We will see two types of numerals in this lesson. The cardinal numbers (one, two three) are used for counting. The ordinal numerals (first, second, third) are used for putting things in order. Both kinds are adjectives, with one exception we'll meet later.
Most of the cardinal numerals are indeclinable: their endings do not change to match the nouns they modify. We only have to learn the declensions for a few of them, given here.
Ūnus has no plural, of course. It is declined like an adjective of the first and second declension except for the genitive and dative singular.
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. | ūnus | ūna | ūnum |
| Gen. | ūnīus | ūnīus | ūnīus |
| Dat. | ūnī | ūnī | ūnī |
| Acc. | ūnum | ūnam | ūnum |
| Abl. | ūnō | ūnā | ūnō |
Just as ūnus has no plural, duo has no singular. Duo is a leftover from an early form of Latin when all declensions had three numbers: singular, plural, and dual. That means it has several oddities in its decliension, but you'll see some of the patterns we're used to, so those may help with memorization.
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. | duo | duae | duo |
| Gen. | duōrum | duārum | duōrum |
| Dat. | duōbus | duābus | duōbus |
| Acc. | duōs | duās | duo |
| Abl. | duōbus | duābus | duōbus |
Trēs is declined like a regular third declension adjective, except that it has no singular.
| Masc. & Fem. | Neuter | |
|---|---|---|
| Nom. | trēs | tria |
| Gen. | trium | trium |
| Dat. | tribus | tribus |
| Acc. | trēs | tria |
| Abl. | tribus | tribus |
The ordinal numbers are all declined like regular first and second declension adjectives.
Partitives are used in Latin to express that one noun is part of another. A partitive is usually translated in English with the word “of.” In Latin, most partitives are formed with the genitive case, while some take the ablative with the preposition ex or de. Numerals and pauci (few) used as a noun usually use the ablative form, while other words take the genitive. Nihil (none) is frequently used with the genitive, while multi (many) may be found with either form. Examples:
The special -um genitive plural forms of nōs and vōs that we learned in the last lesson, nostrum and vestrum, are used as partitive genitives:
Pauci (few) exists only in the plural, but is a normal first and second declension adjective otherwise. When used as a noun, it may be declined as “a few.”
Nihil is an undeclinable noun, so it is spelled the same in any case. It is sometimes also spelled nil.
Pars means a portion or part of something when used with a partitive genitive.
Mīlle and mīlia. Mīlle is used to express a thousand of something, while mīlia is used to express multiple thousands. Mīlle, like all the cardinal numerals greater than three, is an undeclinable adjective. So to say there are a thousand of something, simply put it with the noun:
* Mille milites ad Romam ambulabant. - A thousand soldiers were walking toward Rome.
Mīlia, on the other hand, is a plural, third declension I-stem noun meaning “thousands.” As a noun, it cannot modify an noun like the other numerals, so it is used with a partitive genitive. As a noun, it can be modified by adjective numbers to say how many thousands there are:
* Tria milia militum ad Romam ambulabant. - Three thousand soliders (literally: three thousands of soldiers) were walking toward Rome. * Viginti milia virorum et feminarum in urbe nostra sunt. - There are twenty thousand men and women (literally: twenty thousands of men and women) in our city.
Find an English word related to each Latin word in the vocabulary.
Once you get the declensions of unus and duo memorized, the rest of the numerals are pretty easy, since half are regular and the other half aren't declined at all. The mille/milia thing is pretty weird, but you get used to it.