The numeral

The numeral (son) is an independent part of speech that expresses the number of things or their order in a count; it answers nechta?, qancha? (how many? how much?) and nechanchi? (which in order?). Numerals are needed all the time: prices, dates, ages, times and calculations are all expressed with numbers. The exam asks you to tell the types of numerals apart, to choose classifier words correctly and to write numbers in words and figures properly. The topic is linked to spelling and punctuation too: the hyphen in 5-sinf and the separate spelling of o‘n besh both come from the rules for numerals.

§1. Types of numerals by meaning

All numerals fall into two large groups:

• Cardinal (quantity) numerals — show how many: besh kitob (five books), o‘ntacha bola (about ten children), yarim non (half a loaf).
• Ordinal numerals — show a thing’s place in a count: beshinchi sinf (the fifth form), birinchi kun (the first day).

Quantity numerals are further divided into several kinds, covered in §2. When analysing, first ask the question, then identify the type by the suffix.

§2. Kinds of quantity numerals

• Plain cardinal (sanoq son) — pure number, no suffix: bir, besh, o‘n, yuz, ming, million. It attaches directly to a noun: besh daftar (five exercise books).
• Counting numeral (dona son) — with the suffix -ta: beshta kitob, o‘nta daftar. It means counting item by item. The difference from the plain cardinal is one of style: besh kitob sounds more bookish, beshta kitob more colloquial.
• Approximate numeral (chama son): -tacha (o‘ntacha — about ten), -lab (yuzlab, minglab — by the hundred, by the thousand), -larcha (o‘nlarcha — dozens), paired numbers (besh-olti — five or six), and phrases such as qirqqa yaqin (nearly forty), (around a hundred).

Worked example

Identify the type of numeral in Sinfda yigirmatacha o‘quvchi bor edi ("There were about twenty pupils in the class").

1. Find the numeral: yigirmatacha (qancha o‘quvchi?).
2. Its parts: yigirma + -tacha.
3. -tacha expresses an approximate, not an exact, number.
4. Answer: an approximate numeral.

§3. Ordinal numerals

They show a thing’s place in a count and are formed with the suffix -(i)nchi.

After a consonant -inchi is added, after a vowel -nchi: to‘rt → to‘rtinchi, ikki → ikkinchi.
When written in figures, a hyphen replaces the suffix: 5-sinf, 2026-yil, 3-may. No hyphen follows a Roman numeral: XXI asr (the 21st century), III bob (Chapter III).

In a sentence an ordinal is usually an attribute: ikkinchi qavat (the second floor). Dates follow the same rule: 2026-yil 8-oktabr.

Worked example

Identify the numerals in Bu musobaqada uchala do‘st birinchi o‘rinni olishdi ("In this competition all three friends took first place").

1. uchala — nechta do‘st?, a collective numeral formed with -ala.
2. birinchi — nechanchi o‘rin?, an ordinal formed with -inchi.
3. Both depend on nouns and act as attributes.
4. Answer: a collective numeral and an ordinal numeral.

§4. Classifier words

These words stand between a quantity numeral and a noun and show the kind or measure of what is counted:

• nafar — for people: uch nafar o‘quvchi (three pupils);
• bosh — for livestock: o‘n bosh qo‘y (ten head of sheep);
• tup — for trees and plants: besh tup olma (five apple trees);
• dona — for items: ikki dona non (two loaves);
• juft — for pairs: bir juft etik (a pair of boots);
• nusxa — for books and documents: uch nusxa ariza (three copies of an application);
• units of measure: kilogramm, litr, metr, tonna, gektar, piyola, qop.

Classifiers make speech precise: uch qop un (three sacks of flour) and uch kilogramm un (three kilograms of flour) are very different amounts. For people, formal style uses nafar, while everyday speech is happy with -ta: uchta o‘quvchi.
A classifier is not a separate word class: it is a noun that forms a single part of the sentence together with the numeral: in besh tup olma, besh tup is an attribute.

§5. Structure and spelling of numerals

• Simple numerals have one root: bir, o‘n, ming.
• Composite numerals consist of several words and are written separately: o‘n besh (15), ikki yuz yigirma uch (223), ming to‘qqiz yuz to‘qson bir (1991).
• Paired numerals take a hyphen: besh-olti, o‘n-o‘n besh.

Words or figures?

• in fiction and ordinary prose small numbers are usually written as words: uch kun o‘tdi (three days passed);
• dates, percentages, measurements and large numbers are written in figures: 25 foiz, 1991-yil;
• in official documents a sum of money is written in figures and then in words in brackets.

A hyphen is also used when a suffix is added to a figure: 5-ga, 1990-yillarda (in the 1990s).

Worked example

Correct the errors in 2-chi qavatdagi ikkiyuz o‘rinli zal ("a two-hundred-seat hall on the second floor").

1. An ordinal in figures takes a hyphen with no -chi: 2-qavat.
2. A composite numeral is written separately: ikki yuz.
3. Put the corrected parts together.
4. Answer: 2-qavatdagi ikki yuz o‘rinli zal.

§6. Nominalisation and function in the sentence

When a numeral stands in place of a noun and takes noun suffixes, it becomes nominalised: Beshinchi keldi (The fifth one came), Uchovi ham a’lochi (All three are top students), Ikkini ikkiga qo‘shing (Add two to two).
Functions in the sentence:

• attribute (most common): besh kitob, uchinchi qavat;
• nominalised, subject: Ikkovi kelishdi (The two of them came);
• nominalised, object: Uchtasini oldim (I took three of them);
• predicate: Mening yoshim o‘n yetti (I am seventeen);
• adverbial: Ikki marta aytdim (necha marta? — I said it twice).

Worked example

Analyse the numeral in Uchovi ham imtihondan a’lo baho oldi ("All three got top marks in the exam").

1. Numeral: uchovi (nechtasi?).
2. Parts: uch + -ov (collective) + -i (3rd person possessive).
3. It answers kim oldi? (who got?) — the subject.
4. Answer: a nominalised collective numeral acting as the subject.

§7. Numerals with other meanings

Some numerals lose their numerical meaning in a text and take on another role. Spotting this matters in tests.

• bir can express indefiniteness: Bir kishi sizni so‘radi (Someone asked for you) — not a number.
• bir meaning "one and the same": Hammamiz bir oilamiz (We are all one family).
• Adverbs derived from numerals: birdan (suddenly), birga (together), ikki marta (twice). In U birdan to‘xtadi (He suddenly stopped), birdan is an adverb.
• Parenthetical words from ordinals: birinchidan, ikkinchidan (firstly, secondly) — set off by commas: Birinchidan, bu foydali.
• In idioms the numeral loses its meaning: ikki og‘iz gap (a couple of words), yetti uxlab tushiga kirmagan (never even dreamt of it).

Check yourself

1. Which type is ikkitadan?

2. Which type does yuzlab belong to?

3. What is tup in besh tup o‘rik?

4. Is it correct to write 7-chi uy?

5. Which part of the sentence is the numeral in Uchovi keldi?

6. Which type is uchdan ikki?

7. Which suffix forms the ordinal oltinchi?

8. Is o‘n sakkiz written as one word or two?

Common mistakes

• Writing an ordinal in figures with -chi or -inchi: ✗ 5-chi, ✓ 5-.
• Using a classifier together with -ta: ✗ uchta nafar.
• Taking a collective numeral for a counting numeral: uchala is collective, uchta is a counting numeral.
• Writing composite numerals as one word: ✗ o‘nbesh.
• Putting a noun after a numeral into the plural: ✗ o‘n kitoblar.
• Placing a hyphen after a Roman numeral: ✗ XXI-asr.