Mababa ang gastos.

• mababa = low
• ang = a marker that highlights the noun being talked about
• gastos = cost, expense, or spending

So the sentence means something like The cost is low or Expenses are low.

Filipino often allows the predicate to come first. In this sentence, mababa is the predicate, so it appears before the noun phrase.

A very literal breakdown is:

• Mababa = low
• ang gastos = the cost / the expenses

So the structure is closer to Low is the cost, although in natural English we say The cost is low.

Ang marks the noun phrase that is the topic or focus of the sentence. Here, ang gastos is the thing being described.

So in Mababa ang gastos, ang tells you that gastos is the item that has the quality mababa.

You can think of ang gastos as meaning:

• the cost
• the expenses
• the spending

depending on context.

It can be understood either way, depending on context.

• Mababa ang gastos can mean The cost is low
• It can also mean Expenses are low

Many Filipino nouns do not change form for singular vs. plural. If you want to make it clearly plural, you can add a plural marker such as mga in some contexts, but with a word like gastos, the unmarked form is often enough.

No. Mababa can describe physical lowness, but it is also used more broadly for things like:

• low price
• low level
• low amount
• low quality in some contexts
• low rank or position

So in Mababa ang gastos, it means low in the sense of cost or expense, not physical height.

Both can relate to low cost, but they are not exactly the same.

• mura usually means cheap or inexpensive
• mababa means low

So:

• Mura ang bilihin = The goods are cheap.
• Mababa ang presyo = The price is low.
• Mababa ang gastos = The cost/expenses are low.

With gastos, mababa sounds very natural because you are talking about the level or amount of spending.

Yes. Ang gastos ay mababa is also correct.

The difference is mostly in structure and style:

• Mababa ang gastos = predicate-first, very common and natural
• Ang gastos ay mababa = topic first, also correct, sometimes a bit more formal or emphatic

Both mean essentially the same thing.

Ay is a linker often used when the topic comes first.

Compare:

• Mababa ang gastos.
• Ang gastos ay mababa.

In everyday Filipino, ay is often omitted unless you are using that specific topic-first structure. So the original sentence is completely normal without it.

Normally, no. Ang is needed here to mark gastos properly.

So:

• Mababa ang gastos. = correct
• Mababa gastos. = generally sounds incomplete or ungrammatical

In standard Filipino, noun markers like ang, ng, and sa are very important.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

• mababa = mah-bah-BAH
• ang = ahng
• gastos = GAHS-tos

The stress is commonly on the last syllable of mababa and on the first syllable of gastos.

A rough full pronunciation: mah-bah-BAH ahng GAHS-tos

It can mean all of those, depending on context.

Common shades of meaning include:

• cost
• expense
• spending
• expenditure

So Mababa ang gastos could fit situations like:

• a product is not costly
• a project is inexpensive
• someone’s spending is low
• operating expenses are low

Context tells you which English translation sounds best.

Yes. It can describe low spending in a general sense.

For example, if someone lives simply, you could say:

• Mababa ang gastos niya. = His/Her expenses are low.

So the sentence can refer to:

• the cost of something
• the expenses of a person or family
• the operating cost of a business
• any situation where spending is low

You can add a more specific noun phrase, for example:

• Mababa ang gastos sa transportasyon. = The transportation expense is low.
• Mababa ang gastos sa pagkain. = Food expenses are low.
• Mababa ang gastos sa proyekto. = The project cost is low.

The pattern stays the same:

mababa + ang + thing being described

Yes. Filipino commonly has sentences with no separate word for is in the present tense.

So:

• Mababa ang gastos.

is a complete sentence and naturally means:

• The cost is low
• Expenses are low

English needs is, but Filipino often does not in this kind of sentence.