Walâ
Walâ is a multi-purpose negative word. It can be used like no, none, and not.
(Note: This word has a glottal stop. If you pronounce it as "wala," without the glottal stop, it means "left.")
No (past tense)
The regular word for "no" is "indî". However, if you're referring to something in the past, you would use the word "walâ."
Q: "Have you read?" A: "No." — Q: "Nakabasa kamo?" A: "Walâ."
Q: "Did she speak to you?" A: "No." — Q: "Naghambal siya sa imo?" A: "Walâ."
Q: "Will you speak to her?" A: "No." — Q: "Maghambal ka sa iya?" A: "Indî."
No / None (availability)
Some yes or no questions are asking about the availability of something. For those questions, you would use "walâ" for "no," rather than "indî."
Q: "Do you have any water?" A: "No." — Q: "May arâ ka tubig?" A: "Walâ."
Existence / Possession
For existence of a common noun, the format is: Walâ + Sang (optional) + Noun
"There are no kids at the school." — "Walâ sang mga bata sa eskwala." (kid = bata, school = eskwala)
"There's no rain." — "Walâ ulan."
For existence of a pronoun / specific noun, the format is: Walâ + Noun
"Jed isn't here." — "Walâ" si Jed.
"He's not here." — "Walâ" siya di. (here = "di," short for diri)
"The rock is gone." — "Walâ" ang bato."
For possession using a pronoun, the format is: Walâ + Pronoun + Object
"She has no money." — "Walâ siya kwarta."
For possession using a noun phrase, the format is: Walâ + Object + Noun Phrase
"The dog has no shoes." — "Walâ sepatos ang idô." (shoes = sepatos, dog = idô)
"The church has no members." — "Walâ" myembro ang simbahan." (member = myembro, church = simbahan)
Not
When the actor is a pronoun you would use this format: Walâ + Actor + Action
"I wasn't able to go to the beach." — "Walâ ako nakakadto sa baybay." (beach = baybay)
"He didn't say." — "Walâ siya nagsiling." (say = siling)
"They haven't eaten breakfast" — "Walâ sila nakapaniaga." (breakfast = paniaga)
When the actor is a proper noun or noun phrase, the action comes first: Walâ + Action + Actor
"The president was not able to go to the beach." — "Walâ nakakadto ang pangulo sa baybay." (president/leader = pangulo)
"Josh didn't say." — "Walâ nakasiling si Josh."
These examples are all past tense, but this also works for present tense.
"They aren't looking." — "Walâ sila nagatan-aw." (look = tan-aw)
"Josh is not eating." — "Walâ nagakaon si Josh." (eat = kaon)
Wa'ay
The word "wa'ay" is also used in the exact same way, but it is more casual. You may use "walâ" in formal settings, like school, church, writing, or just being proper. In casual conversation, however, "wa'ay" is quite commonly used.
"She's not here" — "Wa'ay siya diri."
"I don't have any money." — "Wa'ay ko kwarta."
(Wa'ay comes from the word "walay," which was used traditionally, but not in modern times. The "y" was used as a marker (like "sang") that was appended to "walâ." You may see this in old writing, but will probably never hear it in conversation.)
Exceptions to Order
This lesson shares basic formats for sentence order, but there are always exceptions in language. Here's one example:
Normally the word "walâ" goes first in the sentence, but there may be times when you would rearrange the sentence order to emphasize the person/noun.
"Our boat is gone!" — "Ang barko naton, walâ na!" (see lesson on "na/pa")
"The girl has a hat, but the duck does not." — "Ang babaye may kalô, pero ang pato walâ" (girl = babaye, hat = kalô, duck = pato)
Traditional Usage
This principle doesn't have much application in modern speech, but if you're interested in understanding old writing, this may help.
Traditionally, using walâ for past tense "not" phrases was a little different. Despite being past tense, variations of future tense conjugations were used.
Action: nag- ➔ mag-
Actor Ability/Accidental: naka- ➔ maka-
Object: gin- ➔ pag- -a
Object Ability/Accidental: na- ➔ ma-
Recipient: gin- -an ➔ pag- -i
Recipient Ability/Accidental: na- -an ➔ ma- -i
Examples:
"They did not leave."
Modern: "Walâ" sila naglakat."
Traditional: "Walâ" sila maglakat."
"I could not understand."
Modern: "Walâ ako nakahibalo."
Traditional: "Walâ makahibalo."
"They were not slain."
Modern: "Walâ sila ginpatay."
Traditional: "Walâ sila pagpatya."
"We were not seen."
Modern: "Walâ kami nakita."
Traditional: "Walâ kami makita."
"He was not helped."
Modern: "Walâ siya ginbuligan."
Traditional: "Walâ siya pagbuligi."
"She was not discovered."
Modern: "Walâ siya natukiban."
Traditional: "Walâ siya matukibi."