Ordinal numbers tell us the order people, animals, or things take in a specific series:
A mulher foi a primeira a chegarThe woman was the first to arrive.
They are variable, meaning they must match the subject in gender and number. For example:
O homem foi o primeiro a chegarThe man was the first to arrive
Eles foram os primeiros a chegarThey (masc.) were the first to arrive
Elas foram as primeiras a chegarThey (fem.) were the first to arrive
Chart of Ordinal Numbers in Portuguese
Here are some of the most commonly used ordinal numbers. (You can find more here: Introduction to Numbers in Portuguese.) The patterns for masculine/feminine and singular/plural forms stays the same throughout (o/a/os/as endings), so we only included full examples for the first few. Use this as an opportunity to practice by speaking aloud the missing ordinal numbers.
Does the word Quinta-farm- originate from a fifth of a measure of land?
Cumprimentos
Actually, Quinta-feira and the remaining days of the week have a different origin 🙂 Here’s a Learning Note on that: Days of the Week
The OED (paywall) has the etymology of quinta going back to 1079 where it is recorded as meaning the fifth part of booty handed over to a leader. By the 17th century it has become the fifth of the produce of a piece of land which is paid in rent. And from there its meaning slowly becomes posh house in the countryside, or farm, depending on whether you are looking at the English meanings or the Iberian ones.
Merriam Webster also supports the rent idea.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quinta
Hi Joseph, it seems that you have answered a different question (just like our politicians when questioned :)).
So, is David Cowling’s definition correct?
Right, looks like I misunderstood David’s question 🙂 From what I could see, the word quinta for farm comes from the Latin word quintana. I couldn’t confirm the theory about it having to do with 1/5 of a land (or 1/5 of what a land produces).
Thanks for that Joseph. We stayed on holiday at a Quinta in northern Portugal and it was quite a posh place.
Olá Joseph and Molly,
What is the short form for writing ordinal numbers in Portugal, i.e. the equivalent of 1st, 2nd, etc.? I know in some other areas of Europe they use what we would think of the degree symbol in the US (1°, 2°, 3°, etc.). Same for os nossos amigos em Portugal? It might be helpful to include it in the lesson or chart above. BTW, congratulations on your HelpScout award!
Olá, James. Thanks for your message!
We use º or ª, preceded by a dot to indicate that it’s an abbreviation (this is often forgotten in daily life):
– 1.º / 1.ª
– 2.º /2.ª
…
It actually corresponds to the last letter of the respective number written in full: primeirO/primeirA (1st), segundO/segundA (2nd), and so on, always taking gender and number agreement into account. We’ve already added the abbreviations to the table 🙂
You are doing an amazing work to the world.
Thank you.