Introduction

Kahit Na
ni Dodjie Simon

  Kahit na ikaw pa ay lumisan,
  halik mo'y 'di ko na malilimutan.
  Lalo na't ikaw pa lang ang minahal.
  Sa simula't katapusa'y ikaw lamang
  ang nagbigay kahulugan sa aking buhay.

  Kahit na ikaw pa ay lumimot,
  mundo ko'y tutuloy sa pag-ikot.
  Ang bituing akala mo'y naglalaho,
  iyon pala'y sa ulap lang nakatago,
  katulad ng pag-ibig mong mapaglaro.

  'Di ba sa simula sinabi mong
  walang matitiyak,
  Kaya't ligaya habang kapiling mo'y
  isiping 'di magwawakas.
  'Di kita pipigilan kailanmang
  magbago ng isipan.
  Habang kapiling ka,
  ligaya'y walang hanggan.
 

mariang.makiling.hugo.c.yonzon.1974.jpg (27920 bytes)
Mariang Makiling
by Hugo C. Yonzon, 1974

Enclitic particles are words that are normally optional but when present give emphasis to certain elements in sentences. Just as the word particle means a small bit of matter, these words are typically fairly short. These words are not the main part of the sentence and can actually be left out (the word enclitic means 'to lean on' in the sense that these words are leaning on other, more important words). However, enclitic particles provide helpful bits of information, and they make the Tagalog sentence sound more full and natural. Not using enclitic particles makes the language sound awkward and stilted. You can think of enclitic particles as the "spice" of the Tagalog sentence.

The most common particles are presented in this section, grouped into two major classifications: (1) temporal--enclitics that generally emphasize things having to do with time or completion of some event or action; and (2) modal--enclitics generally emphasizing mood, e.g., surprise, wish, desire, most of which are expressed by modals, such as can, could, shall, should, etc. in English.