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6.1.2.Ordinal numerals

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This section discusses the ordinal numerals. Subsection I starts by discussing the form of the ordinal numerals, and Subsection II continues with a discussion of their semantics. Subsection III concludes the discussion by showing that cardinal numerals need not be placed in the NUM position, but may also occur in some position following the attributive adjectives.

I. Simple and compound forms
II. Semantics
- A. Use as prenominal modifiers
- B. Use in fractions
III. The position of the ordinal numeral within the noun phrase

[+] I. Simple and compound forms

The ordinal numerals are derived from the cardinal ones by means of affixation with -de or -ste. The former suffix is more or less restricted to the ordinals derived from the cardinal numerals corresponding to 0 to 19, with the exception of the irregular form eerste'first' and the form achtste'eighth'. Note that the ordinal numeral derde'third' is not derived from the cardinal numeral drie but features the morpheme der-, which also appears in dertien (13) and dertig (30). The ordinal numeral vierde, on the other hand, is derived from vier (4), not from the irregular morpheme veer-, which is used in veertien (14) and veertig (40).

0	?nulde	10th	tiende
1st	eerste	11th	elfde
2nd	tweede	12th	twaalfde
3rd	derde	13th	dertiende
4th	vierde	14th	veertiende
5th	vijfde	15th	vijftiende
6th	zesde	16th	zestiende
7th	zevende	17th	zeventiende
8th	achtste	18th	achttiende
9th	negende	19th	negentiende

Higher numerals may also end in -de provided they are complex forms ending in one of the numerals in (67) taking this suffix. Two examples are given in (68).

a.		honderd	en	zesde
		hundred	and	sixth

b.		driehonderd	(en)	vijftiende
		three.hundred	and	fifteenth

In all other cases, the ordinal is derived from the cardinal numeral by means of affixation with -ste. We illustrate this for some round figures in Example (69). The fact that biljoenste sounds somewhat weird probably reflects the fact that the use of that high an ordinal numeral is uncommon.

20th	twintigste	100th	honderdste
30th	dertigste	1000th	duizendste
40th	veertigste	1,000,000th	miljoenste
50th	vijftigste	1,000,000,000th	miljardste
60th	zestigste	1,000,000,000,000th	?biljoenste
70th	zeventigste
80th	tachtigste
90th	negentigste

The formations in (70) are often also considered ordinal numerals; the form in (70d) is the interrogative form of the ordinal numeral, derived from hoeveel'how many'.

laatste'last'

voorlaatste'penultimate'

middelste'middle'

hoeveelste'what number in the ranking'

[+] II. Semantics

This subsection discusses the semantics of the ordinal numerals. If an ordinal number is used in prenominal position the noun phrase normally refers to an entity in an array, that is, an ordered set of entities. If the ordinal numeral is preceded by a cardinal one, the phrase functions as a fraction.

[+] A. Use as prenominal modifiers

Ordinal numerals can only be used as pronominal modifiers if we are dealing with an ordered set of entities, and the numeral is used in order to identify the intended referent from that set. Since the set is normally part of domain D, it does not come as a surprise that in the majority of cases the ordinal numeral requires a definite determiner to be present.

a.		Zijn eerste boek	ging	over het nomen.
		his first book	was	about the noun

b.		De vierde kandidaat	kreeg	de baan.
		the fourth candidate	got	the job

In many cases, it is implicitly clear what the principles underlying the ordering are; in the examples in (71), for example, the ordering seems temporal. If it is not unambiguously clear where the listener must start counting, this can be made explicit by means of a modifier. Typical examples of such modifiers are the van-PPs in (72).

a.	het	vierde	boek	van links/rechts
	the	fourth	book	from left/right
	'the fourth book from the left/right'

b.	de	derde plank	van	onder/boven
	the	third shelf	from	below/above
	'the third shelf from below/the top'

Indefinite determiners are mainly restricted to cases where the speaker/writer is providing an enumeration, for example when he argues against or in favor of a certain hypothesis: in (73a), use of een tweede probleem'a second problem' sounds completely natural. There are also some sporadic contexts in which no article is required to the left of the ordinal numeral. Examples such as (73b) seem restricted to more or less “telegraphic” registers.

zijn

verschillende problemen

voor deze hypothese.

Het eerste

probleem

betreft .....

Een tweede probleem

heeft

te maken

met .....

there

are

several problems

for this hypothesis

the first

problem

concerns

A second problem

has

to do

with

b.		Vierde punt op de agenda	is de opvolging van onze voorzitter.
		fourth item on the agenda	is the succession of our chairman

Ordinal numerals are also used in several more or less “fixed” expressions like those shown in (74). In these cases, the ordinal numeral and the noun constitute a lexical unit, which is also clear from the fact that the noun can be plural; nouns following an ordinal numeral are normally singular: het tweede boek/*boeken'the second book/*books'.

a.		de [N	eerste ministers]	van Nederland en Engeland
		the	prime ministers	of the.Netherlands and Britain

b.		[N	Eerste/Oudste kinderen]	zijn	meestal	verwend.
		[N	first/oldest children	are	generally	spoiled

c.	Er	werden	dit jaar	twee [N	tweede prijzen]	uitgereikt.
	the	were	this year	two	second prizes	prt.-issued
	'This year, two second prizes were issued.'

[+] B. Use in fractions

Fractions are normally derived from ordinal numerals, in which cases the ordinals are preceded by a cardinal numeral, as is shown in the primeless examples in (75). In these cases the ordinal numeral does not, of course, help to pick out a referent from an ordered set, but functions as the denominator of the fraction. The denominator of ½ and ¾ need not be expressed by the ordinal numerals tweede and vierde but can also be the forms half'half' and kwart'quarter', as in the primed examples.

a.		één	tweede (1/2)
		one	second

a'.		een	half
		a	half

b.		drie	vierde (3/4)
		three	fourth

b'.		drie	kwart
		three	quarter

c.		vijf	vierentachtigste (5/84)
		five	eighty-fourth

Actually, the forms in the primed examples are much preferred in colloquial speech over the primeless regular forms. For example, it would normally be considered odd to use een tweede or een vierde in (76a&b) to refer 500 or 250 cc of wine. Especially with tweede, but also with vierde, it is rather the reading “a second/fourth liter of wine” that is prominent in these examples. In (76c), on the other hand, the prominent interpretation is 125 cc of wine.

a.		Voeg	een	halve/#tweede	liter wijn	bij de vruchten.
		add	a	half	liter [of] wine	to the fruits

b.		Voeg	een	kwart/#vierde	liter wijn	bij de vruchten.
		add	a	quarter	liter [of] wine	to the fruits

c.		Voeg	een	achtste	liter wijn	bij de vruchten.
		add	an	eighth	liter [of] wine	to the fruits

For completeness’ sake, note that half and kwart should probably not be considered ordinal numerals. Especially in the case of half this would be doubtful since this form exhibits adjectival inflection; if the modified noun is -neuter, as in (77a), half is inflected with an attributive -e ending, which is lacking if the noun is +neuter.

a.		een	halve/kwart	cake
		a	half/quarter	cake[-neuter]

b.		een	half/kwart	brood
		a	half/quarter	bread[+neuter]

[+] III. The position of the ordinal numeral within the noun phrase

Section 6.1.1.3 has shown that cardinal numerals are generated in the position NUM in (78a), which accounts for the fact that these numerals in (78b) follow the determiners but precede the nominal head and its attributive modifiers.

[DP D [NumP NUM [NP ... N ...]]]

b.		Hij	bewonderde	die	drie	fraaie	bomen.
		he	admired	those	three	fine	trees

As is shown in the (a)-examples in (79) the ordinal numerals normally occupy this position as well. The noun phrase de derde ongetekende cheque can have two different meanings depending on the intonation; if it is pronounced as one intonational phrase, it is claimed that the check under discussion is the third unsigned one; if the ordinal numeral and adjective are separated by an intonation break, the check under discussion may be the only unsigned one (which happens to be unchecked). The two cases differ syntactically in that in the second case, the order of the attributive adjective and the ordinal numeral can be reversed. Example (79b), which can be pronounced either with or without an intonation break, is more or less synonymous with (79a'), but not with (79a).

a.	Hij	stuurde	de derde ongetekende cheque	terug.
	he	sent	the third unsigned check	back
	'He sent back the third unsigned check.'

a'.	Hij	stuurde	de derde, ongetekende cheque	terug.
	he	sent	the third, unsigned check	back
	'He sent back the third check, which wasnʼt signed.'

b.	Hij	stuurde	de	ongetekende (,)	derde	cheque	terug.
	he	sent	the	unsigned	third	check	back
	'He sent back the third check, which wasnʼt signed.'

Normally speaking, the ordinal and cardinal numerals are in complementary distribution, which suggests that the two compete for the same position NUM in (78a). An exception must, of course, be made for those cases in which the ordinal numeral and the noun constitute a lexical unit. In those cases, the lexicalized form can be preceded by a cardinal numeral, as in (80a). Another exception is given in (80b): in this example the two numerals seems to make up a complex modifier, which pick out the first/last two candidates in an ordered set. Example (80c) shows that the ordinal numeral in these complex modifiers is restricted to eerste and laatste; an ordinal like derde'third' is excluded.

a.		de	twee [N	eerste ministers]
		the	two	prime ministers

b.		de [NUM	eerste/laatste twee]	kandidaten
		the	first/last two	candidates

c.	*	de [NUM	derde	twee]	kandidaten
		the	third	two	candidates

References:

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About this article

Author(s): Hans Broekhuis

Category: Dutch Syntax

Publication date: 22 November 2023

Keywords: Attributive -e endingNumeralOrdinal Numeral

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