The Tagalog Timeline
Here is a timeline of Tagalog and some of the time indicators associated with the different sections or points in time.
| NAKARAAN (past) |
KASALUKUYAN (present) |
HINAHARAP (future) |
| noon (then / in the past) |
ngayon (in the present time) |
sa darating na panahon (in the future) |
| kahapon (yesterday) |
ngayon (today) |
bukas (tomorrow) |
| kanina (earlier today) |
ngayon (now / at the moment) |
mamaya (later today) |
Notice that ngayon has 3 different meanings
that encode three different points in time:
(1) Ngayon indicating the present time,
distinguished from the past or the future time;
(2) Ngayon indicating today, distinguished
from yesterday and tomorrow; and
(3) Ngayon indicating the point in time at
the moment of speaking (now), distinguished from earlier or later in the day.
Further discussion of these indicators are in the specific sections of past, present, and
future.