Day 48 of 160

Day 48: Initials on the Hidden Beam

In an ancestral house in Taal, Batangas, Mon (A), a restoration architect, and his former classmate Dante (B), the owner of the house, find initials and half a date carved on a beam hidden under the floorboards.

How to study this lesson 3 steps
  1. Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
  2. Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense.
  3. Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native Tagalog. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.

Dialogue

Audio for this lesson is coming soon. For now, read the dialogue and its translation.

Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day

  1. A

    Dante, may ukit sa biga: J at C, tapos one, nine, two, at burado na ang huli.

    Dante, there's a carving on the beam: J and C, then one, nine, two, and the last digit is worn away.

  2. B

    Baka si Lolo 'yan, Jose Castillo; siya ang nagpatayo ng bahay.

    Maybe that's Lolo, Jose Castillo. He's the one who had the house built.

  3. A

    Tila hindi. Walang may-aring mag-uukit sa bigang tatakpan ng sahig; maaaring marka 'yan ng karpintero.

    It seems not. No owner would carve a beam the floor was going to cover; that may be a carpenter's mark.

  4. B

    Hindi kaya si Lolo mismo ang karpintero? Mahilig daw siyang magkumpuni, sabi ni Lola.

    Couldn't Lolo himself have been the carpenter? Lola said he loved fixing things.

  5. A

    Marahil. May lumang litrato ba kayo noong ginagawa pa ang bahay?

    Perhaps. Do you have any old photos from when the house was being built?

  6. B

    Meron, sa aparador ni Lola: mga lalaking may lagari sa harap ng bahay.

    Yes, in Lola's cabinet: men with saws in front of the house.

  7. A

    Tingnan mo ang likod: "Julian Caringal, maestro de obras, 1926." J at C nga.

    Look at the back: "Julian Caringal, master builder, 1926." J and C, all right.

  8. B

    Hindi pala si Lolo. Isasama natin si Maestro Julian sa plake ng bahay.

    So it wasn't Lolo after all. We'll put Maestro Julian on the house's plaque.

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