sa

The marker sa serves several primary functions in Cebuano:

1. Definiteness: Unlike og (which marks indefinite things like 'a' or 'some'), sa marks specific things.
Example: Mopalit ko og saging (I will buy a banana) vs. Mopalit ko sa saging (I will buy the banana). Note: While sa can mark definite objects in actor focus, it is much more natural and common to use Patient Focus for definite objects (e.g., Paliton nako ang saging).

2. Location and Direction: It acts like the English prepositions 'to', 'at', 'in', or 'on'.
Example: Naa ko sa balay (I am at the house). Note: If the location is a person's name, use kang instead.

3. Time Expressions: It is used to indicate future or recurring times, as well as parts of the day or clock times regardless of tense. For past days or dates, niadtong or sa miaging is used instead.
Example: Sa Lunes (On Monday), Sa buntag (In the morning), or Sa miaging Lunes (Last Monday).

4. Possession: It links an object to its owner if the owner is a common noun.
Example: Ang kolor sa karsada (The color of the road). For people's names, use ni instead.

5. Non-Actor Agent: In sentences where the focus is on the object (Patient Focus), sa marks who performed the action.
Example: Gikaon sa iring ang isda (The fish was eaten by the cat). Note: If the agent is a person's name, use ni instead.

6. Indirect Object: It marks the recipient of an action.
Example: Ihatag ang kwarta sa drayber (Give the money to the driver). Note: If the recipient is a person's name, use kang instead (e.g., Ihatag ang kwarta kang Juan).

7. Reason or Cause: It can indicate the cause of an event. The compound preposition tungod sa is the most direct translation of 'because of' for explicit reasons.
Example: Nalangan mi sa trapik or Nalangan mi tungod sa trapik (We were delayed because of the traffic).

8. Beneficiary: It is used with para or the native Cebuano equivalent alang to indicate who or what something is for.
Example: Para sa bata or Alang sa bata (For the child). Note: See para sa / alang sa.

9. Comparisons: It is used in comparisons to mean 'than'. The standard written form is kaysa (which is a combination of kay and sa).
Example: Mas dako ang iro kaysa iring (The dog is bigger than the cat). In casual speech, people often say kaysa sa (which is technically redundant) or drop kaysa entirely, leaving just sa (Mas dako ang iro sa iring).

10. Complex Prepositions: It is the mandatory linking word used to build specific spatial prepositions using the pattern 'sa + [position word] + sa'.
Example: Sa sulod sa balay (Inside the house).

11. Independent Possessive Pronouns: It is placed before independent possessive pronouns to indicate ownership or beneficiary, especially after kay or para.
Example: Kini nga balay kay sa akoa (This house is mine) or Para sa ilaha ni (This is for them). Note: See akoa / imoha / iyaha for more details.

12. Time Conjunction: When placed before a verb or an action noun, it means 'when', 'while', or 'upon'.
Example: Sa naglakaw ko... (While I was walking...) or Sa pag-abot niya... (Upon his arrival...).

13. Instrument: It marks the tool or instrument used to perform an action (meaning "with").
Example: Gisulat nako ni sa lapis (I wrote this with the pencil).

Note on Plurals: To make the noun plural, use sa mga.

Note on Pronouns: You cannot simply put sa in front of a basic subject pronoun (forms like sa ko or sa siya are incorrect). In modern colloquial Cebuano, sa combines with the long/oblique pronoun forms (see akoa / imoha / iyaha) for location, direction, indirect objects, and independent possession (e.g., Ihatag ang kwarta sa iyaha). Alternatively, you can use the dedicated oblique pronoun forms (see kanako / kanimo / kaniya) for indirect objects and locations, or the preposed possessive forms (see akong / imong / iyang) for possession.