English – “toa / atoa”
(existential-demonstrative, distant)
Part of speech & core meaning
• Locative existential particle (demonstrative + “to be”)
• Shows that a person or thing is “over there, far from both speaker and listener.”
• toa – neutral spelling (often written tuá in older orthography)
• atoa – fuller / emphatic variant, especially when pointing out something clearly visible at a distance
⚠️ Do not confuse this atoa with the possessive pronoun atoa “our (yours + mine). Their functions and stress differ.
Contracted forms
• Casual speech clips toa → ’to (toa ra → ’to ra).
• atoa may reduce to ’toa after motion verbs.
Where it sits in a sentence
• Always starts the predicate, immediately followed by the noun or pronoun indicated.
- Toa ang bulak. – “The flower is over there.”
- Atoa si Pedro! – “Pedro is right over there!”
• Never takes a preposition; for “in / on / from over there” use didto / ngadto / gikan ngadto.
Common collocations
- toa ang ___ – that ___ over there
- toa diay – oh, it’s (way) over there
- ’to ra – only over there
- adto ta ngadto / toa – let’s go over there
- toa sa unahan – farther up ahead over there
Detailed usage
- Pointing out distant objects: Toa ang tindahan sa kanto “The store is over there at the corner.”
- Responding to ‘where?’ questions:
– Asa si Lola? – Toa ra oh! “Where’s Grandma?” – “Right there, see?” - Emphatic ‘atoa’ is preferred when handing binocular cues: Atoa ang barko sa dagat “Look, the ship is way out there.”
Common mistakes
• Using toa/atoa for things near speaker (dia/nia) or near listener (diaha/diha).
• Adding a place preposition straight after toa (❌ toa sa mesa… → ✔ naa sa mesa).
• Forgetting the noun/pronoun—toa cannot stand alone like didto; it must introduce a subject.
Example sentences and breakdown
| Cebuano sentence | English meaning | POS breakdown |
|---|---|---|
| Toa ang among sakyanan sa parkingan. | Our vehicle is over there in the parking lot. | toa (LOC-EXIST) there-is • ang (ART) the • among (DET) our-excl • sakyanan (N) vehicle • sa (PREP) in • parkingan (N) parking-lot |
| Atoa si kuya, nag-adto sa bukid. | My older brother is over there, heading up the mountain. | atoa (LOC-EXIST) there-is • si (MARK) PN-subject • kuya (N) elder-brother • nag-adto (V-PROG) going • sa (PREP) to • bukid (N) mountain |
| Toa diay ang susi nga gipangita nimo! | Oh, the key you were looking for is way over there! | toa (LOC-EXIST) there-is • diay (PART) surprise • ang (ART) the • susi (N) key • nga (LINK) that • gipangita (V-PTCP) sought • nimo (PR) you |
日本語 –「toa / atoa」
（遠方の存在提示詞）
品詞と基本的意味
• 場所指示の存在詞
• 「あそこに〜がある／いる」 – 話し手・聞き手の両方から離れた場所を指差す。
– toa：基本形（旧綴 tuá）
– atoa：やや強調形。「ほら、あそこ！」
※ 所有代名詞 atoa（「私たちの」）とは別単語。
短縮形
• 口語: ’to / ’toa と省略される。
語順（文中位置）
• 述語の先頭に置き、直後に対象を置く。
例：Toa ang bulak. – 「花があそこにある。」
よく使うフレーズ
- toa ang ___ – あそこの ___
- toa diay – なんだ、あそこにあった
- ’to ra – あそこだけ
- adto ta pagpuyo toa – あそこへ住みに行こう
- toa sa unahan – もっと先のあそこ
詳しい使い方
- 遠方指示 – Toa ang tindahan sa kanto.「角に店があそこにある。」
- 居場所回答 – Asa si Lola? – Toa ra oh!「おばあちゃんはどこ？ – ほら、あそこ！」
- atoa の強調 – 双眼鏡で示す等：Atoa ang barko.「船はあんな所に！」
注意点
• 近くの物には使わず、話し手側は dia/nia、聞き手側は diaha/diha。
• toa の直後に前置詞句を続けない（❌ toa sa mesa）。位置句は naa sa mesa を用いる。
• 対象を省略できない。
例文と品詞分解
| セブアノ語 | 日本語訳 | 品詞分解 |
|---|---|---|
| Toa ang among sakyanan sa parkingan. | 私たちの車が駐車場のあそこにある。 | toa（存在）あそこに • ang（冠）その • among（所有）私たちの • sakyanan（名）車 • sa（前）〜の • parkingan（名）駐車場 |
| Atoa si kuya, nag-adto sa bukid. | 兄はあそこにいて、山へ向かっている。 | atoa（存在）あそこに • si（標識）人名 • kuya（名）兄 • nag-adto（動進行）向かっている • sa（前）〜へ • bukid（名）山 |
| Toa diay ang susi nga gipangita nimo! | 探していた鍵はあそこにあった！ | toa（存在）あそこに • diay（助）意外感 • ang（冠）その • susi（名）鍵 • nga（連結）〜する • gipangita（動分詞）探した • nimo（代）あなたが |
まとめ
toa / atoa は遠距離の対象を指して「（あれ、あそこ）にある／いる」と提示する語。述語冒頭に置き、近称・中称の指示詞ときちんと使い分ければ、場所説明がスムーズになる。
