hair

In the Maguindanao sample in (298), the possessor is in the form of an ergative pronoun ku.
In (299) where the oblique pronoun laki is used, it is ungrammatical. On the other hand, in Tagalog
samples (300-301) the possessor is in the form of an ergative pronoun ku and oblique pronoun akin
respectively. In (300), ku appears after the noun buhok hair, while in (301) akin appears before the
noun buhok hair.

Last of the unique characteristics in Maguindanao nouns found in this study is seen in its
expansion of noun with numeral modifiers. While in Tagalog, the allomorph na/-ng is used to connect
nouns with numerals as in sample (304-305), in Maguindanao, there are two separate particles that
link cardinals and ordinals to nouns, which are ka and a respectively.

(302) (Maguindanao)
telu ka taw
three LNK person
three people




57

(303) (Maguindanao)
ika-telu a taw
ORD-three LNK person
third person

(304) (Tagalog)
tatlo=ng tao
three=LNK person
three people

(305) (Tagalog)
ika-tlo=ng tao
ORD-three=LNK person
third person

As seen in sample (302-303) above, Maguidanao utilizes two different morphemes to connect
cardinals and ordinals. In (302), the particle ka is used to connect the cardinal telu three with the
noun taw person. In (303), the particle a is used to connect the ordinal ikatelu third with the noun
taw person. In the Tagalog samples in (304-305), the enclitic ng is used to connect the cardinal
tatlo three and ordinal ikatlo third to the noun tao person respectively.

For Maguindanao adjectives, one interesting characteristic it has is manifested in its
pluralization. Maguindanao adjectives are pluralized by adding the particle manga to the root of a ma-
adjective, with this it is clear what the manga in a clause is pluralizing. For example,

(306) Manga nisan su manga wata ni Fatima
PL beautiful ABS.SPEC PL child POSS name
The children of Fatima are beautiful

In sample (306), the particle manga is used to express the plurality of the adjective nisan
beautiful. In comparison to Tagalog, *manga ganda does not appear in the language.

Another unique characteristic of Maguindanao adjectives is seen in its expression of the
comparative degree. In a sense, one can say that Maguindanao adjectives do not express the
comparative degree since the adjective is always transformed into a noun, for example,

(307) Magidsan sa itungan si Abdul endu si Fahid
equal OBL intelligence ABS name CONJ ABS name
Abduls and Fahids intelligence are equal (Abdul is as intelligent as Fahid)

In sample (307), the noun itungan intelligence is actually the quality the speaker wants to
compare. But as one can see, instead of the adjective balaitungan intelligent, it is presented as the
noun itungan intelligence and another adjective magidsan equal is used to express the comparison
of the quality.






58

4 Conclusion and Recommendation
Maguindanao nouns have three types: simple, derived, and compound. There are three types
of relationships within a compound noun seen in Maguindanao: descriptive, possessive, and objective.
Maguindanao nouns also have subclasses which expresses a distinction between concrete or abstract,
proper or common, and count or mass.
There are two types of case markers discussed in this study, determiners, and personal
pronouns. Maguindanao case markers express the distinction between absolutive, ergative, and
oblique. Determiners in Maguindanao, also express difference between personal nouns and non-
personal nouns, they also express difference between specific and non-specific nouns. Personal
pronouns in Maguindanao, aside from the three cases mentioned above, also express a fourth type
used as topical nominal. Personal pronouns also express number, and person in Maguindanao.
Maguindanao nouns can be modified or expanded to express more information about the noun.
Maguindanao nouns can be modified using demonstratives, adjectives, numerals, verbals, adverbials,
and possessives. A modified noun can also be used again to modify another noun.
There are three general environments where Maguindanao nouns can be found, as subject or
object of a clause, as head of a noun phrase, and as a predicate nominal.
Lastly, Maguindanao nouns can be pluralized by adding the particle manga to a count noun or
to a quantified mass noun.
Distinctive characteristics of Maguindanao nouns are seen in their case markers and nominal
expansions.
Maguindanao case markers present an absolutive-ergative system where S and P are marked
the same while A is marked separately. Case markers in Maguindanao are determiners and personal
pronouns. Maguindanao determiners are special compared to Tagalog in that they express the
specificity of the nouns they are marking. Specificity expresses whether an entity being talked about
is known to the speaker or not, thus Maguindanao has markers for specific and non-specific. Also, in
Maguindanao, one will not confuse obliques as they are always only marked by sa or kanu, compared
to Tagalog, where the ng-oblique has the same form as the ng-ergative. On the other hand, personal
pronouns in Maguindanao are also special in that they have four sets, those that mark the (1)
absolutive case, (2) genitive case, (3) oblique case, and (4) topic nominals. In Tagalog, the absolutive
case personal pronouns and the topic nominal personal pronouns have the same form, with only the
second person singular ka and ikaw having different forms. In Maguindanao, the absolutive case
personal pronouns and topic nominal personal pronouns have different forms, with only the third
person singular and having the same form, sekanin.
Another distinctive characteristic of Maguindao lies in the expansions of its noun, when they
are modified by demonstratives, possessives, and numerals. In noun heads modified by
demonstratives, the demonstratives can only appear after the noun head and not before the noun head.
In Tagalog, demonstratives modifying a noun head can appear before or after the noun. In noun heads
modified by possessives, only the form of ergative personal pronouns can be used to express
possession of nouns in Maguindanao, while in Tagalog, both the ergative and the oblique forms of
personal pronouns can be used. In noun heads modified by numerals, Maguindanao has two separate
particles that link cardinals and ordinals to nouns, which are ka and a respectively. In Tagalog, only
the allomorph na/-ng is used to connect nouns with numerals.


59


As for Maguindanao adjectives, they are of three types: (1) bare adjectives, (2) ma-adjectives
and (3) derived adjectives. Based on the study, they express five adjective degrees, (1) dimunitive, (2)
elative, (3) comparative, (4) contrastive, and (5) superlative. Maguindanao adjectives can be found in
these three general environments, (1) as head of predicate adjective, (2) as the modifier of noun
phrase, and (3) as a nominalized topic. Lastly, pluralization in Maguindanao adjectives can be
expressed by adding the particle manga to the bare adjective, root of the ma-adjective, and the derived
adjective.

For Maguindanao adjectives, one interesting characteristic it has is manifested in its
pluralization. Maguindanao adjectives are pluralized by adding the particle manga to the root of a ma-
adjective, with this it is clear what the manga in the clause is pluralizing.

Another unique characteristic of Maguindanao adjectives is seen in its expression of the
comparative degree. In a sense, one can say that Maguindanao adjectives do not express the
comparative degree since the adjective is always transformed into a noun.
This study is just one attempt on describing the morphosyntax of nouns and adjectives in
Maguindanao, there are still a lot of aspects in Maguindanao grammar left unexplored. The study of
the morphosyntax of Maguindanao verbs, although a challenge, will shed light to more of the distinct
characteristics of Maguindanao. It may also help by adding data to the study of universal grammar.
On the other hand, the researcher believes this study could be further improved on several aspects:
Since the data was limited to simple sentences, exploration of the compound, complex, negative, and
other types of sentences might give a better and deeper analysis. The derivational affixes presented
were also limited but there are definitely more forms that will be found if given more data and time.
In connection to this, with more data, a morphophonemic analysis of the derivations can be done in
the future. Also, the nature of pronoun cliticization could further be explored. The native speaker
consultants of this study were also limited to two, more informants will also make future studies more
reliable.
Although still lacking, the researcher believes that this study have shed light to some of the
unique characteristics of Maguindanao. The researcher also hopes that this work will provide a
starting point for future studies on the underexplored language Maguindanao .













60

Appendix

Cardinals
Cardinals in Maguindanao
Maguindanao English
isa one
duwa two
telu three
pat four
lima five
nem six
pitu seven
walu eight
siaw nine
sapulu ten
sapulu enggu isa eleven
sapulu enggu duwa twelve
sapulu enggu telu thirteen
sapulu enggu pat fourteen
duwa pulu twenty
duwa pulu enggu isa twenty one
duwa pulu enggu duwa twenty two
telu pulu thirty
pat pulu forty
lima pulu fifty
nem pulu sixty
pitu pulu seventy
siaw pulu ninety
magatus one hundred
magatus enggu isa one hundred one
magatus enggu sapulu one hundred ten
magatus enggu duwa pulu one hundred twenty
magatus enggu duwa pulu enggu isa one hundred twenty one
duwa gatus two hundred
sangibu one thousand
duwa ngibu two thousand
sangibu enggu duwa pulu one thousand twenty
magatus ngibu one hundred thousand
saka milyon one million
duwa ka milyon two million
saka bilyon one billion
saka trilyon one trillion

The phrase structure rule below represents how numerals are constructed in Maguindanao. This is a
modified version of Constantinos (1998).
1. NP B (LP(MP))
2. MP M (B(LP))
3. LP CP, XP
4. CP C (B(XP))


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5. XP X(B)
6. B isa, duwa, telu, pat, lima, nem, pitu, walu, siaw
7. X {ten} pulu
8. C {hundred} gatus
9. M {thousand} ngibu
10. X, C, M + B X, C, M + {enggu} + B

Ordinals
Rule: ika + cardinal
Table: Ordinals in Maguindanao
Maguindanao English
ikaisa first
ikaduwa second
ikatelu third
ikapat fourth
ikalima fifth
ikanem sixth
ikapitu seventh
ika walu eighth
ika siaw ninth
ika sapulu tenth
ika sapulu enggu isa eleventh
ika sapulu enggu duwa twelfth
ika duwa pulu twentieth
ika magatus one hundredth

Quantifiers
Quantifiers can be measures or containers of both count and mass nouns (Gonzalez, 1973).
Standardized quantifiers are those that have a set amount. For example, in two cans of milk, the
other can has the same amount as the other can. Under standardized quantifiers, there are measures
and containers. On the other hand, opposed to standardized are unstandardized quantifiers. They are
those that do not have a set amount. For example, in two bundles of roses, the other bundle may
contain ten roses while the other may contain eleven. Under unstandardized quantifiers, there are
individuators and aggrupators. Individuators measure mass nouns individually, for example, a grain
of rice. While aggrupators measure mass nouns by groups, for example, a bundle of roses.
Standardized
Measures Containers
Saka litlu
One liter
Saka pansing
One measure of one-half of a coconut shell (the
one with the hole)
Saka salidut a manaut
One teaspoonful
Saka malupibpi a butul
One measure of flat-sided bottle about one-half
liter measurement
Saka salidut a masela
One tablespoonful
Saka-tasa/saka-liblas
One measure of condensed milk can (14 oz can)
Saka kaltik
One quart
Saka lata
One measure of can usually of 19-20 liters (5 g)
Saka galun Saka migya


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One gallon Two measures of a 19-20 liter can (10 gallons/40
liters)
Saka kilatis
One milligram
Saka basu
One glass
Saka ulandang
Two milligram
Saka supa
One chupa (2 kilo)
Traditionally made of wood. In 1980s, container
became can of fruit cocktail. Can only be used
with rice
Saka gramus
One gram

Saka kilu
One kilogram

Saka gantang
One ganta (5 kg)



Unstandardized
Individuators Aggrupators
Sadtak
One drop
Sasepi a saging
One bunch of banana
(Isang piling ng saging)
Sapindit
One pinch
Saulig a saging
One stalk of banana fruit
(Isang buwig ng saging)
Sabingkis a saging
bingkis (to tie together)
One tie of banana fruit
Upas
Banana tree/stalk
Satubpa a niug
One cluster of coconut fruits
Sakatiukan a seda/kayumang
One tie of fish/crab
(Isang tali ng isda/alimango)
Sakegkem
The amount (of grain) that can be held in one
hand
Saakup
The amount that can be held in two hands











63

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