Ordinal maika-

First, Second and Later Positions

Level 2

Learn maikamaysa, maikadua and maikatlo as complete ordinal words.

How It Works

The numeral list gives maikamaysa, “first,” and maikadua, “second.” The teaching book independently attests ordinary maikatlo, “third.” Use these complete words to identify an item's position in a series.

Formation combines maika- with a numeral base. Third uses shortened tlo, rather than preserving all of cardinal tallo. This attested change does not establish a general shortening rule for every numeral. The grammar's analytical maika-dua shows the parts; the lexical form here is maikadua.

Place the ordinal before its noun with a linker: maikadua a balay, “second house,” contrasts with dua a balay, “two houses.” The ordinal expresses position without itself pluralizing the noun or marking gender. Context identifies the series, so its third month need not be March. The other numeral excerpt prints maikat'lo; the function of that apostrophe remains unexplained, and it is not imposed on these examples.

Examples (3)

  1. maikamaysa a surat

    first letter

    Noun-phrase fragment identifying the first letter in a series.

  2. maikadua a balay

    second house

    Noun-phrase fragment identifying position rather than a quantity of two houses.

  3. maikatlo a bulan

    third month

    Noun-phrase fragment using ordinary maikatlo; context identifies the series of months.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Ordinal maika-Level 2First, Second and Later Positions

Learn This First

Maikamaysa, maikadua and maikatlo mean first, second and third.