Numeral Adjectives and Pronouns: Types and Usage
Numeral Adjectives: Types and Usage
Numeral adjectives modify nouns by indicating quantity or order. Here’s a breakdown of the different types:
- Cardinal Numbers: Indicate exact quantities (e.g., one, two, three…). In Spanish, these numbers follow specific spelling rules:
- Numbers up to thirty-one are written as one word.
- Numbers from thirty-two to ninety-nine are written separately.
- Compound hundreds have the second element written as one word (e.g., three hundred).
- If the second element is a thousand, it is written separately.
- Ordinal Numbers: Express order or succession (e.g., first, second, third…). They vary in gender and number and are typically accompanied by articles (e.g., the second, the third…). They cannot function as pronouns.
- Fractional or Partitive Numbers: Indicate partitions (e.g., half, a third…). Like ordinal and multiplicative numbers, they are combined with articles.
- Multiplicative Numbers: Indicate how many times a quantity exceeds another (e.g., double, tripled…). They are used in the singular and with articles.
Pronouns: Meaning and Function
Pronouns meaningfully point to or refer to a person, thing, or event without naming it directly.
- Morphologically: Pronouns tend to have morphemes for person, gender, and number.
- Syntactically: Pronouns play the same functions in a sentence as nouns.
Types of Pronouns
There are three main groups of pronouns:
- Deictic Pronouns: Refer to something outside the discourse, i.e., extralinguistic. Example: This dog is bigger than that one, which is much younger.
- Anaphoric Pronouns: Refer back to something within the discourse. The meaning of the pronoun is determined by the linguistic context. Modifying the realities to which it refers alters the meaning. Example: Mother embraced the child, and this made him happy.
- Cataphoric Pronouns: The pronoun appears before the element to which it refers. Example: I will call him Pedro: I sold my record collection to Pedro.
Values of Pronouns
- Personal Pronouns: When the pronoun functions as an indirect object (CI), it takes the form “le.” Combinations are avoided for phonetic reasons. If the direct object (CD) is not represented, the indirect object retains its shape.
- Reflexive and Reciprocal Pronouns: Indicate that the subject of the sentence performs the action expressed by the verb and, in turn, receives it. Example: Pepe washes himself. To determine if it is reflexive, it must meet these requirements:
- It alludes to the same person as the subject.
- Changing the pronoun does not change the meaning of the verb.
- The verb is transitive and capable of receiving a different direct object.
- Pronouns of Interest: Meet the first two requirements of reflexive pronouns but always appear in constructions with a direct object whose absence alters the meaning of the sentence. However, if we abolish the pronoun, the sentence does not change its meaning.
- Relative Pronouns: Have a dual function:
- They introduce a proposition that describes the antecedent.
- They replace a noun in this context, which is called the antecedent.