upat

Cebuano word: upat — “four”

1 · Part of speech, meaning, and example sentences

• Part of speech: numeral / determiner (cardinal number)
• Meaning: the quantity 4

Everyday examples

• Upat ka estudyante ang mipasar sa eksamen. – Four students passed the exam.
• Nag-order ko og upat ka pan. – I ordered four pieces of bread.
• Upat ra ko ka minuto nang-hulat. – I waited only four minutes.

2 · Cebuano or Spanish?

• upat – native Cebuano form
• kwatro / kuwatro – Spanish-based form for “four”

3 · When to use Cebuano- vs Spanish-based numbers

1. Counting everyday items and people: prefer upat (upat ka tao).
2. Clock time: Spanish set dominates (alas kuwatro = 4 o’clock).
3. Money, measurements, official tallies: often Spanish (kwatro mil pesos).
4. Telephone numbers & codes: Spanish or English digits; rarely native.
5. Ordinals < 100: native with ika- → ika-upat (“fourth”).

4 · Detailed usage notes

• Canonical pattern:upat ka + noun
  • Gipalit nila ang upat ka tiket. – They bought the four tickets.
• Without ka in set phrases:
  • upat ra – only four
  • upat pa – four more
• Adverb of frequency: Upat ka beses siya nag-praktis sa usa ka semana. – He practises four times a week.
• Ordinal form: ika-upat – the fourth

5 · Five common pitfalls

1. Dropping the classifier (✗ upat mansanas → ✓ upat ka mansanas).
2. Double marking plural (✗ upat ka mga tawo).
3. Switching to kwatro mid-sentence where native fits better.
4. Putting upat after the noun (✗ mansanas upat ka).
5. Using upat when an ordinal is required (✗ sa upat adlaw → ✓ sa ika-upat ka adlaw).

6 · Common collocations

• upat ka + noun – four …
• upat ra – only four
• upat pa – four more
• ika-upat – the fourth
• sa upat ka bulan – in four months

7 · Frequent learner mistakes and cautions

• Reading the digit “4” aloud as upat in phone numbers (use kwatro or English “four”).
• Misplacing stress: say /U-pat/ (light first syllable), not “oo-PÁT.”
• Omitting the linker when a vowel follows (upat’g for upat og in rapid speech).
• Mixing Tagalog structure (Apat na libro …) with Cebuano word order.
• Over-using upat when softer quantifiers (mga, hapit) would sound more natural.

8 · Five high-frequency conversational phrases

• Upat ra mi kabuok karon. – There are only four of us now.
• Pwede ko mangayo og upat pa ka kutsara? – May I have four more spoons?
• Upat na lang ang nahabilin. – Only four are left.
• Magkita ta mga upat ka oras gikan karon. – Let’s meet about four hours from now.
• Upat ka beses nako gisulayan, nakaya ra gyud! – I tried four times and finally succeeded!

9 · Five simple dialogue exchanges

1. A: Tag-pila ang upat ka saging?
   B: Bente pesos ra ang upat.
   – “How much are four bananas?” – “Just twenty pesos for the four.”
2. A: Upat ba ka adlaw ka mag-bakasyon?
   B: Oo, upat ra ka adlaw ko libre.
   – “Are you on vacation for four days?” – “Yes, I’m free for only four days.”
3. A: Naa kay upat ka tiket?
   B: Wala, tulo ra ang nabilin.
   – “Do you have four tickets?” – “No, only three are left.”
4. A: Upat na ka tuig sukad ta nag-ila, noh?
   B: Sakto, upat ka tuig na gyud.
   – “It’s been four years since we met, right?” – “Correct, four years indeed.”
5. A: Mopalit ta og upat ka botelya?
   B: Sige, upat ka botelya igo na.
   – “Shall we buy four bottles?” – “Sure, four bottles are enough.”

10 · Multiple-choice dialogue questions

Q1. Upat ba ka libro imong gipalit?
A. Gipalit ko upat ka libro.
B. Libro upat ka akong gipalit.
C. Upat ka libro akong gipalit.

Q2. Upat ba mo ka adlaw mag-puyo dinhi?
A. Dinhi mag-puyo mo upat ka adlaw.
B. Upat ka adlaw mo mag-puyo dinhi.
C. Mag-puyo dinhi mo upat ka adlaw.

Q3. Upat ba ka bata ang nag-dula sa gawas?
A. Nag-dula upat ka bata sa gawas.
B. Sa gawas nag-dula upat ka bata.
C. Ang upat ka bata nag-dula sa gawas.

Q4. Upat ba ta ka botelya ang paliton?
A. Botelya upat ka paliton ta.
B. Paliton ta upat ka botelya.
C. Ta upat ka botelya paliton.

Q5. Upat ba sila ka beses ni-adto didto?
A. Ni-adto sila didto upat ka beses.
B. Didto sila upat ka beses ni-adto.
C. Upat ka beses didto ni-adto sila.

Answer key with brief explanations

• Q1 – Correct: C
  • Keeps numeral phrase upat ka libro before the subject pronoun and verb. A and B scramble noun order.
• Q2 – Correct: A
  • Verb + place + subject + numeral phrase is natural. B and C mis-order subject or auxiliary.
• Q3 – Correct: C
  • Fronted subject phrase Ang upat ka bata before the verb is acceptable. A and B split adverbial or verb placement.
• Q4 – Correct: B
  • Imperative pattern: verb + pronoun + object. A and C separate verb from object or misplace pronoun.
• Q5 – Correct: A
  • Frequency phrase at the end is idiomatic. B and C invert phrase elements unnaturally.