Vocabulary: Ordinal Numbers
Vocabulary: Ordinal Numbers
Introduction to Ordinal Numbers
- Ordinal numbers in Russian, much like adjectives, have different endings based on gender, number, and case. They are used to indicate the position of something within a sequence.
- For ordinals up to 4, unique words are used: первый (first), второй (second), третий (third), четвертый (fourth).
- For ordinals above four, the ending -ый or -й is used in conjunction with the cardinal number: пятый (fifth), шестой (sixth), седьмой (seventh).
Common Ordinal Numbers
- Первый (perviy) - first
- Второй (vtoroy) - second
- Третий (tretiy) - third
- Четвертый (chetverty) - fourth
- Пятый (pyatyy) - fifth
- Шестой (shestoy) - sixth
- Седьмой (sedmoy) - seventh
- Восьмой (vosmoy) - eighth
- Девятый (devyatyy) - ninth
- Десятый (desyatyy) - tenth
Use of Ordinal Numbers in Sentences
- Much like adjectives, ordinal numbers usually come before the noun they modify: первый день – first day.
- The noun and its ordinal number must agree in gender, number, and case: первый день (first day - masc.), вторая неделя (second week - fem.), третье место (third place - neut.), четвертые классы (fourth grades - plur.).
- When using ordinal numbers to communicate dates, the format of ordinal number first, then month is used: пятое мая - fifth of May.
Practise Utterances
- Have regular practice in using ordinal numbers in your daily conversation to make them second nature. You can start by narrating sequences of tasks, describing the order of objects, or stating dates. For example: “Второй января - мой пятый день отпуска.” - January the second is my fifth day of holiday.