English – “niadto”
Part of speech & meaning
• Oblique (prepositional) demonstrative pronoun / adverb
• Two main senses
- Spatial: “of / in / to that place over there (far from both of us)”
- Temporal (very common): “at that time / back then”
Contracted form
• Everyday speech often shortens niadto → adto/to
Typical sentence position
• Follows a preposition:
- sa niadto – in/at that time / in that distant place
- gikan niadto – from back then / from that far‐off spot
- hangtod niadto – until that point in the past
Common collocations
- sa niadto – back then; in that distant place
- gikan niadto – since then / from over there
- sukad pa niadto – ever since that time
- panahon niadto – the times back then
- hangtod karon gikan niadto – until now from then
Detailed usage
- Time narration: Frequently opens a story or anecdote: Sa niadto, gamay pa ko… – “Back then, I was still small…”
- Space narration: When contrasting a faraway site with “here/there”: Gikan pa ko niadto – “I just arrived from way over there.”
- Cannot be subject or direct object; outside prepositional phrases switch to kad-to (“that far thing”).
Common mistakes
• Dropping the preposition (❌ Niadto nindot → ✔ Nindot kad-to).
• Using niadto for an item near speaker/listener—use niini / niana.
• Mixing temporal and spatial senses without context.
Example sentences
| Cebuano sentence | English meaning | Parts of speech |
|---|---|---|
| Sa niadto, walay kuryente dinhi. | Back then, there was no electricity here. | sa (PREP) in • niadto (DEM-OBL) that-time • walay (V/NEG) there-was-no • kuryente (N) electricity • dinhi (ADV) here |
| Gikan pa ko niadto sa bukid. | I have just come from way up in the mountains. | gikan (PREP) from • pa (ADV) just • ko (PR) I • niadto (DEM-OBL) that-far-place • sa (PREP) in • bukid (N) mountains |
| Sukad pa niadto, wala na gyud mi nagkita. | Since that time, we really haven’t met again. | sukad (PREP) since • pa (ADV) yet • niadto (DEM-OBL) that-time • wala (NEG) not • na (ADV) anymore • gyud (PART) really • mi (PR) we-excl • nagkita (V) met |
Questions
Rearrange the following Cebuano sentence into the correct word order.
Ana: Asa ka niadto kagahapon sa hapon?
Ben: ( merkado / ko / Niadto / sa / prutas / mopalit / ug / aron ).
Ana: Unsa may imong gipalit didto?
Ben: Mangga ug saging ang akong gipalit niadto sa tindera.
Ana: Maayo, barato diay didto?
Carlo: Nakahinumdom ka sa atong klase niadto nga tuig?
Dina: Oo, niadto ko sa reunion pag-Sabado para makita sila balik.
Carlo: ( Kinsa / pa / niadto / ang / okasyon / sa )?
Dina: Halos tanan, bisan si Prof. Reyes niadto usab!
Carlo: Sayang, wala ko niadto; naa koy trabaho.
Dina: Ayaw kabalaka, mag-organisar ko og laing panagtigom niadto sunod bulan.
Ella: Niadto ba ka sa konsyerto gabii?
Franco: ( para / ni / Lola / motabang / niadto / Wala; / ko / ra / balay / sa ).
Ella: Ah, mao ba? Niadto sad ko didto pagkahuman sa konsyerto.
Franco: Nagkita na diay ta niadto, pero wala ko makabantay.
Ella: Sunod, mag-set ta og oras aron magkita gyud ta.
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