May at Mayroon - Cheat Sheet
Your last-minute revision companion for mastering the correct usage of MAY and MAYROON in Filipino grammar - essential for CSE and other Philippine professional exams.
MAY - Usage Rules
Important facts
- MAY + Pangngalan (noun): May sasakyan, May kapatid
- MAY + Pang-uri (adjective): May maganda, May malaki
- MAY + Pandiwa (verb): May kumakanta, May magdadala
- MAY + Pang-abay (adverb): May dahan-dahang pumasok
- MAY + Pang-ukol na 'sa': May sa demonyo
- MAY + Panghalip panao (possessive): May iyo, May akin
- MAY + Pantukoy na 'mga': May mga guro
Key definitions
MAY
Example
May sasakyan na nakaparada (before noun 'sasakyan')
Used before nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, preposition 'sa', possessive pronouns, and determiner 'mga'
MAYROON - Usage Rules
Important facts
- MAYROON = wealthy/rich: Ang mga De Leon ang mayroon sa bayan
- MAYROON as answer: May pera ka ba? MAYROON
- MAYROON + Personal pronouns: Mayroon siya, Mayroon ako
- MAYROON + Particles: Mayroon daw, Mayroon din, Mayroon pa
- MAYROONG (with G): Can be followed by nouns, verbs, adjectives when adding 'G'
- Particles with G: Mayroon + pala = Mayroong pala
Key definitions
MAYROON
Example
Mayroon siyang problema (before personal pronoun 'siya')
Used to mean 'wealthy/rich', as answer to MAY questions, before personal pronouns, and before particles like daw/din/pa
Special Cases and Rules
Important facts
- When MAYROON is followed by din/rin/pa/yata/baga/pala, add 'G' or 'NG'
- MAYROON PALA becomes MAYROONG PALA
- MAYROON DIN becomes MAYROONG DIN
- The 'G' ending allows more flexible word order
- Context determines whether to use MAY or MAYROON
Key definitions
MAYROONG
Example
Mayroong magandang kinabukasan
MAYROON + G suffix, allows following by any word class (noun, verb, adjective, adverb, 'mga')
Must remember
- MAY is used BEFORE nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs
- MAYROON is used BEFORE personal pronouns (siya, ako, ka)
- MAYROON means 'wealthy' or 'rich' when used as main verb
- MAYROON is the correct answer to questions starting with MAY
- Add 'G' to MAYROON when followed by particles (daw, din, pa, yata)
- MAY + mga: May mga guro (correct)
- MAYROON + particles: Mayroon daw, Mayroon din (correct)
- Never use MAY before personal pronouns (wrong: May siya)
- Never use MAYROON before regular nouns without 'G' (wrong: Mayroon sasakyan)
- Context and word that follows determines which to use
Last minute tips
- Quick test: If the next word is siya/ako/ka/kami/kayo/sila, use MAYROON
- If answering a question that starts with 'May...?', answer with 'MAYROON'
- When you see daw/din/pa after the word, use MAYROON (usually with G)
- For ownership of things, use MAY + thing owned (May kotse ako = wrong, Ako ay may kotse = correct)
- Remember: MAYROON can stand alone as an answer, MAY cannot
Comparison tables
MAY vs MAYROON Usage Comparison
| Aspect | MAY | MAYROON |
|---|---|---|
| Before nouns | ✓ May sasakyan | ✗ Wrong usage |
| Before adjectives | ✓ May maganda | ✗ Wrong usage |
| Before verbs | ✓ May kumakanta | ✗ Wrong usage |
| Before personal pronouns | ✗ Wrong usage | ✓ Mayroon siya |
| As answer to questions | ✗ Wrong usage | ✓ Mayroon |
| Meaning wealthy | ✗ Wrong usage | ✓ Sila ang mayroon |
| Before particles (daw/din/pa) | ✗ Wrong usage | ✓ Mayroon daw |
Diagrams
MAY at MAYROON Usage Overview
Mind map showing the complete usage patterns for both MAY and MAYROON
Decision Tree for Choosing MAY or MAYROON
Decision flowchart to help determine which word to use based on what follows
Question-Answer Pattern with MAY and MAYROON
Shows the proper question-answer pattern using MAY in questions and MAYROON in responses