A Simplified Grammar of the Swedish Language/Part II/The Numerals
The Numerals. (Räkneord.)
The cardinal numbers (grundtal) are : —
1. en, ett. 16. sexton. 2. två (tu, tvänne). 17. sjutton. 3. tre (trenne). 18. aderton. 4. fyra. 19. nitton. 5. fem. 20. tjugu. 6. sex. 30. trettio. 7. sju. 40. fyrtio (fyratio). 8. åtta. 50. femtio. 9. nio. 60. sextio. 10. tio. 70. sjuttio. 11. elfva. 80. åttio (åttatio). 12. tolf. 90. nittio. 13. tretton. 100. hundra. 14. fjorton. 1000. tusen. 15. femton.
The cardinal numbers are indeclinable except en, ett, which may be used in the sense of an indefinite pronoun; as, den ene, 'the one;' den ena, 'the ones.' Hundra and tusen may be used as nouns. The old neuter tu may be used in some cases; as, i tu, 'in two;' tu par, 'two pairs.' The old masculine nominative tver (tve) occurs in compound words; as, tvetydig, 'ambiguous.'
The o in nio and tio, and the u in tjugu, are usually replaced in common parlance by e; as, nie, tie, tjuge, while ti similarly replaces the tio in the higher numerals; as, tretti, fyrti, femti, etc.
Between 20 and 100 the lesser number precedes the greater when och, 'and,' is used; as, en och sextio, 61, but when och, 'and,' is not used, the larger number precedes the smaller; as, trettio fem, 35.
The ordinal numbers (ordingstal) are: —
1st. förste (a). 16th. sextonde. 2nd. andre (a). 17th. sjuttonde. 3rd. tredje. 18th. adertonde. 4th. fjerde. 19th. nittonde. 5th. femte. 20th. tjugonde. 6th. sjette. 30th. trettionde. 7th. sjunde. 40th. fyrtionde. 8th. åttonde. 50th. femtionde. 9th. nionde. 60th. sextionde. 10th. tionde. 70th. sjuttionde. 11th. elfte. 80th. åttionde. 12th. tolfte. 90th. nittionde. 13th. trettonde. 100th. hundrade. 14th. fjortonde. 1000th. tusende. 15th. femtonde.
Excepting förste (a) and andre (a), the ordinal numbers are indeclinable. In regard to order of precedence, they follow the same rule as the cardinal numbers; as, han är på första och femtionde året, 'he is in his fifty-first year;' hon kom den tjugu-första, 'she came on the twenty-first.'
A fractional amount is made to refer to the greater, and not the lesser number; as, klockan är tre qvarter på fyra, 'it is a quarter (three-quarters on) to four;' klockan half fem, 'half-past four;' half annan, 'one and a half.' Where och, 'and,' is used, the position of the fractional part is altered in such sentences; as, tre och en half mil, 'three miles and a half;' fem och ett halft pund kött, 'five and a half pounds of meat.'
The ordinal numbers may take s in the genitive; as, Karl den tolftes död, 'Charles the XIIth's death.'
In common parlance the word stycken, 'pieces,' is often added to the numeral in defining persons as well as things; as, de voro tio, tolf stycken, 'there were ten or twelve of them.'
'The former,' 'latter,' 'last,' are expressed by den förre, senare, siste; while certain fractional and multiple terms, such as, 'a third,' 'a fourth,' are rendered by en tredjedel, en fjerdedel; 'twofold,' 'threefold,' etc., by tvåfaldig, trefaldig, etc.