Understanding Belarusian Ordinal Numbers
Ordinal numbers in Belarusian are used to show the order of things. They help us understand which item comes first, second, third, and so on.
Important Points
- Ordinal numbers are adjectives in Belarusian.
- They must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun they describe.
- They are different from cardinal numbers, which tell us how many.
To form ordinal numbers, we usually add endings to the cardinal numbers. For example, 'адзін' (one) becomes 'першы' (first).
Examples
- першы дом (the first house)
- другі дзень (the second day)
- трэці месяц (the third month)
Ordinal numbers change their form according to the gender of the noun they describe. For example, 'першы' is masculine, 'першая' is feminine, and 'першае' is neuter.
Examples
- першы клас (the first class - masculine)
- першая кніга (the first book - feminine)
- першае слова (the first word - neuter)
Just like other adjectives, ordinal numbers must match the case of the noun they describe. This means they change their endings depending on whether the noun is in the nominative, accusative, genitive, etc.
Examples of Ordinal Numbers in Sentences
Examples
- Я жыву на другім паверсе (I live on the second floor)
- Гэта трэцяя старонка (This is the third page)
- Мы сустрэліся ў першым месяцы (We met in the first month)