When to use it
Use it when something you bought is faulty or a service fell through and you want your money back.
The sentence in English: “How can I get a refund?”
In “How can I get a refund?” ‘can’ is a separate word for ability, and ‘get a refund’ is the set phrase.
- How
- adverbquestion word asking about the way or manner
- can
- auxiliary verbcan · tense: present · modal verb of ability or permission
- I
- pronounpersonal pronoun, always written with a capital letter
- get
- verbget · form: base form (infinitive without "to") · here it means "obtain"
- a
- determinerindefinite article
- refund
- nounnoun; money given back
The sentence in Filipino: “Paano ako makakakuha ng refund?”
In “Paano ako makakakuha ng refund?” the prefix ‘maka-’ means being able to, and the repeated ‘ka’ marks something not yet done, so ‘makakakuha’ means ‘will be able to get’. ‘refund’ is an English loan.
- Paano
- adverbquestion word 'how'
- ako
- pronoun'I'
- makakakuha
- verbkuha · focus: actor (maka-) · aspect: contemplative · maka- 'be able to'; repeated ka: not yet
- ng
- prepositionmarker ng
- refund
- nounEnglish loan
What changes from one language to the other: English × Filipino
English uses the separate word ‘can’; Filipino packs ability and future into the verb.
Example conversation
— Paano ako makakakuha ng refund?
— How can I get a refund?
— Dalhin mo ang resibo sa customer service.
— Bring the receipt to the customer service counter.