Lesson 28 of 69 · A2, Unit 1: Daily life
Dates and ordinals: am dritten Mai
Ordinal numbers add -te up to 19 and -ste from 20: der zweite, der vierte, der zwanzigste. Four are irregular: erste, dritte, siebte, achte. In writing, a full stop after the number does the job: der 3. Mai.
Ordinals take adjective endings, which is why 'on the third of May' is am dritten Mai (am = an dem, and the dative ending is -en). 'Today is the third' is Heute ist der dritte. Years are read in hundreds up to 1999 — neunzehnhundertneunzig — and as thousands after: zweitausendzwanzig.
By the end you can:
- form ordinal numbers, including the irregular ones
- say and ask the date, and give your birthday
- say years and use ordinals in phrases like zum ersten Mal
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