May / mayroon sentences are often identified as existential sentences. Existentials express:

• the existence of something:

  • May Diyos. (God exists; or, There is God.)

• the existence of something somewhere:

  • May giyera sa Asya. (There is war in Asia.)

• the existence of something owned or possessed:

  • Mayroon siyang pera. (He has money.)

Mayroon is a combination of may and roon, the latter being a locative demonstrative. Wala is the negative form of may / mayroon. It means non-possession or non-existence.

May is always followed immediately by the object phrase. With mayroon, the object phrase may occur before or after the possessor.

• May alipunga si Alberto.
• May masamang alipunga si Alberto.

The possessor is always an ang phrase.

• May konsiyensiya ang Gobernador.

When the existential expresses the existence of something in some location, it is subjectless.

• May tao sa silong.
• May yelo sa bundok.

When it expresses the existence of something owned or possessed, it has a subject, which is the possessor.

• May libro si Carol.
• May kalukohan si Tarcila.

When the object whose existence is asserted is a nominalized verb, the existential may or may not have a subject depending on the focus of the verb. An actor focus verb requires no subject, whereas an object focus verb requires a subject.

• *May bumili ng saging.
• **May biniling mangga si Dante.

• *Actor-focus verb has no subject.
• **Object-focus verb has a subject.