Numeral adjectives in Italian (one, the first...)
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Sign up for freeNumbers can be used as adjectives to modify a noun.
Numeral adjectives ( aggettivi numerali) can be cardinal or ordinal.
Lesson outline
Hide- 1.Cardinal adjectives in Italian
- 1.1.Gender of cardinal adjectives
- 1.1.1.Exception uno
- 2.Ordinal adjectives in Italian
- 2.1.Ordinal adjectives from 1° to 10°
- 2.1.1.Declension of ordinal adjectives from 1° to 10°
- 2.2.Ordinal adjectives from 11°
- 2.2.1.Ordinal adjectives ending in -tré
- 2.2.2.Ordinal adjectives ending in -sei
- 2.2.3.Declension of ordinal adjectives from 11°
- 3.Exercises
- 3.1.Exercise on cardinal numeral adjectives - Fill in the blanks
- 3.2.Exercise on ordinal numeral adjectives - Fill in the blanks
Cardinal adjectives in Italian
Cardinal adjectives indicate a precise numeral quantity.
They always precede the noun.
Ci sono tre mele sul tavolo.
There are three apples on the table.
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Cristiana F. 
Paolo B.
Chiara P.
Silvia C.
Marco P.
Federica F.
Rachele G.
Silvia P.
Claudia S.
Serena G.
Gender of cardinal adjectives
| Masculine singular | Feminine singular | Plural | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| uno | una | / | one |
| / | / | due | two |
| / | / | tre | three |
- Cardinal numeral adjectives are all masculine and plural.
Tre ragazze stanno camminando in centro città.
Three girls are walking in the city centre.
Exception uno
Uno is the only singular cardinal adjective. Moreover, it has a feminine form: una.
Una sola bottiglia d'acqua non basta.
Only one bottle of water is not enough.
Un is used before nouns that begin with a consonant.
un gatto
a cat
Uno is used before nouns that begin with −s or −z.
uno scoiattolo
a squirrel
Ordinal adjectives in Italian
Ordinal numeral adjectives indicate a specific position of something or someone in a sequence.
They precede the noun and agree with it in gender and number.
Giovanni è arrivato al secondo posto nella gara.
Giovanni ended up second (in the second place) in the race.
Ordinal adjectives from 1° to 10°
The first ten ordinal adjectives have an irregular form: primo, secondo, terzo, quarto, quinto, sesto, settimo, ottavo, nono, decimo.
Il quarto viaggio
The fourth journey
Declension of ordinal adjectives from 1° to 10°
| Ordinal numbers | Masculine singular | Feminine singular | Masculine plural | Feminine plural | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1° - 10° | primo | prima seconda terza ... | primi secondi terzi ... | prime seconde terze ... | first |
Ordinal adjectives from 11°
From eleven, the ordinal adjectives are formed with the suffix -esimo.
Il sedicesimo biscotto
The sixteenth biscuit
Ordinal adjectives ending in -tré
In the compound adjectives with -tré, you keep the -e.
ventitré → ventritreesimo
twenty-three → twenty-third
Ordinal adjectives ending in -sei
In the compound adjectives with -sei, you keep the -i.
ventisei → ventiseiesimo
twenty-six → twenty-sixth
Declension of ordinal adjectives from 11°
| Ordinal numbers | Masculine singular | Feminine singular | Masculine plural | Feminine singular | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11° - .... | undicesimo... trentatreesimo... cinquantaseiesimo... | undicesima... trentatreesima... cinquantaseiesima... | undicesimi... trentatreesimi... cinquantaseiesimi... | undicesime... trentatreesime... cinquantaseiesime... | eleventh... thirty-third... fifty-sixth... |
Exercises
- Exercise on cardinal numeral adjectives - Fill in the blanks
- Exercise on ordinal numeral adjectives - Fill in the blanks
Exercise on cardinal numeral adjectives - Fill in the blanks
Exercise on ordinal numeral adjectives - Fill in the blanks
Exercises
- Exercise on cardinal numeral adjectives - Fill in the blanks
- Exercise on ordinal numeral adjectives - Fill in the blanks