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NUMERAL ADJECTIVES - PART 1

1. Cardinal Adjectives, e.g. one, two, three, four, etc.
2. Ordinal Adjectives, e.g. first, second, third, fourth, etc.
3. Distributive Adjectives, e.g. one at a time, two at a time, etc.

The Numeral Adverbs, on the other hand, are used primarely for naming numbers used in arithmetic operations, fractions and to form compund names in the ordinal adjectives.

Cardinal Adjectives

Notes:

1

1

1

2

3

4

5

4

5

4

5

6

7

Notes:

1- The first three cardinal numbers are declined: unus, una, unum; duo, duae, duo; tres, tres, tria, respectively masculine, feminine and neutral.

2- All the other cardinal numbers are not declined, hence they remain as shown in the table, except multiples of 100 and 1000.

3- Ten is spelt decem but all the -teens are spelt -decim: the e changes to i.

4- Eighteen is literally two-from-twenty, but after becoming used to it, you will uderstand the number 18 rather than "two from twenty".  Likewise for all the others: 28, 38, etc., up to 88, but for 98 this form no longer applies.

5- Likewise, ninenteen is one-from-twenty, see note 4. Likewise for all the others: 29, 39, etc., up to 89, but for 99 this form no longer applies.

6- All multiples of 100 are declined with the form: ducenti, ducentae, ducenta; trecenti, trecentae, trecenta; etc.

7- Multiples of 1000 are declined as milia, plural of mille.

Click here for a full list of the declension paradigm for cardinal numbers.

Ordinal Adjectives¹

Notes:

1- All ordinal numbers are adjectives of the first class and are declined as such.

2- Primus is a superlative therefore it is used when referring to more than two things; for just two things then use the comparative prior.

3- Secundus is used if it refers to more than two things, else use alter.

4- Ordinals greater than vicesimus, can be written in three different forms:

    a- vicesimus + conjunction et followed by the unit ordinal;

    b- vicesimus followed by the unit ordinal, omitting et.

    c- rarely in the opposite form: first the unit ordinal, followed by the conjunction et and then the ordinal expressing multiples of decimus.

5- Ordinals greater than centesimus follow the same rule as in note 4. 

Click here for some examples of full declensions.

Ordinal adjectives are also used to express dates and time of the day.

E.g.: Quota hora est? Reply: Hora nona est; or hora quinta est.

The year 2008 would be expressed as:anno bis millesimo octavo.

The year 1970: anno millesimo nongentesimo septuagesimo.

The year 1985: anno millesimo nongentesimo octagesimo quinto.