7.2 - Ordinal Numbers (1st-12th) - Reality Czech

7.2 – Ordinal Numbers (1st-12th)

We already know cardinal numerals, which are the normal numbers we use for counting (1, 2, 3, 4,…). Note — even if you think you remember them, take a moment to look over these, especially since it has some information about compound numbers we have not covered before. The table below lists ordinal numbers (first, second, third, etc. — i.e. the numbers used to tell what order something comes in). These ordinal numbers are important especially in this chapter because we are learning how to state conversational time and eventually state the date. For now, we’re just going to learn 1st-12th, since for the moment this is all we’ll need for telling time.

As you can see from this table, many of the ordinal numbers look very much like their cardinal counterparts. You really can just memorize them, however here are a few things that might help you: For many of them, all you have to do is add -ý. For the numbers pět, devět, deset, dvacet, třicet, you just have to change -et/ět → –átý, pět → pátý, dvacet → dvacátý, etc. Note that with numbers such as 21st, 22nd, etc., both numbers in Czech are ordinal, i.e. dvacátý první. Ordinal numbers are adjectives and thus take normal adjectives endings. Just by looking at these, you can tell that most of them are hard stem adjectives (end in -ý), while první and třetí are soft stem.	první	1st
	druhý	2nd
	třetí	3rd
	čtvrtý	4th
	pátý	5th
	šestý	6th
	sedmý	7th
	osmý	8th
	devátý	9th
	desátý	10th
	jedenáctý	11th
	dvanáctý	12th

In Czech, these are either written out in full (první, druhý, etc.) or they are marked by putting a period after the number, so 1. den = první den, 2. den = druhý den, etc.