5.6: Grammar (1) القواعد Ordinal Number and Telling Time
In this section, you will be able to:
- Learn ordinal numbers in Arabic.
- Ask and tell time and hours.
Ordinal Numbers
- Ordinal numbers are called in Arabic الأعدالترتيبية.
- In Arabic, there is a linear relationship between the cardinal numbers and the ordinal numbers.
- Ordinal numbers are derived from a predictable pattern.
- Find the root for the cardinal number to refer to the ordinal number. Watch the video below to learn more.
- Except for number one واحد, which has different words for "first" "أوّل."
- Number six ستة is irregular, but the root is س ,د ,س. The ordinal number becomes سادِس.as
- Since ordinals are adjectives and have to correspond to the gendered nouns they are modifying, they can take the feminine تاء مربوطة ( ة, though the feminine form of “first” is irregular) when needed.
- Study the following table to learn the ordinal numbers الأعداد الترتيبية.
| Meaning in English | Arabic Ordinal (feminine) | Arabic Ordinal (Masculine) | Arabic Cardinal Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| first | الأولى | الأول | واحد/واحدة |
| second | الثانية | الثاني | اثنين/ اثنان |
| third | الثالثة | الثالث | ثلاث/ثلاثة |
| fourth | الرابعة | الرابع | أربع/أربعة |
| fifth | الخامسة | الخامس | خمس/خمسة |
| sixth | السادسة | السادس | ست/ستة |
| seventh | السابعة | السابع | سبع/سبعة |
| eighth | الثامنة | الثامن | ثمان/ثمانية |
| ninth | التاسعة | التاسع | تسع/تسعة |
| tenth | العاشرة | العاشر | عشر/عشرة |
| eleventh | الحادية عشرة | الحادي عشر | أحدعشر |
| twelves | الثانية عشرة | الثاني عشر | اثنا عشر |
Watch the video to learn how to find the ordinal number.
Practice Ordinal Numbers
Telling Time
To tell the time, you use the feminine form of the ordinal number. This is because the word ساعة is feminine, and so the adjective must agree with it. For example, when expressing time as in الساعة الرابعة, you are literally saying the fourth hour. So you need the feminine version of the ordinal numbers to tell the time. The only exception is 1 o'clock, for which you immediately derive from the number and say الساعة الواحدة . For parts of the hour, there are some expressions that are commonly used in telling the precise time.
Learn some new expressions for telling time:
| English meaning | New Expression | English meaning | New Expression |
|---|---|---|---|
| half | نصف | minute/ minutes | دقيقة / دقائق |
| quarter (15 min) | رُبع | second/ seconds | ثانية/ ثواني |
| a third | ثُلث | except/ to | إلّا |
| fifteen to | إلّا ربع | twenty to | إلّا ثلث |
| quarter past | وربع | past | وَ |