Why would we say "Anóng ginagawâ mo?" but say "Anó ba ang gin

@Silverfoxdr Anong/Ano ang ginagawa MO? = What are YOU doing?Ano (ba) ang ginagawa NIYA? = A) What is HE/SHE doing?; B) What is HE/SHE doing (anyway)?; C) (Tell me) What is HE/SHE doing?A - "Ba" is optional there as it only serves to indicate that the sentence is a question even if "ano" is already a question word.B and C - Depending on context or tone of delivery, "ba" could mean "anyway" or "tell me".

My question was not about mo and niya, just about why Anong and Ano (ba) ang. Why "anong/ano ang"? what is the direct case marker doing in front of a verb? I assumed that "anong" was ano +the linker ng, which almost made sense.

@Silverfoxdr Yes, “anong” = “ano ang”
In Tagalog it’s very common to have verbs be or act like nouns (forgive my lack of formal grammar terms here) in a sentence, and that’s the case here. So the sentence:
Ano ang (ginagawa niya).
...to get super literal, would be translated like:
What is the (thing that she is doing).
So that phrase “ang ginagawa niya” is, or is acting like, a noun in English, which is why it gets an “ang” before it.Hope that answers your question?I caution people to not try too hard to always convert Tagalog into English grammar...there’s often not a one-to-one conversion, and trying to force it will make things harder on yourself...instead, just soak up the patterns as something new and unique... The general sentence pattern here being “Ano (ba) ang (object focus verb + subject)”. Another example: “Ano ang kinakain mo?” / “What are you eating?”.@TagaManila - Just out curiosity, is “Ano bang ginagawa niya?” also correct? Which is the most correct formal way to write it (say, in a newspaper article), or do they all work formally?

@FilipinoChatAdmin Yes, that makes sense of it mostly (but if the verb is a noun, with a direct case, what verb is it the subject of? An unspoken copula?)

@Silverfoxdr
Yes, it would be the "what" that the sentence is asking about...whatever that might be. This is also fairly common in more complex sentences with an object focus verb, where the subject is implied or was mentioned earlier and not explicitly repeated in a later phrase.

@FilipinoChatAdmin "Ano ba ang ginagawa niya?" is different from "Ano bang ginagawa niya". The latter is an incomplete sentence and most likely end up being grammatically wrong when completed.I can think of only two words that we can attach "ang" to and give them that "ng" ending. They would be "ano" and "sino".Ano ang ginagawa mo? = Anong ginagawa mo?
Sino ang kasama mo? = Sinong kasama mo? (The "sinong" form is even rarely used. More often you'd see it as "sino'ng")."Ano bang ginagawa niya?" when spoken may sound right, but what we really said there was "Ano ba ang ginagawa niya?". Normal speed of talking could make that "ba ang" sound like just "bang".Ano ang ginagawa mo? = Ang ginagawa mo ay ano? = The thing that your're doing is what?
Ano ba ang ginagawa mo? = Ang ginagawa mo ba ay ano? = The thing that you're doing is what?
In both cases, we have a subject clause with "ay ano" serving as the predicate.Ano bang ginagawa mo... = Ano ba na ginagawa mo... = What, which you do... - The sentence is incomplete and it does not even have a clear subject."Ano bang ginagawa mo ANG ayaw ng tatay mo?" could be a way of completing the sentence. Although to say it correctly, it should be "Ano/Alin ba SA MGA ginagawa mo ANG ayaw ng tatay mo? (What/Which from among the things that you do does your father disapprove of?) = "ANG ayaw ng tatay mo AY alin ba sa mga ginagawa mo? (The things that your father disapproves of are what/which from among the things that you do?).So, "ano", if not written or stated as "anong" would need an "ang". When "ba" is added to "Anong ginagawa mo?", it separates the "ang" from "ano" that's why it becomes "Ano ba ang ginagawa mo?". When you make that "Ano bang ginagawa mo", "bang" is already "ba na" and not "ba ang". The sentence become incomplete because "Ano" would need an "ang" that would indicate the subject of the sentence.

@FilipinoChatAdmin BTW, I should add that "anong" is acceptable based on common usage. I don't think it's officially a legitimate word yet, such that the way to write it properly would be "ano'ng", just like "sino'ng". A vast majority of us write it as just "anong" though.

Is the root word of ginagawa, gawin or gawa?

@banyaga02 The root word is "gawâ" (work). "Gawín" (gawa + in) is one of its verb forms.Gawin (infinitive/imperative; object-focus): ginawâ (past), ginagawâ (present), gágawin (future).

@Tagamanila
I got confused when I read on this post that "gawin" is the root word of the verb "ginagawa"(Imperfective aspect).
Thank you for the clarification, I really appreciate it.

@banyaga02
This is an irregular -IN verb conjugation, and there are a couple other verbs like this that are commonly used that are irregular...but not too many. You would think the "normal" -IN verb conjugation for root "gawa" in the infinitive would be something like "gawain"...but instead it's truncated to just "gawin". This makes the root less obvious when you're reading the dictionary entry (the infinitive form) since it's truncated. I made a list of some other common -IN verbs that do the same thing, where the root is truncated (in the infinitive and contemplated/future tense/aspect):Root: dala => Infinitive: dalhin
Root: bili => Infinitive: bilhin
Roto: gawa => Infinitive: gawin
Root: hingi => Infinitive: hingin
Root: kuha => Infinitive: kunin
Root: sunod => Infinitive: sundin

@banyaga02 Walang anuman, banyaga02. Ikinasasaya naming makatulong sa pag-aaral mo ng Tagalog.

@FilipinoChatAdmin @banyaga02 That's correct and may I also add that the same applies when the "an" suffix is used for those root words.Root: dala => Infinitive: dalhin - DALHAN
Root: bili => Infinitive: bilhin - BILHAN
Roto: gawa => Infinitive: gawin - GAWAN
Root: hingi => Infinitive: hingin - HINGAN
Root: kuha => Infinitive: kunin - KUNAN
Root: sunod => Infinitive: sundin - SUNDAN

@Tagamanila @FilipinoChatAdmin
Thanks! And the infinitive forms "gawin" (object focus)/ gawan (locative focus) can also be translated into English as "to do" or " to make", right?

@banyaga02 Both verbs are object-focus so they need an object.gawin = to do something
gawan = to do something for someone/somethingThe object of "gawin" is the direct object. The object of "gawan" would be the indirect object.Gawin mo ang laruan ng bata. = Fix the toy of the child.
Gawan mo ang bata ng laruan. = Make the child a toy./Make a toy for the child.