kanilang

Kanilang is a Filipino possessive determiner used to indicate ownership by a group of people. It translates roughly as "their" or "theirs" in English and is placed before a noun to mark possession. The word functions similarly to other Tagalog genitive forms in linking a noun to its owner.

In practice, kanilang precedes the noun it modifies, often accompanied by the linker word mga when referring to multiple objects or when the noun is countable. Common examples include kanilang bahay (their house), kanilang mga libro (their books), and kanilang mga sasakyan (their vehicles). The form is used to express possession by more than one person and does not specify the gender or exact number of owners beyond plurality.

Kanilang contrasts with singular possessive forms used for a single owner. Tagalog employs other determiners such as kanyang/kaniya or kanya to indicate possession by one person (his or her) before a noun, for example, kanyang bahay or kaniya ang bahay. These forms reflect the broader Tagalog system of pronouns and bound morphemes that mark possession and person without relying on word order alone.

Overall,ekanilang is a standard and widely understood part of everyday Tagalog grammar, used in both speech and writing to denote ownership by a plural subject. It is one of several possessive forms that fit into the broader system of Philippine languages in expressing relationships between people and things.