pila
How Many
Pila asks how many or how much; tagpila commonly asks a price per item or unit.
How It Works
Use pila ka before a counted noun: Pila ka tawo?. With a pronoun, say Pila sila? or Pila sila ka buok?. In Pila ka?, ka is the pronoun you, not the counting linker.
Pila ang plete? asks the fare or amount, and Tagpila ni? asks the price of this item. Pila ni? can also ask a price in context. Both Pila? and Tagpila? can stand alone when the object of the question is understood.
Pilay commonly represents pila ang, as in Pilay imong edad?. Do not use an invented expansion pila og to replace the count construction pila ka. For a clock reading or date, use Unsay oras?, Alas unsa? or Unsay petsa karon?. Pila ka oras? asks a number of hours, not the clock time.
Related forms separate other questions: kapila asks how many times, ikapila asks a position in a sequence, and tinagpila asks the size of each group or allocation. In a statement, pipila ka means a few or several.
Examples (6)
- Pila ka tawo ang naa sa balay?
How many people are in the house?
Word by Word: How-many (linker) person the there-is at-the house?
Uses 'pila ka' because we are counting the number of people.
- Pila mo ka buok?
How many of you are there?
Word by Word: How-many you (linker) pieces?
Uses the generic counter 'buok' with a pronoun.
- Tagpila ni?
How much is this?
Word by Word: How-much this?
Tagpila asks the item’s price. Pila can also ask how much it costs when that meaning is clear.
- Pilay imong edad?
How old are you?
Word by Word: How-much-is your age?
Uses the spoken contraction 'pilay' (pila + ang) to ask for age.
- Tagpila ang kilo sa mangga?
How much is a kilo of mangoes?
Word by Word: How-much-each the kilo of-the mango?
Uses 'tagpila' to ask for the price of goods.
- Naa pay pipila ka tawo didto.
There are still a few people there.
Word by Word: There-is still-the a-few (linker) person there.
Uses 'pipila' to mean 'a few' or 'several'.
Common Mistakes
Using the linker 'ka' directly before a pronoun without a counter.
Pila ka sila?Pila sila? / Pila sila ka buok?The linker 'ka' connects 'pila' to the noun being counted or to the generic counter 'buok'. It is not used directly before a pronoun unless 'buok' follows. Note that in the question 'Pila ka?', the word 'ka' is actually the pronoun for 'you', not the linker.
Omitting the linker 'ka' when counting nouns.
Pila bata ang naa?Pila ka bata ang naa?In the ordinary counted-noun construction, pila takes the linker ka before the noun.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To use 'pila' (how many), you need to understand how to link numbers or quantity words to nouns using the ligature 'ka' (a variant of the nga system), how to mark the subject of the question with 'ang', and how to form basic sentences without a copula verb.
Related Patterns
- tagpilaHow Much
Tagpila is the default word used to ask for the price of items or goods, whereas pila asks for the total amount, fare, or quantity.
Level 1 - Number + ka + NounCounting with Ka
Pila follows the same grammatical linking rules as actual numbers when counting nouns.
Level 1 - ika- + NumberOrdinal Numbers
The prefix ika- is added to pila (ikapila) to ask for the order or sequence (e.g., 'which child are you?').
Level 2 - manSoftening or Contrast Particle
This particle is frequently used with pila to soften the tone of the question.
Level 2 - kabuokPieces
Often used with pila (pila ka buok) to specify 'how many pieces'.
Level 2 - Second-Position Words
Particles like 'man', 'na', and 'ba' always follow pila immediately in a sentence.
Foundations
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Sources
Practice pila in Bubblegum
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