Tagalog: siya ay, yaon ay, ito ay etc.

What is the contraction for these words: 'y? I'm wondering what the shortened word is supposed to be. Also for sapagka't - what is the 't? (please tell me where did you get this)

I was supposed to write a whole entry in Tagalog and realized I am limited in my vocabulary so here goes a small attempt:

Ngayon kumain ako ng macaroni & cheese at lutong manok. Nag-aral ako para sa eksam. Natulog ako. At pumunta ako sa simbahan.

(Translation: I ate mac & cheese and cooked chicken today. I studied for an exam. I slept. And I went to church)

Obviously you can tell I'm not good with past tense, the infixes, prefixes, etc. Salamat for the corrections.

Tagalog Pronunciation Problems

So I did my Tagalog practice session again today. I used an online resource and I was reading "Ang Biblia". I'm pretty good with reading and pronouncing most words but I still have problems with certain words. I came across them today and I want to make sure that I'm pronouncing them correctly:

siyang (sh-ang) or (see-yang)
roo'y (ro-oy)
doo'y (do-oy)
siya'y (sh-ay) or (see-yay)

Hopefully someone can tell me if this is correct. Salamat po.

Annie

Getting better in Tagalog?

I've been practicing for weeks now, trying to put in the time but I'm not really sure how well I'm doing in my Tagalog. Except for thank you, small introductions, colors, and foods, I don't know how I'm faring. Tomorrow I'll write something in Tagalog to see if I make any sense it Tagalog. If anyone is interested, just comment on this entry and let me know what I should speak about tomorrow in Tagalog. I'll try. Magandang gabi. Matutulog na ako ngayon (I sleep now. Did I say it right?).

Introducing myself

Kamusta po kayo. Ako si Annie. At taga-New Jersey ako. Mayroon akong apat na kapatid  . . . isang lalaki at tatlong babae. Nag-aaral ako ng Tagalog. Estudyante ako sa universidad [ng New Jersey].

I don't know if the above statement made any sense so I'll say it in English:

Hello my name is Annie and I am from New Jersey. I have four siblings: 1 brother and 3 sisters. I am studying Tagalog [for my own personal love of the culture of the Philippines]. I am a student at a university [in New Jersey].

A little more about me: I have a baby rabbit, I enjoy sci-fi, and I play games whenever I have time. I really hope to understand more Tagalog and be at an intermediate level by May 2011. After Tagalog I plan to learn Ilocano and then maybe Pangasinan. I enjoy languages especially Asian languages.

I've been learning Tagalog a bit at a time for about 5 months now but 3 weeks ago, I started practicing every single day. I'm looking for help learning this language. I can't keep watching Tagalog movies hoping to learn. :) Salamat po for any help.