▸ 1. Part of Speech & Meaning
• Part of speech: numeral / determiner
• Meaning: “one hundred (100)”
Usa ka gatos ka estudyante ang nisalmot.
→ One hundred students participated.
Nag-order ko og usa ka gatos ka pan de sal.
→ I ordered one hundred bread rolls.
Usa ka gatos ra ko ka minuto nag-huwat.
→ I waited only one hundred minutes.
▸ 2. Cebuano or Spanish?
- Native (Cebuano): usa ka gatos
- Spanish-based: siyento (ciento) / siyento uno (for 101, etc.)
▸ 3. Native vs Spanish Numbers
Context | usa ka gatos | siyento |
---|---|---|
Counting people / items | ✓ | — |
Money totals, phone digits, IDs | — | ✓ |
Ordinal style | ika-usa ka gatos (100ᵗʰ) | Spanish ordinals rarely used |
▸ 4. Using usa ka gatos
usa ka gatos ka + Noun
Usa ka gatos ka tiket among gipalit.
Mini-patterns • usa ka gatos ra = only 100 • usa ka gatos pa = 100 more
Frequency • Usa ka gatos ka beses siya mi-praktis sa tuig.
Ordinal • ika-usa ka gatos = 100ᵗʰ
▸ 5. Five Common Pitfalls
- Dropping ka: ✗ usa ka gatos mansanas
- Redundant plural: ✗ usa ka gatos ka mga tawo
- Mixing siyento mid-sentence when rest is native
- Reversing order: ✗ mansanas usa ka gatos ka
- Using cardinal instead of ordinal (sa usa ka gatos adlaw → sa ika-usa ka gatos ka adlaw)
▸ 6. Quick Collocations
- usa ka gatos ka ___ — one hundred …
- usa ka gatos ra — only 100
- usa ka gatos pa — 100 more
- ika-usa ka gatos — 100ᵗʰ
- sa usa ka gatos ka adlaw — in 100 days
▸ 7. Learner Alerts
- Phone digits: speakers prefer siyento or English “one-hundred.”
- Pronounce /u-SA ka GA-tos/ (stress on SA & GA).
- Avoid Tagalog sang-daan.
- Use mga, hapit for approximate counts.
▸ 8. Handy Phrases
- Usa ka gatos ra mi kabuok karon. — “There are only one hundred of us now.”
- Pwede ko mangayo og usa ka gatos pa ka kutsara? — “May I have one hundred more spoons?”
- Usa ka gatos na lang ang nahibilin. — “Only one hundred remain.”
- Magkita ta mga usa ka gatos ka oras gikan karon. — “Let’s meet about one hundred hours from now.”
- Usa ka gatos ka beses nako gisulayan—nakaya ra gyud! — “I tried one hundred times and finally did it!”
▸ 9. Mini-Dialogues (Cebuano ⇄ English)
# | A (Question) | B (Answer) |
---|---|---|
1 | Tag-pila ang usa ka gatos ka mangga? | Singko-gatos pesos ra tanan.Just ₱500 for all 100. |
2 | Usa ka gatos ba ka adlaw ka mag-bakasyon? | Oo, usa ka gatos ra ko ka adlaw libre.Exactly 100 days. |
3 | Naa kay usa ka gatos ka tiket? | Wala, kasiyaman ug siyam ra ang nabilin.Only 99 left. |
4 | Usa ka gatos na ka tuig ta nag-kaila, noh? | Sakto, usa ka gatos ka tuig na gyud.A full hundred years indeed! |
5 | Mopalit ta og usa ka gatos ka botelya? | Murag daghan; siyento singkwenta lang siguro.Maybe one-hundred-fifty will do. |
▸ 10. Multiple-Choice Dialogue Questions
(Each question is interrogative; pick the declarative sentence with correct word order.)
Q1. Usa ka gatos ba ka libro imong gipalit?
A. Usa ka gatos ka libro akong gipalit.
B. Libro usa ka gatos ka akong gipalit.
C. Gipalit ko usa ka gatos ka libro.
Q2. Usa ka gatos ba mo ka adlaw mag-puyo dinhi?
A. Mag-puyo dinhi mo usa ka gatos ka adlaw.
B. Dinhi usa ka gatos ka adlaw mo mag-puyo.
C. Mo mag-puyo dinhi usa ka gatos ka adlaw.
Q3. Usa ka gatos ba ka bata ang nag-dula sa gawas?
A. Usa ka gatos ka bata nag-dula sa gawas.
B. Sa gawas nag-dula usa ka gatos ka bata.
C. Nag-dula usa ka gatos ka bata sa gawas.
Q4. Usa ka gatos ba ta ka botelya ang paliton?
A. Paliton ta usa ka gatos ka botelya.
B. Ta usa ka gatos ka botelya paliton.
C. Botelya usa ka gatos ka paliton ta.
Q5. Usa ka gatos ba sila ka beses ni-adto didto?
A. Usa ka gatos ka beses sila didto ni-adto.
B. Ni-adto sila didto usa ka gatos ka beses.
C. Didto sila usa ka gatos ka beses ni-adto.
▸ Answer Key & Explanations
Q | Correct | Why it’s correct |
---|---|---|
1 | A | Numeral phrase precedes subject + verb; B/C scramble words. |
2 | A | Pattern verb → place → subject → numeral is natural. |
3 | A | Subject phrase then verb is idiomatic; B/C shift adverbial awkwardly. |
4 | A | Imperative Paliton ta followed by object; others split components. |
5 | B | Frequency phrase at sentence end flows smoothly; A/C invert clause parts. |
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