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5.2.1

Using numbers
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Numbers can act as nouns, standing on their own as subjects or objects, or modifying another noun directly.

Numbers as Standalone Nouns

  • mulegh cha' - Two (of them) see me.
  • wa' yIHoH - Kill one (of them)! (The prefix yI- already means a singular object; wa' adds emphasis.)

Numbers Modifying Nouns (Counting)

When numbers are counting objects, they come before the noun they describe. Plural suffixes like -pu' or -mey aren't required when using a number:

  • loS puqpu' or loS puq - four children
  • vaghmaH yuQmey or vaghmaH yuQ - fifty planets

Numbering Objects

When assigning a number to something (like labeling), the number follows the noun:

  • DuS wa' - torpedo tube number 1

Ordinal Numbers (first, second, third…)

Ordinal numbers are created by adding -DIch to regular numbers, and they follow the noun:

  • wa'DIch - first
  • cha'DIch - second
  • HutDIch - ninth
  • meb cha'DIch - second guest

Repeating Actions (once, twice…)

Add the suffix -logh to show how many times an action occurs. These words function as adverbials, occuring at the beginning of the sentence:

  • wa'logh - once
  • cha'logh - twice
  • Hutlogh - nine times
  • wejmaH Sochlogh - thirty seven times

To say that an action has happened "many times" or "repeatedly", use the word pIj ("often"). For extra emphasis, repeat the verb using 'ej ("and") and -qa' ("again"):

  • qagh vISoppu' 'ej vISopqa'pu' 'ej vISopqa'pu' - I've eaten gagh many times. (I've eaten gagh and I've eaten it again and I've eaten it again)

To say that an action has been repeated a number of times during a group of attempts use pe''egh "cut onself" and nID "try":

  • loSlogh pe''egh; vaghlogh nID - tried four out of five times (cut oneself four times; tried five times)

This construction is used even if the person stopped after the fourth try and didn't try a fifth time.

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