First, Second and Third
Ordinal numbers say which one in order: prvý (first), druhý (second), tretí (third), piaty (fifth). They behave like adjectives: prvý deň, prvá trieda, prvé miesto.
How It Works
The forms. Ordinals are built from the counting numbers and take adjective endings:
- 1. prvý, 2. druhý, 3. tretí, 4. štvrtý, 5. piaty
- 6. šiesty, 7. siedmy, 8. ôsmy, 9. deviaty, 10. desiaty
- 11. jedenásty, 12. dvanásty, 20. dvadsiaty, 100. stý, 1000. tisíci
Agreement. An ordinal agrees with its noun in gender, number and case, like any adjective. Most follow pekný: prvý deň, druhá trieda, piate miesto. Tretí and tisíci follow cudzí: tretí týždeň, tretia trieda, tretie poschodie.
Cases. Ordinals change their endings in every case, just as adjectives do: na treťom poschodí (on the third floor), do druhej triedy (into second grade), s prvým autobusom (with the first bus).
Writing figures. A period after a figure marks an ordinal: 3. poschodie is read tretie poschodie, and 21. storočie is read dvadsiate prvé storočie. Without the period, 3 is read as the counting number tri. In a compound ordinal both parts take endings: v dvadsiatom prvom storočí.
Ordinals are also the base of clock times such as o druhej and of dates such as prvého mája.
Examples (6)
- Dnes je môj prvý deň v novej práci.
Today is my first day at my new job.
Word by Word: Today is my first day in new work.
- Syn chodí do druhej triedy.
My son is in second grade.
Word by Word: Son goes into second class.
Druhej is the genitive after do, agreeing with the feminine noun trieda.
- Bývame na treťom poschodí.
We live on the third floor.
Word by Word: We-live on third floor.
Tretí has soft endings like cudzí, so its locative is treťom.
- Výťah ide na 5. poschodie.
The lift goes to the fifth floor.
Word by Word: Lift goes onto 5th floor.
The period after 5 shows an ordinal. Read it as piate poschodie.
- Je to náš piaty rok na Slovensku.
It's our fifth year in Slovakia.
Word by Word: It is our fifth year on Slovakia.
- Kto skončil prvý?
Who finished first?
Word by Word: Who finished first?
Common Mistakes
Using a counting number where an ordinal is needed.
Toto je môj päť rok v Bratislave.Toto je môj piaty rok v Bratislave.Päť counts things. To give a position in a series, use the ordinal piaty, which agrees with rok.
Giving tretí hard endings.
Moja dcéra skončila tretá.Moja dcéra skončila tretia.Tretí is a soft adjective like cudzí, so its feminine form is tretia, not tretá. The same goes for tretie (neuter) and treťom (locative).
Leaving out the period after a figure used as an ordinal.
Bývam na 3 poschodí.Bývam na 3. poschodí.Without the period, 3 reads as the counting number tri. The period tells the reader to say treťom.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Before First, Second and Third, learn Counting Numbers and Hard Adjectives Like pekný. Ordinals are formed from the counting numbers. Ordinals decline like hard adjectives.
Related Patterns
- Soft Adjectives Like cudzí
Tretí and tisíci take these soft adjective endings.
Level 2 - Saying the Date
Dates use an ordinal in the genitive, as in prvého mája.
Level 2 - Koľko je hodínTelling the Time
Clock times use feminine ordinals, as in o druhej.
Level 2 - -krátOnce, Twice and Three Times
Ordinals combine with -krát in prvýkrát and druhýkrát.
Level 2
Words in This Pattern
Practice First, Second and Third in Bubblegum
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