na

English – “na” (shortened form of kana)

Part of speech & meaning
• Colloquial demonstrative – pronoun or determiner
• Core sense: “that (near you)”; a clipped version of kana (“that near the listener”)

Contracted form
• na (or apostrophized ’na) is already the contraction; full form is kana.

Typical sentence position
• Determiner: na nga + noun na nga balay = “that house”
• Pronoun/adverb: after a verb or preposition Gipalit ko na = “I bought that”
• Often merges with preceding word in fast talk: ’na.

Common collocations

• na nga adlaw – that day
• na lang – just that / only there
• Mao na – that’s it/ that is the one
• unsa man na? – what is that?

Detailed usage
Use it only for things at or near the listener; for distant items choose kadto.

Common mistakes

1. Forgetting the linker nga before a noun (❌ na balay → ✔ na nga balay).
2. Using na for an object near the speaker (use ni/kini instead).
3. Over-using na in formal writing; editors prefer kana.

Example sentences