This section describes the syntax of cardinal numbers. Cardinal numbers denote the quantity of a particular referent.
5.2.1. Word Order
Numerals precede the nouns they modify:
er
one
mo'ipf
monster
aht
two
fraht
girl
Two girls.
aht
two
voluŋ
spaceship
Two spaceships.
5.2.2. Agreement
Nouns following er “one” or aht “two” are unmarked. For numerals three or higher, inanimate nouns are marked with the 4th person possessive suffix. Animate nouns remain unmarked.
hreis voluŋgah.
hreis
three
voluŋ-ah
spaceship-4pl
Three spaceships.
hreis fraht.
hreis
three
fraht
girl
Three girls.
5.2.3. Animacy Distinctions
In verbal clauses, animate nouns require a possessive construction involving a body part, whereas inanimate nouns don't.
Inanimate example:
aht pfah.
aht
two
pfah
door
Two doors.
ipfemi aht pfahu.
ipf-en-mi
eye-1sg-v
aht
two
pfah-u
door-pat
I see two doors.
Animate example:
aht fraht.
two
girl
Two girls.
ipfemi aht bufutfrahtu.
ipf-en-mi
eye-1sg-v
aht
two
buf-ut-fraht-u
body-3pl-girl-pat
I see two girls.
Although on its own “two girls” is simply aht fraht, when inside a verbal clause bufut is inserted, whereas such an insertion doesn't happen for inanimate nouns.
Inanimate nouns do drop the 4th person possessive when in the patientive case, though:
hreis pfahah.
hreis
three
pfah-ah
doors-4pl
Three doors.
ipfemi hreis pfahu.
ipf-en-mi
eye-1sg-v
hreis
three
pfah-u.
door-pat
I see three doors.
Tellingly, mo'ipf is treated as an inanimate noun. It appears that other species, especially multi-eyed creatures, are regarded as inferior beings:
er mo'ipf.
er
one
mo'-ipf
pl-eye
A monster.
aht mo'ipf.
aht
two
mo'-ipf
pl-eye
Two monsters.
hreis mo'ipfah.
hreis
three
mo'-ipf-ah
pl-eye-4pl
Three monsters.
ipfemi er mo'ipfu.
ipf-en-mi
eye-1sg-v
er
one
mo'ipf-u
monster-pat
I see one monster.
5.2.4. Counting
The verb for counting is erahrtmi[ɛrɑxʀ̥θˈmɪ], from erahrt "number, count", a portamenteau of er "one" + ahr- "two" + hreis "three" with the nominalizing suffix -t. This verb governs the ablative for the objects being counted:
aŋ erahrtmi maluŋgahat.
aŋ
imp.2sg
erahrt-mi
number-v
maluŋ-ah-at
alien_spaceship-4pl-abl
Count the number of alien spaceships.
erahrtetmi voluŋgahat.
erahrt-et-mi
number-3sg-v
voluŋ-ah-at
spaceship-4pl-abl
He is counting spaceships.
The result of counting is stated with the predicative suffix -i:
erahrtemi voluŋgahat vahahti.
erahrt-en-mi
number-1sg-v
voluŋ-ah-at
spaceship-4pl-abl
vahaht-i
ten-pred
I count a total of 10 spaceships.
erahrttumi hraulat hreisi.
erahrt-tu-mi
number-3sg.p-v
hraul-at
planet-abl
hreis-i
three-pred
He counted 3 planets.
When the stated quantity involves multiple words, the -i suffix is applied to the first word, not the last:
erahrttufrahtmi guhrkat uhreni ashen.
erahrt-tu-fraht-mi
number-3sg.p-girl-v
guhrk-at
fruit-abl
uhren-i
sixty_four-pred
ashen.
sixteen
The girl counted 80 fruits.
5.2.5. Fractions
Fractional quantities are expressed by an ablative construction.
er ahtat.
er
one
aht-at
two-abl
Half (1/2).
hreis hrvatat.
hreis
three
hrvat-at
five-abl
Three fifths (3/5).
When applied to nouns, a distinction is drawn between animate and inanimate nouns.
5.2.5.1. Inanimate Nouns
Fractional quantities of an inanimate object use the unmarked noun:
er vahtat voluŋ.
er
one
vaht-at
eight-abl
voluŋ
spaceship
One-eight (1/8) of a spaceship.
hreis sheŋtat shpaht.
hreis
three
sheŋt-at
seven-abl
shpaht.
wood
Three-sevenths (3/7) of a piece of wood.
When referring to a subset of a larger group of inanimate objects as a fraction, the 4th person plural pronominal suffix is used:
er vahtat voluŋgah.
er
one
vaht-at
eight-abl
voluŋ-ah.
spaceship-4pl
One of eight spaceships.
hreis sheŋtat shpahtah.
hreis
three
sheŋt-at
seven-abl
shpaht-ah
wood-4pl
Three of seven pieces of wood.
5.2.5.2. Animate Nouns
Animate nouns, however, lack a fractional construction; the referent is always a subset of a larger group:
er ahtat cheŋ.
er
one
aht-at
two-abl
cheŋ.
man
One of two men (not *half of a man!).
aht hreisat fraht.
aht
two
hreis-at
three-abl
fraht
girl
Two of the three girls (not *2/3 of a girl!).
To refer to a fraction of a singular animate noun, a periphrasis using buf "body" is employed:
er ahtat bufetcheŋ.
er
one
aht-at
two-abl
buf-et-cheŋ
body-3sg-man
Half of the man (lit. half of the man's body).
When referring to a subset of more than two animate nouns, the 3PL or 4PL pronominal suffix is employed:
hreis hrvatat cheŋgut.
hreis
three
hrvat-at
five-abl
cheŋ-ut
man-3pl
Three of the five men.
hreis hrvatat cheŋgah.
hreis
three
hrvat-at
five-abl
cheŋ-ah
man-4pl
Three out of every five men.
The prononimal suffix is obligatory on an animate noun in this case; thus, the following are considered ungrammatical by native speakers:
*hreis hrvatat cheŋ.
hreis
three
hrvat-at
five-abl
cheŋ
man
(Ungrammatical)
*shtehr vaherat fraht.
shtehr
four
vaher-at
nine-abl
fraht
girl
(Ungrammatical)
5.2.6. Numerals & Verbs
When the subject of a verb involves a numeral, it often detaches from the verbalized noun and appears as a standalone noun phrase in the nominative. The pronominal suffix remains on the verb.
ipfutfrahtmi shtehr bufutcheŋgu.
ipf-ut-fraht-mi
eye-3pl.v-girl-v
shtehr
four
buf-ut-cheŋ-u
body-3pl-man-pat
The girls see four men.
ipfutmi hreis fraht shtehr bufutcheŋgu.
ipf-ut-mi
eye-3pl.v
hreis
three
fraht-∅
girl-nom
shtehr
four
buf-ut-cheŋ-u
body-3pl-man-pat
The three girls see four men.
If the subject is long, it may be right-dislocated to the end of the clause, instead of the usual position immediately after the verb: