Teen Number Constructions
Eleven through nineteen take a hyphenated -il linker before the counted noun.
How It Works
The independent counting forms are ħdax, tnax, tlettax, erbatax, ħmistax, sittax, sbatax, tmintax, dsatax. Use these when reciting numbers or supplying a number alone. Before a counted noun, add the hyphenated linker -il. The numeral does not vary with the noun's gender.
Compare tliet twieqi, ‘three windows’, with tlettax-il tieqa, ‘thirteen windows’. Both quantities exceed one, but the teen construction selects singular tieqa. This is noun selection, rather than agreement with the quantity's plural meaning.
Digits retain the linker: 16-il ktieb, ‘sixteen books’. Keep its direction distinct from the definite article: numeral -il follows the number, whereas article il- precedes its host. Learn all nine ordinary spellings as complete forms.
Examples (3)
- tnax-il ċavetta
twelve keys
Counted noun-phrase fragment with a feminine singular noun.
- sittax-il ktieb
sixteen books
Counted noun-phrase fragment with a masculine singular noun.
- tmintax-il kamra
eighteen rooms
Counted noun-phrase fragment; kamra remains singular.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Teach all nine independent teen forms and their hyphenated -il combinations, including digits. Emphasize that the counted noun remains singular despite the plural quantity and that numeral forms do not vary with noun gender.
- tlieta / tlietThree in Different Positions
The contrast between independent counting and noun-linked forms, and between tliet twieqi and tlettax-il tieqa, makes the teen construction's singular noun selection concrete.
Level 2 - il-The Definite Article
Article attachment provides the explicit spelling contrast between noun-initial il- and numeral-final -il, which performs a different linking function.
Level 1
Related Patterns
Practice Teen Number Constructions in Bubblegum
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