Numbers

1. The cardinal and ordinal adjectives are:

   Cardinal		Ordinal
   ae / ane	one	first	first
   twa	two	seicont	second
   three	three	thrid	third
   fower	four	fowert	fourth
   five	five	fift	fifth
   sax	six	saxt	sixth
   seiven	seven	seivent	seventh
   aicht	eight	aicht	eighth
   nine	nine	nint	ninth
   ten	ten	tent	tenth
   eleiven	eleven	eleivent	eleventh
   twal	twelve	twalt	twelfth
   thirteen, thriteen	thirteen	thirteen, thriteent	thirteenth
   fowerteen	fourteen	fowerteent	fowerteenth
   fifteen	fifteen	fifteent	fifteenth
   ...		...
   twinty	twenty	twintiet	twentieth
   twinty-ane*	twenty-one	twinty-first	twenty-first
   twinty-twa	twenty-two	twinty-seicont	twenty-second
   ...		...
   thirty, thretty	thirteen	thirtiet, threttiet	thirtieth
   fowerty	forty	fowertiet	fourtieth
   ...		...
   hunder	hundred	hundert	hundredth
   thoosand	thousand	thoosandt	thousandth
   million	million	milliont	millionth
   * Usage used to be ane an twinty, twa an twinty etc.

   

   Occasionaly the cardinal is used for the ordinal.

   The seiventeen September. The seventeenth of September.

   We will read the aichteen chaipter, fowerteen an fifteen verses. We shall read the eighteenth chapter, fourteenth and fifteenth verses.

   Ae also means the only or single 'one' and is used before nouns. Wan, a form of ane, also occurs. Wan may be used in place of ae or ane but ae and ane are not interchangeable.

   The ae body that cam til the pairty. The only person who came to the party.

   Ae day we'll hae a vacance. One day we'll have a holiday.

   A wis juist wantin the ae nummer for tae win the bingo. I only needed one number in order to win the bingo.

   The abbreviated forms of the ordinal adjectives are:

   1st, 2nt, 3rd or 3d, 4t. etc. 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th etc.

2. Numerals can be used in the plural to signify groups.

   anes ones

   twas twos

   threes threes

   fowers fours

   fives fives

   saxes sixes

   seivens sevens

   aichts eights...

3. Multiples are:

   single

   single

   dooble

   double

   treeple

   treble, triple

   three-ply etc.

   triple, threefold etc.

4. Groups of people arranged by number in games or activities are denoted by suffixing some.

   twasome,

   threesome,

   fowersome,

   aichtsome.

   A twasome at the glessy bouls. Two people playing marbles.	A threesome at the gowf. Three people playing golf.
   Will we dance the aichtsome-reel? Shall we dance the eightsome-reel?
   Hou aboot a fowersome at the cairts? How about four of us playing cards?

5. Fractions are:

   hauf	half
   third or thrid	third
   fowert or quarter	quarter...

   continuing the same as the ordinal adjectives.

6. Other expressions involving numbers are:

   twafauld	bentover folded double	twa-three	a few
   twal-oors	midday meal (denner)	the tane*	the one
   fower-oors	afternoon meal (tea)
   * the tae before nouns.

   He wis twafauld frae eild. He was bent double with age.	Twa-three pals is comin roond. A few friends are coming round.
   Come hame for yer twal-oors. Come home for dinner.
   Daena forget an be hame by fower-oors. Don't forget to be home for tea.
   It's aither the tane or the tither. It's either one or the other.

7. Telling the time.

   Time is divided into.

   seicont(s)	second(s)
   meenit(s)	minute(s)
   oor(s)	hour(s)

   Directly after cardinal numbers, nouns of measure, usually remain unchanged in the plural.

   He coud rin a hunder yaird in fowerteen seicont. He was able to run a hundred yards in fourteen seconds.
   It teuk him eleiven meenit for tae rin twa mile. It took him eleven minutes to run two miles.
   A'v been waitin on her twa oor the nou. I've now been waiting for her for two hours.
   Daena fash, we'll win tae in guid oor. Don't worry, we'll get there in good time.
   A s' bide a wee meenit langer. I'll stay a little longer.	The kirk bell jowes oorly. The church bell rings hourly.
   She shoud be here at the meenit. She sould be here straight away.
   A telt ye tae be here on the meenit heid. I told you to be here on the dot. (punctually)
   Ye'v been haiverin for oors an oors. You've been waffling for hours and hours.

   It used to be standard practice in Scots to reckon the half-hour before the next hour, this has largely been replaced by the Standard English practice of reckoning the half-hour after the hour. No doubt through media and educational pressure. A full hour is called a stricken-oor.

   Whit's the time? What time is it?

   Possible answers are:

   Twa oors. Two o'clock.	Sax oors. Six o'clock.	Ane oors. One o'clock.
   Hauf-aicht. Half-past seven.	Hauf-ane. Half-past twelve.	Three on the knock. Three o'clock.
   Risin twal. Approaching twelve.	Twa meenit afore twal. Two minutes to twelve.
   Twinty til fower. Twenty to four.	A quarter til three. Quarter to three.	'Gin ten oors. Before ten o'clock.
   The back o five. Shortly after five.	Ten efter seiven. Ten past seven.	Twinty frae sax. Twenty to six.

   Other expressions connected with times of the day are:

   dayligaun	dusk	midnicht	midnight
   e'enin	evening	morn	morning
   efternuin	afternoon	nuin	noon
   forenicht	evening	sindoun	sunset
   forenuin	morning	twal-oors	midday
   gloamin	just after sunset	wee-oors	early morning
   keek o day	crack of dawn	screich o day	crack of dawn

   The paitricks wis screichin lood at e'en. The partridges were screeching loudly in the evening.

   The muin gied us licht thon mirk Seturday e'en. The moon gave us light that dark Saturday evening.

   The mornin an forenuin wis awa cantie like. The (early and late) morning passed pleasantly.

   The morn we're gaun tae hae a forenicht thegither. Tomorrow we are going to have a get-together in the evening.

   The freenge o the lift's reid in the late gloamin. The fringe of the sky is red in the late twilight.

   A wis up oot ma bed for tae wirk at the keek o day. I was up and out of my bed in order to work at the crack of dawn.

   A hae a tryst at the keek o nuin. I have an appointment at mid-day.

   The nicht afore the morn A wis set on wi a dug. Last night I was attacked by a dog.

[ Start | Previous | Next ]