Spanish 2.9. Ordinal Numbers I

In Spanish, ordinal numbers describe the order of a noun. Thus, it is considered an adjective and must agree in gender and number with the noun. Here are the ordinal numbers from 1 to 10.

uno, una	1	primer(o), primera	1.o / 1.a
dos	2	segundo, segunda	2.o / 2.a
tres	3	tercer(o), tercera	3.o / 3.a
cuatro	4	cuarto, cuarta	4.o / 4.a
cinco	5	quinto, quinta	5.o / 5.a
seis	6	sexto, sexta	6.o / 6.a
siete	7	séptimo, séptima	7.o / 7.a
ocho	8	octavo, octava	8.o / 8.a
nueve	9	noveno, novena	9.o / 9.a
diez	10	décimo, décima	10.o / 10.a

When the masculine form “primero” or “tercero” comes before a noun, we drop the final “o,” e.g., “Es el primero” (He is the first) versus “Es el primer atleta” (He is the first athlete).

Abbreviation

The ordinal numbers are abbreviated as follows:

1. Feminine:

cardinal number + “ . ” + “ ^a ”

e.g., “primera” (1.^a), “cuarta” (4.^a), “novena” (9.^a).

2. Masculine:

cardinal number + “ . ” + “ ^o ”

e.g., “primero” (1.^o), “cuarto” (4.^o), “noveno” (9.^o),

The exceptions are “primer” (1.^er), and “tercer” (3.^er), which use the superscript “er” instead of “o.”

Describing Dates in Spanish

Unlike in English, where dates are described using ordinal numbers, e.g., “the 24th of October,” in Spanish, dates are expressed using cardinal numbers, e.g., “el 24 de octubre.”

A notable exception is the first day of the month, in which case we can use either the ordinal or the cardinal number, e.g., “el primero de noviembre” or “el uno de noviembre.”

The use of the ordinal number “primero” is more common in Latin America, whereas the use of the cardinal number “uno” is more common in Spain.

Fractional Numbers

Fractional numbers from fourth to tenth are the same as the ordinal number, e.g., “un cuarto de los jugadores” (a fourth of the players), “un quinto de los recursos” (a fifth of the resources).

To describe the fractional number 1/2 (half), we use the adjective “medio” (masculine) or “media” (feminine), e.g., “medio kilo” (half a kilo), “media hora” (half an hour), “medio camino” (half way).

We also use the feminine noun “mitad” to describe half the quantity of something, and it is often followed by “de,” e.g., “la mitad de la tierra” (half of the land).

The main difference that you need to remember to distinguish between “medio” and “mitad” is that the former is often an adjective, and in a few cases, can be an adverb, e.g., “a medias” (halfway or half-finished). In contrast, the latter is always a noun, e.g., “la mitad de la clase” (half of the class).   

The fractional number 1/3 (third) is “tercio” (not tercero), e.g., “un tercio de la población” (a third of the population).

The “un” can be dropped before 1/2, 1/3, and 1/4 if preceded by an integer, e.g., 1 ½ (uno y medio), 5 ¼ (cinco y cuarto).

We cover higher ordinal numbers and fractions in Level VI, Lesson 1.

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