In the Russian language there are a huge number of rules that are incomprehensible not only to foreigners, but also to people born in this country. Most often, schoolchildren and adults have a lot of questions about the rules for using quantitative and ordinal numbers. However, everything is not as scary as it might seem at first glance. Having studied the most important rules for using certain parts of speech, you can quickly understand all the intricacies of this issue.
general information
First of all, it is worth remembering that the numerals are independent significant parts of the speech of the Russian language. By and large, this is a separate group of words that are formed according to their own rules. Based on this, they are divided by:
- The grammatical meaning. This means that these parts of speech can indicate numbers, quantity, and can also be used in the calculation. In this case, this group of words includes those that answer questions such as: "How much?" or "which?"
- Signs of morphology. In this case, they are divided into quantitative and ordinal numbers, as well as additional ones: simple and compound. In addition, there is a category of mutable words in which the endings change in accordance with the used case, however, there are some exceptions.
- Syntactic role. In this case, the quantitative numeral acts as a unit with the noun used. For example: "Two glasses were in the kitchen." In addition, quantitative numerals can play the role of definition or be part of a compound predicate. For example: "Their place in the third row."
Category by value
These parts of speech are divided into quantitative ordinal and fractional numerals. However, by and large, there are only two groups. Fractional numbers are quantitative. Therefore, it is worth considering this issue in more detail. The fact is that often people confuse quantitative collective and ordinal numbers. Although they belong to different categories.
Cardinal numbers
Based on the name, it is easy to guess that these parts of speech mean "number" and "quantity". In turn, they are:
- Whole. In this case, we are talking about such numbers that represent the number of integer values.
- Fractional. Such numerals are incomplete numbers.
- Collective. In this case, the quantitative totality is expressed.
All these categories of numerals differ in their features of the formation of parts of speech. For example, integers can create a fractional mixed view. A good example: two second and five ninths.
Ordinals
These parts of speech are words that determine the order in the count. For example: second, twelfth, one hundred and first, etc.
In this case, no subcategories exist.
Quantitative and ordinal numbers: examples
If the formation of different types is incomprehensible the first time, then it is worth considering their features in more detail. Examples will help to better understand the education system of these categories.
So, to understand the spelling of quantitative and ordinal numbers, it is easiest to consider them according to the digits described above:
- If we are talking about integers, then they are formed by the example: two, twelve, fifty, etc.
- In the formation of fractional numbers, they are used in the form: two fourths, three sixths.
- If we are talking about a collective category, then the parts of the speech will look like: three, five, six.
In addition, quantitative and ordinal numbers have their own characteristics in word formation. If we are talking about words denoting integers, then the change is due to suffixes. This means that one group of parts of speech can make another. For example, in order to convert quantitative numerals into ordinal numerals, you just need to modify the last part of the word: six - sixth, seven - seventh, thirty - thirty.
Nevertheless, it should be borne in mind that such ordinal numbers as "first" and "second" are an exception. Therefore, it just needs to be remembered.
Declension of quantitative and ordinal numbers
As you know, in the Russian language are widely used cases, of which there are six. When declensing ordinal numbers, only the last digit changes (if there are several). For instance:
- Nominative case: twenty-fifth, one thousand six hundred and thirteenth.
- Genitive: twenty-fifth, one thousand six hundred and thirteenth.
- Dative: twenty-fifth, one thousand six hundred and thirteenth.
- Accusative: twenty-fifth, one thousand six hundred and thirteenth.
- Correct: twenty-fifth, one thousand six hundred and thirteenth.
- Prepositional: (o) twenty-fifth, (o) thousand six hundred and thirteenth.
If we are talking about cases, then quantitative numerals and ordinal numbers really differ greatly in education. In the case of the first category, each word will change. Consider the case endings of quantitative numerals:
- Nominative case: eight, twenty six.
- Genitive: eight, twenty six.
- Dative: eight, twenty six.
- Accusative: eight, twenty six.
- Correct: eight, twenty six.
- Prepositional: (o) eight, (o) twenty six.
Important to remember
Considering the numeral (quantitative and ordinal), it is worth paying attention to some exceptions. These exceptions to the rules you just need to remember:
- If you want to use words such as “one hundred,” “forty,” and “ninety,” they will have one form in the nominative and genitive cases. In all other cases, one hundred, forty, and ninety are used. For example, it would be more correct to say: "he walked with a hundred rubles in his pocket," and not: "he walked with a hundred."
- If we are talking about the numeral "one and a half", then the word can change only depending on the gender. That is, it will be correct to say: one and a half apples (male and middle gender) and one and a half plums (female).
Rules to Know
There are many nuances in grammar. Therefore, it will also be useful to learn the rules on quantitative and ordinal numbers:
- It’s more correct to say: "how many (hours) the store is open." In this case, the emphasis is placed on the letter "o".
- Today, you can often hear the "two thousandth year." This is actually wrong. The same goes for the expression "two thousand and seventeen." It is only correct to say: "two thousand and seventeenth year."
- In ordinal numbers, the endings change in the same way as in the case of ordinary adjectives.
How numerals are syntactically combined with nouns
If we are talking about the quantitative parts of speech, then in the nominative and genitive cases they are put only in the form of R. p. That is: seven letters, sixteen cups, thirty people.
It is worth noting that words such as "three", "one and a half", "four" and "two" are used only with nouns, which should be put in the singular, and all the rest with the plural. For example: three glasses - five glasses, two columns - fifteen pillars, four girls - fifty girls.
In all other situations, with a combination of a noun and a numeral, everything depends on the case.
The only exception is the numeral "one", since it, regardless of the case ending, should be consistent only with the noun.
If we are talking about fractional “one and a half hundred” or “one and a half”, then they are consistent with the noun in the same way as integers. For example: one and a half apples. The remaining fractional numerals must be used in the genitive case. Nouns can be in units. hours or more h. For example: three fifths of an apple (if we are talking about a specific object) and two fifths of an apple (if we mean the total number of certain items).
Also do not forget about collective numbers. When used with nouns, the same rules apply as in the use of quantitative parts of speech. This means that in the nominative and accusative cases, they change the form of the noun in the R. n. In other cases, standard agreement occurs.
In addition, it is worth considering that when we use the collective numeral "both", then the noun can be in the form of only units. h. For example: both dogs, both starlings. In all other cases, they are used in the plural. For example: seven students.
Ordinary numerals, as noted earlier, in agreement with nouns, are formed in the same way as words that answer the question "what". For example: first semester, eighth cup, ninth lesson.
Also, many are interested in whether the word "thousand" refers to numerals or is it still a noun. According to modern dictionaries, 1000 can refer to many parts of speech.
This means that the word can be used both as a numeral and as a noun. Therefore, in both cases it will be used correctly. However, it all depends on the follower of the "thousand" word. For example: "with every thousand rubles." In this case, it has the form of a noun. But if we say "a thousand people," then a numeral is implied.
Knowing why quantitative and ordinal numbers are used in one form or another, we can begin to speak more competently. The main thing is to remember the basic rules. Of course, there are some nuances in this matter, but a high school student and an adult will be able to understand them.