When talking about numeral adjectives, they are usually divided into two groups: numeral adjectives cardinal, which express a specific quantity (one, two, three, four, etc.) and the numeral adjectives ordinal, which express order and place that the named element occupies in that order (first, second, third, fourth, etc.). But in addition to these, there are other types of numeral adjectives such as fractional and multiplicative. We have already reviewed the first ones on our blog (you can consult this topic by clicking on the following link: fractional numeral adjectives) and, today, we will review the topic of multiplicative numeral adjectives.
As its name suggests, the multiplicative numeral adjectives are used on those occasions when we want to express multiplication. These numerals can function in the following ways in a sentence:
1. As adjectives: will always appear accompanying a noun with which it will agree in gender and number.
Example:The jumper performed a triple somersault for which he got the highest score
2. As nouns: in this case its gender will always be masculine and will generally be preceded by an article that agrees with it in gender and number.
Example:Jesus is incredible, he has eaten twice as much as me andhe still says he's hungry.
Here is the list of multiplicative numerals:
As we can see in the list of multiplicatives, some of them end in -e; This form is valid for both the masculine and feminine genders. In addition, these multiplicatives have a masculine form ending in -o and a feminine form ending in -a.
Examples: double birth, double letter or double jump or double letter.
Despite this, nowadays forms ending in e –e are only used if the multiplicative functions as an adjective; and in the event that it functions as a noun, the use of the form ending in -e is preferred, although the use of the form ending in -o is still found. If we focus on the American continent, we can also find the use of the feminine form dupla as a noun that expresses "two people or two things".
In cultured language, we also find the double and triple variants, which are equivalent to the double and triple adjectives. But, its use is not frequent.
To conclude, we will add that it is only frequent to use multiplicative numerals that correspond to numbers less than nine. From this, we rarely find them and instead the cardinal numerals are used followed by the constructions times greater or times more.
Examples:
If the amount had been twelve times greater, Hector would have had no choice but to accept the commission.
The astronomer said that planet is 32times greater than that other.
