CEBUANO LANGUAGE LESSON 118 / Top 500 Cebuano vocabulary: 05: kami

1. Basic information
   • Part of Speech: Personal pronoun, first-person plural exclusive (“we, but not you”)
   • Usage: Used as the subject to mean “we” when the listener is not included.
   • Example:
     • Kami moadto sa party ugma.
       (“We [exclusive] will go to the party tomorrow.”)
2. Contracted Form
   • When attached to a verb, kami becomes the enclitic -mi.
   • Example:
     • Moabot mi unya. (“We will arrive later.”)
3. Position in the Sentence
   • Separate pronoun: Placed before the verb.
     • Kami moadto…
   • Enclitic form (-mi): Attached immediately after the verb.
     • Moadto mi…
4. Common Collocations
   • Kami ra – “just us”
   • Kami lang – “only us”
   • Kami na – “here we are” / “that’s us”
   • Kami mosuporta – “we will support”
   • Hatagi kami – “give us…”
5. Usage
   • Exclusive “we”: Use kami when you and others perform an action without including the person you’re speaking to.
   • Contrast with kita: Kita is inclusive “we” (includes you).
   • Enclitic vs. separate: As a separate word it emphasizes the subject; as enclitic (-mi) it’s more casual and common in conversation.
   • Focus on actor: Cebuano verbs change form depending on whether you’re talking about the actor (subject) or the object; when kami/-mi is the actor, the verb takes the actor-focus form.
6. Common Mistakes
   • Mixing up kami and kita: Saying kami when you mean to include the listener.
   • Wrong clitic placement: Placing -mi on the wrong word (it must attach to the verb).
   • Forgetting actor-focus: Using the object-focus verb when kami is the subject, e.g., saying hatagan kami (we will be given) instead of Hatagi kami (give us) in an imperative.
   • Overusing the separate pronoun: In fast speech, native speakers often prefer the enclitic -mi.
7. Example Sentences
   1. Kami moadto sa parti ugma.
   2. Palihug hatagi kami og tubig.
   3. Si Tom ug ako, kami lang ang naa sa opisina karon.
   4. Mo-uban mi nimo ugma kung gusto nimo.
   5. Nagplano kami og bakasyon sa Visayas karong ting-init.
8. Parts of Speech & Breakdown
   1. Kami moadto sa parti ugma.
      • Kami: pronoun (1st person plural exclusive)
      • moadto: verb (actor-focus, future)
      • sa: preposition
      • parti: noun
      • ugma: adverb (time)
   2. Palihug hatagi kami og tubig.
      • Palihug: interjection (please)
      • hatagi: verb (imperative, actor-focus)
      • kami: pronoun (1st person plural exclusive)
      • og: preposition (object marker)
      • tubig: noun
   3. Si Tom ug ako, kami lang ang naa sa opisina karon.
      • Si:proper subject marker that marks the proper noun
      • Tom: proper noun
      • ug: conjunction (and)
      • ako: pronoun (1st person singular)
      • , : punctuation
      • kami: pronoun (1st person plural exclusive)
      • lang: particle (only)
      • ang: article/marker (definite)
      • naa: verb (existential)
      • sa: preposition
      • opisina: noun
      • karon: adverb (now)
   4. Mo-uban mi nimo ugma kung gusto nimo.
      • Mo-uban: verb (actor-focus, future)
      • mi: enclitic pronoun (1st person plural exclusive)
      • nimo: pronoun (2nd person singular object)
      • ugma: adverb (time)
      • kung: conjunction (if)
      • gusto: verb (actor-focus, present)
      • nimo: pronoun (2nd person singular object)
   5. Nagplano kami og bakasyon sa Visayas karong ting-init.
      • Nagplano: verb (actor-focus, progressive)
      • kami: pronoun (1st person plural exclusive)
      • og: preposition (object marker)
      • bakasyon: noun
      • sa: preposition
      • Visayas: proper noun
      • karong: adverb (now)
      • ting-init: noun (season: summer)

Practice
Insert either kami or mi in the appropriate place in each sentence.

1. molakaw na sa balay.
2. Nanguha sa tubig.
3. Nagtrabaho sa uma.
4. ganahan moanhi si sine.

Answers and Explanations

1. Kami molakaw na sa balay.
   Putting “kami” at the beginning marks “we (excluding the listener)” as the subject who are leaving.
2. Nanguha mi sa tubig.
   Adding “mi” (the clitic form of kami) immediately after the verb shows “we” as the actors who fetched water.
3. Nagtrabaho mi sa uma.
   Using “mi” indicates “we” performed the action “worked” on the farm, often with a sense of completion.
4. Kami ganahan moanhi sa sine.
   Placing “kami” at the start signals that “we (exclusive)” want to go to the movies.

[Question]

In Cebuano, what part of speech is the word “kami”?

Choices
A. Verb
B. Noun
C. Adjective
D. Pronoun

Correct Answer
D. Pronoun

Explanation
“Kami” is a first-person plural exclusive pronoun in Cebuano, meaning “we” but excluding the listener. It refers to the speaker and others (but not the person being spoken to).

[Question 2]

What is the function of a pronoun in a sentence?

Choices
A. To express actions or states
B. To describe a noun in detail
C. To connect clauses
D. To replace a noun

Correct Answer
D. To replace a noun

Explanation
A pronoun is used in place of a noun to avoid repetition. It refers to people, things, or places already mentioned or known in context (e.g., ako, ikaw, kami).

[Question 3]

What role does a noun play in a sentence?

Choices
A. It connects clauses like a conjunction
B. It expresses actions or states
C. It functions as a subject or object
D. It expresses emotion like an interjection

Correct Answer
C. It functions as a subject or object

Explanation
A noun names a person, place, thing, or concept. In sentences, it commonly serves as the subject, object, or complement.

• Subject: Ang bata nagdula. (The child is playing.)
• Object: Gipalit niya ang libro. (He bought the book.)
• Complement: Siya usa ka doktor. (He is a doctor.)

[Question 4]

Choose two correct statements about the Cebuano word “kami” from the following five options.

Choices
A. It means “we” (excluding the listener)
B. It is a first-person plural pronoun
C. It means “we” (including the listener)
D. It is a third-person singular pronoun
E. It is commonly used as a verb

Correct Answers
A. It means “we” (excluding the listener)
B. It is a first-person plural pronoun

Explanation

• A: “Kami” refers to “we,” excluding the person being spoken to.
• B: Grammatically, “kami” is classified as a first-person plural pronoun.
  Unlike “kita,” “kami” does not include the listener.

Additional Questions

Q1. Which option is the correct response?

Question 1

1:Kinsa ang magluto sa paniudto?
(Who will cook lunch?)

A: Kami ang magluto sa paniudto.
B: Magluto kami ang sa paniudto.
C: Ang kami sa paniudto magluto.

Question 2

2: Kinsa ang motan-aw sa sine karon?
(Who will watch the movie now?)

A: Kami ang motan-aw sa sine karon.
B: Motan-aw kami sine ang karon.
C: Ang motan-aw kami karon sa sine.

Question 3

3: Kinsa ang mopalit og pan sa tindahan?
(Who will buy bread at the store?)

A: Kami ang mopalit og pan sa tindahan.
B: Og pan kami ang mopalit sa tindahan.
C: Kami og mopalit pan sa ang tindahan.

Question 4

4: Kinsa ang manglimpyo sa balay ugma?
(Who will clean the house tomorrow?)

A: Sa balay kami ang ugma manglimpyo.
B: Manglimpyo kami ugma sa balay ang.
C: Kami ang manglimpyo sa balay ugma.

Question 5

5: Kinsa ang mag-study sa library karong gabii?
(Who will study in the library tonight?)

A: Kami ang magtuon sa librarya karong gabii.
B: Ang kami karong gabii mag-study sa librarya.
C: Mag-study sa librarya kami ang karong gabii.

Answer

Cebuano Word Order Review

• Focus structure: When answering Kinsa? (“Who?”), the correct pattern is:
  → Focused noun/pronoun + ang + predicate (verb phrase)
• kami is a full pronoun and must be placed before ang when it’s the subject.
• The predicate follows this natural internal order:
  → Verb → object/location → time
• Moving objects or time phrases before the verb or breaking up kami and ang results in ungrammaticality.

1. Who will cook lunch?

2. Who will watch the movie?

3. Who will buy bread?

4. Who will clean the house?

5. Who will study in the library?

Common Errors in the Wrong Sentences

1. ang marking a verb or phrase instead of a noun/pronoun
   • ang must mark a focused noun or pronoun (like kami), not a verb or location.
2. Separating the focus (kami) from the marker ang
   • These should appear as one block: kami ang or siya ang, etc.
3. Object or time placed before the verb
   • Cebuano word order in actor-focus sentences usually keeps the verb first, then object, location, and time.