Yes, I Have! No, I Have None!

You're on the bus, on your way to Guimbal, Iloilo.  The bus conductor came over and asked, "May ara' ka tiket?" [Do you have a ticket?].  Always say, "Huo, may ara' ako, 'Nong." [Yes, I have, Sir].  If he asked, "May ara ka pusil?" [Do you have a gun?].  You should answer, "Wala', 'Nong."  [I have none, Sir.]  Of course, in real life, bus conductors do not really ask if the passenger has a gun :)

In Ilonggo, "Huo" is Yes.  "Indi" is No.  In SMS lingo, Yes can also be Oo (Tagalog) or Uu.  Hinde or Hindi is synonymous to No.  You may have been able to infer from the above texts that May ara' means have while Wala' literally means does not have.


Let's apply these words:

1. May ara' ka ido^? [Do you have a dog? (literal: have-you-a dog)] 
• Huo, may ara' ko ido^.  [Yes, I have a dog. (literal: yes-have-I-dog)]
  
2. Law-ay ang bata?  [Is the child pretty? (literal: pretty-the child)]
• Indi, gwapa ang bata.  [No, the child is pretty. (literal: No, pretty-the child.]
  
3. Wala ako kwarta.  May ara' ka?  [I don't have money.  Do you have some?]
• Wala man ako kwarta.  [I also don't have money. (literal: none-also-I-money)]
  

TIDBIT #1: Ko and Ka

In an interrogative sentence, singular personal pronouns Ako (1st person) and Ikaw (2nd person) becomes Ko and Ka, respectively.   This will be discussed under Phrase Constructions.


TIDBIT #2: Gender in Adjectives

Some adjectives, especially Spanish loan words, occasionally have genders.  Take the example of the word Gwapa.  In sentence #2, the response actually means "No, the girl is pretty.".  If the adjective Gwapo was used instead, the response would have meant "No, the boy is handsome.".