kinsa

Cebuano Word: kinsa

1 Part of Speech, Meaning, and Example Sentences

• Part of speech: interrogative pronoun
• Core meaning: “who” — used to ask about a person’s identity or the doer of an action

Example sentences

• • Kinsa siya? – Who is he/she?
• • Kinsa ang motabang nimo? – Who will help you?
• • Kinsa ang nagluto sa sud-an? – Who cooked the dish?

2 Learning Points for Cebuano Interrogatives

• Sentence-initial default: Kinsa normally starts a direct question.
• Marker sequence: When the focus marker ang is needed, it follows immediately (Kinsa ang…).
• Particle man for tone: Kinsa man ang gitawag nimo? softens the query (“So, who did you call?”).
• Indirect questions: In embedded clauses kinsa moves inside: Wala ko kabalo kinsa ang mo-adto.
• Subject agreement: Because kinsa asks about a person, verbs must agree in number if context requires it (Kinsa ang mga molingkod? – Who are the ones who will sit?).

3 Common Collocations

• kinsa ka – who are you
• kinsa man – who then / who, actually
• kinsa pa – who else
• kinsa diay – who, in fact (mild surprise)
• kinsa kaha – who perhaps / I wonder who

4 Typical Position in a Sentence

Direct question pattern

Kinsa + (optional particle) + ang + noun/clause
Kinsa ang imong maestro? – Who is your teacher?

Indirect question pattern

main verb + kinsa + clause
Gipangutana niya kinsa ang misulod sa opisina. – He asked who entered the office.

5 Five Conversational Phrases

• Kinsa imong kuyog? – Who is with you?
• Kinsa pa ang mo-uban? – Who else will come along?
• Kinsa man ang nag-text nimo? – So, who texted you?
• Kinsa ang in-charge diri? – Who is in charge here?
• Kinsa kaha ang modaug? – I wonder who will win.

6 Five Mini-Dialogues (Cebuano ↔ English)

1. A: Kinsa ang nisulti nimo? – Who told you?
   B: Si Ana ra. – Just Ana.
2. A: Kinsa imong paboritong aktor? – Who is your favourite actor?
   B: Si John Arcilla. – John Arcilla.
3. A: Kinsa ang mo-adto sa palengke? – Who will go to the market?
   B: Ako ug si Kuya. – My older brother and I.
4. A: Kinsa pa ang nanginahanglan tabang? – Who else needs help?
   B: Ang mga turista pa. – The tourists still do.
5. A: Kinsa ang naghimo ani nga obra? – Who made this artwork?
   B: Ang lokal nga artista sa baryo. – The local village artist.

7 Multiple-Choice Dialogue Exercise

(For each item, choose the interrogative sentence using kinsa that is grammatically correct. One option per question is correct; the others have incorrect word order.)

Q1. The teacher must ask which student answered correctly.
A. Kinsa ang estudyante nga gitubag sakto?
B. Estudyante kinsa ang gitubag sakto?
C. Ang kinsa estudyante gitubag sakto?

Q2. The receptionist needs to know who is calling.
A. Kinsa ang nagtawag?
B. Nagtawag kinsa ang?
C. Ang kinsa nagtawag?

Q3. The organizers want to find out who will perform first.
A. Kinsa mo-perform una?
B. Mo-perform una kinsa?
C. Una kinsa mo-perform?

Q4. The child wonders who ate the cookies.
A. Kinsa ang nikaon sa cookies?
B. Nikaon cookies kinsa ang?
C. Cookies kinsa ang nikaon?

Q5. The host should ask who wrote that song.
A. Kinsa misulat ana nga kanta?
B. Misulat kinsa ana nga kanta?
C. Ang kinsa misulat ana nga kanta?

Answer Key & Brief Explanations

• Q1 — Correct: A
  Kinsa begins the question, followed by ang + subject phrase.
• Q2 — Correct: A
  Proper sequence: Kinsa ang nagtawag? (“Who is calling?”).
• Q3 — Correct: A
  Verbal phrase may follow directly after kinsa: Kinsa mo-perform una?
• Q4 — Correct: A
  Pattern: Kinsa ang + verb + object.
• Q5 — Correct: A
  Correct wh-word first, then verb phrase misulat ana nga kanta.

Rule behind every correct choice: In direct Cebuano questions, kinsa must stand at the beginning, and if the focus marker ang is required, it comes right after kinsa. Changing that order breaks normal grammar, making the other options incorrect.