Adverbial Numbers
The adverbial number is the number used to show the repetition of a certain event, in constructions such as de cinci ori "five times". The table below shows a few examples of adverbial numbers.
| Number | Adverbial number | English |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | o dată | once |
| 2 | de două ori | twice |
| 3 | de trei ori | three times (thrice) |
| 12 | de douăsprezece ori | twelve times |
| 21 | de douăzeci și una de ori | twenty-one times |
| 22 | de douăzeci și două de ori | twenty-two times |
For number 1 the usual form is o dată ("once", "one time"). The construction o oară is possible, but rarely used. In the plural, the adverbial numbers are formed using the preposition de, the cardinal number in the feminine, and the noun ori "times", which is the plural of the feminine noun oară.
Sample sentences:
- Am citit cartea de trei ori. "I've read the book three times."
- „Poştaşul sună întotdeauna de două ori” "The postman always rings twice"
Approximate numbers can be used, like in the examples below.
- Ţi-am spus de zeci de ori că nu mă interesează. "I've told you dozens (textually: tens] of times I'm not interested."
- Am ascultat cîntecul acesta de sute de ori. "I've listened to this song hundreds of times."
Read more about this topic: Romanian Numbers
Famous quotes containing the word numbers:
“What culture lacks is the taste for anonymous, innumerable germination. Culture is smitten with counting and measuring; it feels out of place and uncomfortable with the innumerable; its efforts tend, on the contrary, to limit the numbers in all domains; it tries to count on its fingers.”
—Jean Dubuffet (1901–1985)