▸ 1. Part-of-Speech & Meaning
• Part of speech: numeral / determiner
• Meaning: “four hundred (400)”
Upat ka gatos ka estudyante ang mipasar.
→ Four hundred students passed.
Nag-order ko og upat ka gatos ka ensaymada.
→ I ordered four hundred ensaymada buns.
Upat ka gatos ra ko ka minuto nag-huwat.
→ I waited only four hundred minutes.
▸ 2. Native or Spanish?
- Native (Cebuano): upat ka gatos
- Spanish-based: kuwatro-syentos (cuatrocientos)
▸ 3. How Each Set Is Used
| Context | upat ka gatos | kuwatro-syentos |
|---|---|---|
| Counting people / things | ✓ | — |
| Prices, phone digits, codes | — | ✓ |
| Ordinal | ika-upat ka gatos (400ᵗʰ) | Spanish ordinals almost never heard |
▸ 4. Using upat ka gatos
upat ka gatos ka + NOUN
Upat ka gatos ka tiket among gipalit.
Short patterns → upat ka gatos ra (only 400) / upat ka gatos pa (400 more)
Frequency → Upat ka gatos ka beses siya mi-praktis sa tuig.
Ordinal → ika-upat ka gatos = 400ᵗʰ
▸ 5. Five Common Pitfalls
- Missing ka → ✗ upat ka gatos mansanas
- Double plural → ✗ upat ka gatos ka mga tawo
- Mixing kuwatro-syentos inside a native sentence
- Reversed order → ✗ mansanas upat ka gatos ka
- Using cardinal where ordinal is needed
▸ 6. Quick Collocations
- upat ka gatos ka ___ — four hundred …
- upat ka gatos ra — only 400
- upat ka gatos pa — 400 more
- ika-upat ka gatos — 400ᵗʰ
- sa upat ka gatos ka adlaw — in 400 days
▸ 7. Learner Alerts
- Prices & phone numbers are often read as kuwatro-syentos or English “four-hundred.”
- Pronounce /U-pat ka GA-tos/ (stress U-pat, GA).
- Avoid Tagalog apat-na-daan when speaking Cebuano.
- Use mga, hapit for approximate quantities.
▸ 8. Handy Phrases
- Upat ka gatos ra mi kabuok karon. — “There are only four hundred of us now.”
- Pwede ko mangayo og upat ka gatos pa ka kutsara? — “May I have four-hundred more spoons?”
- Upat ka gatos na lang ang nahibilin. — “Only four-hundred remain.”
- Magkita ta mga upat ka gatos ka oras gikan karon. — “Let’s meet about four-hundred hours from now.”
- Upat ka gatos ka beses nako gisulayan—nakaya ra gyud! — “I tried four-hundred times and finally did it!”
▸ 9. Mini-Dialogues (Cebuano ⇄ English)
| # | A (Question) | B (Answer) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tag-pila ang upat ka gatos ka mangga? | P2 000 ra tanan. – “Only ₱2,000 for all 400.” |
| 2 | Upat ka gatos ba ka adlaw ka mag-bakasyon? | Dili, duha ka gatos ra. – “No, only 200 days.” |
| 3 | Naa kay upat ka gatos ka tiket? | Wala, tulo ka gatos ug siyamnapu ra nabilin. – “Only 390 left.” |
| 4 | Upat ka gatos na ka tuig ta nag-kaila? | Dili pa, 380 pa lang. – “Not yet, only 380 years.” |
| 5 | Mopalit ta og upat ka gatos ka botelya? | Murag sobra; tulo-syentos lang usa. – “Too many; let’s get 300 first.” |
▸ 10. Multiple-Choice Dialogue Questions
Q1. Upat ka gatos ba ka libro imong gipalit?
A. Libro upat ka gatos ka akong gipalit.
B. Gipalit ko upat ka gatos ka libro.
C. Upat ka gatos ka libro akong gipalit.
Q2. Upat ka gatos ba mo ka adlaw mag-puyo dinhi?
A. Mag-puyo dinhi mo upat ka gatos ka adlaw.
B. Upat ka gatos ka adlaw dinhi mo mag-puyo.
C. Mo mag-puyo dinhi upat ka gatos ka adlaw.
Q3. Upat ka gatos ba ka bata ang nag-dula sa gawas?
A. Upat ka gatos ka bata nag-dula sa gawas.
B. Sa gawas nag-dula upat ka gatos ka bata.
C. Nag-dula upat ka gatos ka bata sa gawas.
Q4. Upat ka gatos ba ta ka botelya ang paliton?
A. Paliton ta upat ka gatos ka botelya.
B. Ta upat ka gatos ka botelya paliton.
C. Botelya upat ka gatos ka paliton ta.
Q5. Upat ka gatos ba sila ka beses ni-adto didto?
A. Upat ka gatos ka beses sila didto ni-adto.
B. Didto sila upat ka gatos ka beses ni-adto.
C. Ni-adto sila didto upat ka gatos ka beses.
▸ Answer Key & Reasons
| Q | Correct | Why it’s correct |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | B | Verb + object; numeral phrase follows verb. |
| 2 | A | Standard order: verb → place → subject → numeral. |
| 3 | A | Subject phrase before verb; others shift adverbial awkwardly. |
| 4 | A | Imperative Paliton ta followed by full object. |
| 5 | C | Frequency phrase naturally at clause end; A/B invert elements. |
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