French Vocabulary

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Structural adjectives

Unlike descriptive adjectives such as joli or beau, structural adjectives are used as

articles before nouns. Th ere are several types of these adjectives: numerical, pos-

sessive, demonstrative, interrogative, and indefi nite.

Les adjectifs numériques (Numerical

adjectives)

As seen in Unit 9, cardinal and ordinal numbers can be used as nouns but are

generally used as adjectives. In the following lists of cardinal and ordinal num-

bers, note that, except for premier, cinquième, and neuvième, the ordinal num-

ber is formed by adding the suffi x -ième to the cardinal number (omitting the fi -

nal -e if there is one).

un one premier, première fi rst

deux two deuxième second

trois three troisième third

quatre four quatrième fourth

cinq fi ve cinquième fi ft h

six six sixième sixth

sept seven septième seventh

huit eight huitième eighth

neuf nine neuvième ninth

C’est la première fois que je viens ici. It is the fi rst time I am coming

here.

C’est le quinzième jour de mes vacances. It is the fi ft eenth day of my

vacation.

Il fête son vingtième anniversaire. He celebrates his twentieth

birthday.

Elle habite au septième étage. She lives on the seventh fl oor.

Le centième client recevra un prix. Th e hundredth client will receive

a prize.

Regarde à la cinquième page! Look on the fi ft h page!

C’est ma soixante-douzième photo. It is my seventy-second photo.

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