maayo

1. Part of speech, core meaning, basic usage, and example sentences

Part of speech: adjective (also functions adverbially as “well”).
Core meaning: “good,” “fine,” “well-made,” “skilful,” or “in good condition.”

Examples

• Maayo ang pagkaon diri. – The food here is good.
• Maayo ko karon, salamat. – I am fine today, thank you.
• Nagtudlo siya og maayo nga pamaagi. – She teaches a good method.
• Maayo kaayo siya mosayaw. – She dances very well.

2. Linking endings and derivational forms for “maayo”

• Linkers
  • -ng before a consonant: maayong balita – good news.
  • nga before a vowel or for emphasis: maayo nga ideya – good idea.
• Degree and intensity
  • mas maayo – better.
  • pinakamaayo – best.
  • maayo-maayo – fairly good / not bad.
  • maayo kaayo / maayo gyud – very good / really good.
• Exclamatory and abstract nouns
  • Kamaayo nimo! – How good you are!
  • kamaayo-an – goodness, excellence.
  • pagkamaayo – the quality of being good.

(For “to get better,” speakers normally use ma-ayo as a verb in its own grammatical paradigm, e.g. nang-ayo “recovered.”)

3. Typical positions in a sentence

1. Predicate adjective: Ang serbisyo maayo. – The service is good.
2. Modifier with linker: maayong serbisyo – good service.
3. Complement after an emphatic phrase: Mao ni ang maayo nga resulta. – This is the good result.

4. Common collocations

• maayo nga balita – good news
• maayo nga tawo – good person
• maayo nga plano – sound plan
• maayo nga panahon – fine weather
• maayo nga trabaho – good job / workmanship

5. Detailed usage notes

“Maayo” covers moral goodness (maayo siya motabang – he is kind to help), quality (maayo nga tela – good fabric), health (maayo ko – I’m well), and skill (maayo siya mo-kanta – she sings well). When it directly modifies a noun place a linker; when it stands as a predicate no linker is needed. Comparative and superlative follow the regular mas / pinaka- pattern. Reduplication (maayo-maayo) tones the praise down to “fairly good.” If you want to express recovery from illness, the verb root -ayo is used in a different conjugation (nang-ayo na siya – he has recovered).

6. Common mistakes to watch for

• Dropping the linker (✗ maayo plano → ✓ maayong plano).
• Placing mas after the adjective (✗ maayo mas → ✓ mas maayo).
• Splitting pinaka from the root (✗ pinaka maayo → ✓ pinakamaayo).
• Using maayo for “tasty” (better to say lamian if you mean flavour specifically, though maayo ang lami is acceptable).
• Confusing adjective maayo (“good”) with verb ma-ayo (“to get better”) and mistranslating tense.

7. Five everyday conversational phrases

1. Maayo pa ta mo-biyahe ug sayo. – It’s better for us to travel early.
2. Mas maayo nga mag-praktis ka adlaw-adlaw. – It is better if you practise every day.
3. Pinakamaayo gyud ni nga solusyon sa karon. – This is truly the best solution for now.
4. Maayo kaayo imong gihimo; salamat! – What you did is very good; thank you!
5. Maayo-maayo ra ang kahimtang, dili perfecto. – The situation is fairly good, not perfect.

8. Five short conversation exchanges

1. Q: Maayo ba imong pagbati karon? – Are you feeling well today?
   A: Oo, maayo ra ko; nakatulog ko ug tarong. – Yes, I’m fine; I slept well.
2. Q: Ngano mas maayo man ni nga rota? – Why is this route better?
   A: Mas maayo kay dili samok ug trapik. – It’s better because there’s no heavy traffic.
3. Q: Asa ang pinakamaayo nga tindahan sa sinina? – Where is the best clothing shop?
   A: Naa sa mall nga bag-o gibuksan. – It’s in the newly opened mall.
4. Q: Maayo-maayo na ba ang imong proyekto? – Is your project going fairly well now?
   A: Oo, maayo-maayo na; hapit mahuman. – Yes, it’s doing fairly well; almost finished.
5. Q: Unsaon nato pag-maayo sa sistema? – How shall we improve the system?
   A: I-update nato ang software ug mag-training ta sa staff. – We’ll update the software and train the staff.

9. Multiple-choice dialogue questions

Q1. Maayo ba ang imong trabaho karon?
A. Oo, maayo kaayo ang akong trabaho karon.
B. Oo, trabaho maayo kaayo akong ang karon.
C. Oo, maayo trabaho kaayo ang akong karon.

Q2. Asa ang mas maayo, ang puti o ang itom?
A. Mas maayo ang puti kaysa itom.
B. Puti kaysa itom ang mas maayo.
C. Mas maayo kaysa puti ang itom.

Q3. Pinakamaayo ba kini nga pamaagi?
A. Oo, pinakamaayo kini nga pamaagi.
B. Oo, kini pinakamaayo nga pamaagi.
C. Oo, pamaagi kini pinakamaayo.

Q4. Ngano maayo ra ka gihapon bisan walay pahulay?
A. Maayo ra ko kay nasanay na ko sa trabaho.
B. Ko maayo ra kay nasanay trabaho na ko sa.
C. Nasanay na ko maayo ra ko kay sa trabaho.

Q5. Kinsa’y naay maayo-maayo nga solusyon sa problema?
A. Si Lea naay maayo-maayo nga solusyon.
B. Naay si Lea maayo-maayo solusyon.
C. Solusyon maayo-maayo naay si Lea.

Answer key and explanations

• Q1 – A is correct. Predicate maayo kaayo precedes the subject. B and C scramble articles and word order.
• Q2 – A is correct. Follows the pattern “Mas maayo ang X kaysa Y.” Other choices misplace comparative parts.
• Q3 – A is correct. Pinakamaayo directly precedes kini and governs the phrase; B and C mis-order.
• Q4 – A is correct. Starts with predicate, then reason clause; B and C break Cebuano word-order rules.
• Q5 – A is correct. Uses “naay + subject + description” correctly; B and C disrupt the sequence.